Minimal pair therapy as a method of improving oral English proficiency among non-native English language learners (ELLs)

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2016-05

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Abstract

Accent modification is an area of speech-language pathology that does not have extensive research to support specific therapy methods for improved oral English proficiency and communication. The purpose of this study was to assess whether minimal pair therapy (Weiner, 1981), a well-researched method for articulation intervention for children, could yield increased articulation accuracy and improve overall oral English proficiency in adult English language learners (ELLs). Three participants with varying demographic, linguistic and academic profiles were selected to participate in the study. Each participant received 14-15 hours of individual minimal pair therapy. Post-intervention measures revealed improved percent consonants and vowels correct across all three participants and improved self-perception of English proficiency in one out of three participants.

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