French in Practice: Phonetics Practice
This course is aimed at all students. You
will improve your pronunciation and understanding of spoken French through
various exercises and techniques. It is a perfect complement for students
learning French as well as to everyone who wants to gain confidence.
The teacher will also focus on the specific needs of the students, depending on
their mother tongue.
Aims:
-
natural rhythm and intonation
-
phonems
Exercises and techniques:
-
articulation exercises / tong twisters
-
songs
-
reading material
-
theatre techniques
-
Verbo-tonale method**
Benefits:
-
better listening comprehension
-
better pronunciation
-
increased confidence
Duration: 8
weeks
Date and
Time: Saturdays 10:30 am to
11:30am
Minimum
students required: 4 (8 students max.)
____________________________________________
** Verbo-tonal method for phonetic correction
Basic Concepts of the Verbotonal Method - A Stimulus-Response Technique
A main principle of the Verbotonal method involves the use of a
stimulus-response procedure in the basic learning situation. The
stimulus (speech) is produced with natural rhythm and intonation. The
elicited response is viewed as an indication of the patient’s perception
of the stimulus.
Correct perception is facilitated by analyzing the response and
modifying the stimulus as necessary. The process of analysis and
modification is done in terms of the following parameters of speech:
- frequency (pitch)
- intensity (loudness)
- time (duration or timing)
- tension
- pause
- intonation
- rhythm
The stimulus-response technique allows evaluation of the
effectiveness of the presentation, and thus, the best condition for
perception. This technique will help the clinician/teacher/therapist
provide the optimum structure of the presentation for the best condition
for the reception of the stimulus. The optimum structure and condition
for perception of a particular stimulus will change as a result of the
refining of auditory perception through continued training. The ultimate
goal of the stimulus-response therapy technique is to make the optimum
listening condition similar to the optimum for a normal hearing person.
Click here to access a complete list of the basic concepts of the Verbotonal Method, compiled by Leslee Rook. Click here to access a paper on the Verbotonal Method by founder Petar Guberina.
Petar Guberina, Founder of the Verbotonal Method
Dr. Petar Guberia (1913-2005) graduated from the University of Zagreb
with a degree in French and Latin 1935. He continued his studies at the
Sorbonne in France, where he earned his doctorate in 1939.
His thesis, prepared under the supervision of Professor P. Fouche,
and in particular Professor Marouzeau, was titled “Logic and stylistic
values in complex propositions.” This work paved the way for genuine
linguistic analysis of the speech, with particular emphasis at the
outset on the importance of rhythm, intonation and gestures as optimal
factors in the structuring, and consequently the acquisition, of
languages. The work provided him contact, which proved to be
significant, with the Geneva School (F. de Saussure – Piaget).
He was a Professor at the College of Arts and Literature at the
University of Zagreb from 1951 to 1983. He then began as Professor of
French and Head of the Romance Languages Department (1951 – 1965). In
1954, he founded the Phonetics Institute and in 1965, the Phonetics
Department of which he became the Head at the time of his retirement in
1983, and where he devoted his time to research.
Professor Petar Guberina’s research on “the Linguistics of the
Speech” revolutionized the learning of modern languages and resulted in
the Global-Structural Audiovisual Method (SGAV) developed with P. Rivenc
of CREDIF.
|