Tesis
Phonological Fossilization in Second Semester Modern Languages Students at the University of Quindío
Fecha
2016-11-28Autor
Montes Tabares, Heidy Vanesa
Cortes Bedoya, Angelica María
Caicedo Nieto, Angie Vanessa
Institución
Resumen
The current research aimed mainly at finding the aspects that affect students’
pronunciation as well as the causes of phonological fossilization in modern languages students at
the University of Quindío. This study was carried out in a second semester group. Fifteen
students participated in the research, they were observed in their different classes during one
month and their opinions about the topic were heard in a focus group. This research is considered
as an ethnographic research specifically a case study because of its qualitative nature. The data
were collected through observations, interviews and a focus group. The findings of the study
indicated that the causes of phonological fossilization are: the absence of correction and
feedback what leads to the lack of awareness by students of the difficulties they have regarding
pronunciation, the differences between English and Spanish regarding phonetics, the non-
inclusion of a phonetics course in lower semesters, dearth of proficiency level of the professors,
the use of non-authentic materials, and the omission of an approach to teach pronunciation.