This document discusses a study that examined whether English speakers learning Spanish would eliminate aspiration of voiceless stops like "p", "t", and "k" after practicing pronunciation. Nine students participated, with five in the experimental group practicing a technique to reduce aspiration and four in the control group. Pre- and post-tests showed that the experimental group greatly improved in eliminating aspiration, while the control group showed almost no change. The results confirmed that focused practice can help English speakers improve pronunciation of these Spanish sounds.

1. Elimination of aspiration of the Spanish voiceless stops in the pronunciation of English-speaking learners of Spanish

2. Elimination of Aspiration Key words for this presentation: 1. Voiceless Stop 2. Aspiration 3. L2 second Language Acquisition 4. Pronunciation

3. Elimination of Aspiration One of the most common mistakes made by native English speakers who learn Spanish as second language is pronouncing the Spanish voiceless stops /p, t, k/ with aspiration - /p h, t h, k h /. For example, if asked to read the Spanish name Pepe, native English-speaking students read: [p h e.p h e].

4. Elimination of Aspiration Research question : Will the aspiration disappear after introducing a pronunciation exercise and after practice? Hypothesis: English-speaking students who practice the Spanish voiceless stops with a pronunciation exercise will not have aspiration.

5. Elimination of Aspiration Target population *Nine seniors at BHS participated in the study *Five students were in the experimental group (2 nd and 3 rd levels of Spanish, and AP Spanish) *Four students comprised the control group *All participants’ native language is English

7. Pronunciation exercise Hold up a sheet of paper in front of your face close to your mouth. Say sounds /p/, /t/, /k/ so that the paper does not move from the air coming out of your mouth. Now say the following words (the above list) trying to produce the same result. Continue this exercise at seven minute intervals. Elimination of Aspiration

8. Elimination of Aspiration The results of the pre- and post-tests are as follows: The data in Table 1 shows that each student’s pronunciation in the experimental group improved in regard to eliminating aspiration when pronouncing the Spanish voiceless stops. For three out of five of those participants the pronunciation on the post-test was 100% correct. This result confirms the hypothesis. 14.6 97.2% .4 .028% Mean: 14 93 1 .07 5 14 93 0 0 4 15 100 0 0 3 15 100 0 0 2 15 100 1 .07 1 Raw Score % Raw Score % Post-Test (15 pts. Possible) Pre-Test (15 pts. Possible) Student

9. Elimination of Aspiration The results of pre- and post- tests using the selected 15 practice words: The data in this table shows that there was virtually no change in the participants’ pronunciation from the pre-test to the post-test. .5 .033% .5 .033% Mean: 0 0 0 0 4 1 .066 2 .13 3 1 .066 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 Raw Score % Raw Score % Post-Test (15 pts. Possible) Pre-Test (15 pts. Possible) Student

10. Elimination of aspiration of the Spanish voiceless stops in the pronunciation of English-speaking learners of Spanish The data in Table 1 shows that each student’s pronunciation in the experimental group improved in regard to eliminating aspiration when pronouncing the Spanish voiceless stops. For three out of five of those participants the pronunciation on the post-test was 100% correct. This result confirms the hypothesis. The data in Table 2 show that there was virtually no change in the participants’ pronunciation from the pre-test to the post-test.