We CAN Save Earth Installment 299

Dear Fellow Earthlings,

One’s phonome is based on one’s genome. The human genome takes human body parts originally used for such functions as breathing, ingesting food, chewing, swallowing – and employs them to produce speech sounds. By the age of five or thereabouts our native speaker “accent” is established. By the time we hit puberty our native language is such second nature to us that we can no longer recognize how it came about that it developed.

When the hemispheres of our brain become largely separated as a function of puberty, the difficulty of trying to make any second language we attempt to master sound nativelike increases exponentially.

JINGLES training, as has been mentioned many times, allows us to overcome the difficulties of post pubescent second language learning by developing the speech motor skills we need in order to help us match (or, at least, closely approximate) the speech language production of speakers of the “target language” whose phonology we are attempting to master.

As we approach the 90-level (that is the native level) of pronunciation competency, there are invariably tiny “problem areas” that continue to interfere with our mastery of the phonology of the target language.

Here is where “on-the-spot” downloading of particularly troublesome phonological combinations becomes useful.

I have mastered the art of such downloading. It involves perfect timing so that it does not damage, much less interfere with, the learner’s attempts to clear up the last “trouble spots” as kee aspires to the 90-level of target language phonological expertise. Also, it mandates that the module to be downloaded should be pronounced in a perfectly nativelike manner – and that a 20- to 30- second interval be provided for the module’s installation . Even one repetition of the module before installation has had time to "seat" will render the still unprocessed initial proffering useless -- meaning that installation of the module has failed.

Remember! When the downloading is taking place, NO REPETITIONS ARE PERMITTED! Each successive repetition will move further and further off target, compromising the integrity of the initially proffered target language phonological module!

Steve Walker

Earthsaver and Jingles Creator

© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.