The importance of stress and intonation in the process of learning Georgian as a second language

Abstract

Listening as a skill plays a great role at the first stage of language learning. Listening helps understanding and enables language learners to perceive information, express their ideas, etc.

Listening means “cooperation between the teacher and the listeners.” The strategies of teaching L2 must be worked out by teachers based on the abilities of the class.

Students studying Georgian as a second language have problems with correct pronunciation of words and phrases in rapid speech. At the first stage language learners do not know grammatical rules well and they study the language by imitating their teacher’s words and phrases. It is clear that the role of listening is great at the first stage.

Time after time language learners get used to the teacher’s voice, tone and articulation system. They pay attention to the teacher’s verbal and non-verbal signs and start to understand the language. In the process of learning and understanding the language, language learners pay great attention to stress and intonation. Georgian language has weak dynamic stress. Foreign language teachers always pronounce words clearly, marking stressed syllables. They also mark learners’ attention to certain phonemes and point at certain endings of the words, stressing the last  syllables of the words; Thus, initially, language learners study the language through listening, ignoring grammar rules.

Language learners easily learn language through dialogues. The role of stress and intonation is great in dialogues. The forms of the words in short sentences are more easily remembered than in long texts. In the process of teaching L2 we pay attention to the parts of speech that are frequently used in communication.

In the process of listening and speaking we frequently use the method “parallel dialogues” that means involvement of another person in the process of speaking. This is an interactive lesson is a great fun for language learners and is practically proved. Listening to the dialogues and repeating it, is another helpful method employed by us.

We observed that language learners in dialogues prefer using short answers. Teachers should point to the problem and try to eradicate students’ tendency to answer the questions too briefly.

Learning a second language through listening is one of the best teaching strategies.