Even if it is most often not referred to as such, phonetics is usually one of the first things taught to new language students along with the writing system of the language they are learning. Thinking about your own language learning experiences, what strategies did your teacher(s) use to teach you the phonetics of the language you were learning? What aspects of learning to match sounds with writing and vice versa were challenging, and why? Do you think an alternative approach would have been more helpful?
Be sure to use terminology and concepts from the readings to support your response.
(If you’re having trouble thinking of what to write, some other questions you might consider in responding to the questions above might be: Do you think a more detailed description of how articulatory phonetics works would have been helpful to you as a learner? Should all language learners need to know the IPA for the sound inventory of the language they are studying? How important do you think it is for students to have a strong understanding of the phonetics and/or ability to pronounce all the sounds of the target language? etc.)
