Patterns are everywhere and we humans are experts as recognizing them, and even creating them. Our brains love patterns. Whatever you’re teaching, vowels sounds, syllable stress, intonation, teach it as part of a pattern. But patterns, our great strength, can also prevent us from recognizing new information. Watch this Youtube video about people’s expectations, and how it affects their processing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVtCO84MDj8
If you’re working with someone who hasn’t been able to change their sound, maybe it’s because they’re processing the new learning (strange sounds of L2) into an existing framework (an unconscious understanding of L1). They don’t incorporate difficult English sounds because they don’t fit into the existing framework of L1. The challenging sounds of English don’t “stick” to anything and so they inevitably slide away. Help learners create a new “sticky” framework or pattern for English sounds; something that isn’t part of what they already know. But how can we master something we can’t even perceive?
This leads us to Principle #2: The Value of Disequilibrium.