Pronunciation Learning Strategy Use of EFL Learners: Focused on 5th and 6th Graders in Primary School

Abstract

This study aims to investigate pronunciation learning strategies (PLS) use of 5th and 6th graders learning EFL in Korean elementary schools, including strategies they employ most and least frequently, and to discuss the relationship between PLS use and their grade, gender, and the level of interest in English. The questionnaire data about PLS use from 207 students were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVAs, and post-hoc tests. The responses to open-ended questions were qualitatively analyzed. Participants showed medium strategy use in six PLS categories. They also reported using memory and cognitive strategies most frequently, and metacognitive strategies least frequently. The most frequently used strategies involved repeating aloud and trying to remember the teachers’ pronunciation, whereas planning pronunciation learning and avoiding saying difficult words were used least frequently. Fifth graders and females used more strategies with higher mean scores than sixth graders and males. However, two strategies such as checking the sounds of words on a computer and learning pronunciation with peers varied significantly by grade, and a significant gender difference occurred in one strategy like practicing sounds in words and then in sentences. Noticeably, EFL learners’ levels of interest in English had the most significant effect on overall PLS use.