Abstract
This study analyzed changes in the pronunciation-related cognitions of undergraduate TESL students from two Canadian universities during their first term in their programs. The students from one university attended a 13-week course in phonology and pronunciation teaching, while those from the other university received no specific training in pronunciation. Towards the end of the term, the participants who received specialized training had more favorable views of explicit pronunciation teaching and became more confident in their ability to teach pronunciation than the comparison group. The course also helped the participants increase in awareness of their own speech and limitations. The findings point to the importance of native-nonnative speaker interactions in shaping cognitions and suggest that more support to nonnative-speaking TESL students and more training in the use of communicative activities would be helpful.
Highlights
Several researchers have identiied a need among English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers for more specialized training in pronunciation pedagogy (e.g., Derwing & Munro, 2005; Foote, Holtby, & Derwing, 2011)
Cognition Changes Ater heory his part of the results section will address changes in the participants’ cognitions from the irst questionnaire, which was given at the beginning of their irst term in the TESL program, to the second questionnaire, given two months later. his coincides with the end of the theoretical blocks of the treatment group’s phonology course, just before the start of the pronunciation teaching tutorials
The indings of this study suggest that speciic training that combines an introduction to English phonology and guidelines for pronunciation teaching has a positive impact on pre-service ESL teachers’ cognitions
Summary
Several researchers have identiied a need among English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers for more specialized training in pronunciation pedagogy (e.g., Derwing & Munro, 2005; Foote, Holtby, & Derwing, 2011). The efects of this type of training on pre-service and in-service teachers’ beliefs and practices have not been suiciently explored. His study focuses speciically on teachers’ beliefs, as there is compelling evidence to suggest that what teachers believe can afect their behavior in class and learner outcomes. Self-eicacy, for example, which is deined as teachers’ belief in their ability to inluence students’ performance (Bandura, 1977; Tschannen-Moran, Hoy, & Hoy, 1998), has been found to positively correlate with willingness to try out diferent practices (Ghaith & Yaghi, 1997; Smylie, 1988) and with learning outcomes (Ashton & Webb, 1986). Teachers having learned the language as nonnative speakers (NNSs), for example, is one factor that has been found to potentially inluence their TC. Similar results were found by Samimy and Brutt-Griler (1999), who analyzed classroom discussions, interviews, and autobiographical accounts by 17 students (all NNSs) enrolled in a graduate-level Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) seminar in the United States. he participants reported having language diiculties in several areas, and most of them believed that these diiculties hindered their teaching
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