Pronunciation Course Research Articles

Smakman, D. Clear English pronunciation: A practical guide

Abstract Clear English Pronunciation: A Practical Guide by Dick Smakman (2020) is intended to be a course in English pronunciation for learners who would like to speak English more effectively and be better understood. The author’s goal is to provide learners with the opportunity to work on their own pronunciation targets rather than go through an entire course with varying degrees of relevance to their needs. Overall, while this textbook could be a useful academic guide to English pronunciation since it covers everything from segmentals to prosody, it might be difficult to effectively implement as a course for improving pronunciation. As such, it may be best suited as a teacher’s resource for courses led by instructors and tutors who teach within a communicative framework.

EFL Teachers' Beliefs and Practices of Teaching Pronunciation in a Vietnamese Setting

A plethora of research has witnessed the relationship between beliefs and practices that influence how language teachers make their own decisions to improve their instruction and enhance student learning at tertiary education. In particular, to date, there has been a growing interest in pronunciation teaching of English as a foreign or second language. However, research into beliefs and practices of foreign language learning, namely English, with regard to pronunciation within the Vietnamese context is still scarce. This current study, therefore, is aimed to explore what beliefs teacher hold and how they teach pronunciation in a Vietnamese context. This paper draws on data collected as part of a larger study including questionnaires, interviews, and observations over a fifteen-week semester of an EFL pronunciation course. The focus of this paper is on the data from the questionnaire and observations. The study was conducted with seventy teachers at an English language center in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The findings indicate that the teachers had positive beliefs about teaching pronunciation and that the teachers integrated pronunciation in their English classes with specific focus on intelligibility. The findings further extend the literature on pronunciation teaching practices by providing insights into how contextual factors mediate teachers' existing beliefs and actual happenings that inform their future practices by reflecting on their professional development and learning regarding pronunciation as crucial constituent of learners' communicative competence. The paper concludes by discussing pedagogical implications for teachers, school administrators for the sake of better pronunciation instruction.

Visualizing Mismatches in Pronunciation among EL2 Chinese Learners at Segmental Level

In our pronunciation courses, segmental level in English pronunciation plays a very important role in perception and teaching of English pronunciation. This research aims to investigate into the most salient pronunciation problems at segmental level by fresh college students from Mainland China through an experimental study, and it is found that the mismatches identified in the segmental level of English pronunciation are corresponded with the phonological features of the utterance of Chinese English. Moreover, in order to improve fresh college student’ pronunciation and achieve the pronunciation of Standard English, some pedagogical implications and suggestions about teaching strategies are provided in this study which aimed at the most salient mismatches discovered in the research findings.

Voice and Mirroring in SLA: Top-Down Pedagogy for L2 Pronunciation Instruction

There are two broad approaches to the research and teaching of second-language (L2) pronunciation—‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’—which roughly align with structural and communicative approaches to language teaching. A bottom-up approach, explicitly focusing on de-contextualised linguistic forms, is structuralist and predominated in the second half of the 20th century; a top-down approach to L2 pronunciation takes a more communicative orientation, defining the instructional goal not as acquiring a native-speaker accent, but rather as ‘intelligibility.’ In consideration of this pronunciation goal (i.e. intelligibility) and recent L2 acquisition theoretical frameworks emphasising the role of social and contextual factors in shaping interlanguage (IL) systems, we argue that a top-down approach is paramount to L2 pronunciation instruction. Drawing on variationist research on IL phonology and a brief recount of International Teaching Assistant pronunciation course programs in the US, we present the Mirroring Project as an effective top-down pedagogical approach for L2 pronunciation instruction.

Exploring Visual Mispronunciation at Segmental Level among EL 2 Chinese Students

In our pronunciation courses, segmental level in English pronunciation plays a very important role in perception and teaching of English pronunciation. This research aims to investigate into the most salient pronunciation problems at segmental level by fresh college students from Mainland China through an experimental study, and it is found that the mismatches identified in the segmental level of English pronunciation are corresponded with the phonological features of the utterance of Chinese English. Moreover, in order to improve fresh college students’ pronunciation and achieve the pronunciation of Standard English, some pedagogical implications and suggestions about teaching strategies are provided in this study which aimed at the most salient mismatches discovered in the research findings. 

Rancang Bangun E-Learning Pronunciation Bahasa Inggris STKIP Setiabudhi Rangkasbitung Berbasis Web

Lecture courses in the English Language Education Study Program of STKIP Setiabudhi Rangkasbitung are still conducted in face-to-face class, so the students who do not attend lectures cannot know the pronunciation material at that time, because the Pronunciation course is a practical course in the English pronunciation system. The E-Learning Pronunciation is built so that lectures can be carried out anywhere and anytime without reducing the quality of the teaching and learning process. Therefore, the students who are left behind can continue to follow the Pronunciation course material, as well as habituating students in utilizing communication and information technology. E-Learning Pronunciation is important to be built to improve the ability of students’ pronunciation when doing distance learning, so that students are clearer and more firm in understanding Pronunciation so that there are no errors in English pronunciation. Participants in this study were first semester students of English education study programs. This study uses an experimental research design with the Prototype System development method and system of testing uses Black box testing.

ELSA Speak Application as a Supporting Media in Enhancing Students’ Pronunciation Skill

This research aimed at verifying the effectiveness of using ELSA Speak Application in enhancing students’ pronunciation skills. It applied a quantitative method. Specifically, it used a pre-experimental research design. The population was the English study program students of STKIP Muhammadiyah Enrekang. The sample was the first semester students in the academic year 2018/ 2019. It was chosen through purposive sampling technique by considering that the sample took the pronunciation course at that time. The data were collected through pre-test and post-test which was conducted using the recording. The data attained were analyzed statistically. The result shows that the pre-test means the score is 1.96 while the post-test mean score is 5.79 by applying 0.05 level of significance with 29 degrees of freedom (29), the t-test 6.28 was higher than the t-table 1.699. It indicated that the use of ELSA Speak application is effective in enhancing the pronunciation skill of the first semester students of STKIP Muhammadiyah Enrekang.

AN OBVERVATIONAL STUDY ON A BATAK ENGLISH LEARNER IN CONSONANT SOUND PRODUCTION

This article reports on the result of a study aiming to describe what difficulties experienced by Batak English learner in consonant sound production and the factors which cause him difficult to produce those sounds. The study was conducted to Batak English learner who is still taking pronunciation course in the first semester in the English study program at one of private universities in East Java, Indonesia. The study used a qualitative case study research design with the data collected from the analysis of students’ English consonants production and interview. The findings showed that all sounds of voiceless dental frecative consonant [θ] in initial position were pronounced into voiceless alveolar stop consonant [t] while the research participant was pronouncing the sound of voiced dental frecative consonant [ð], he mispronounced the sound into voiced alveolar stop consonant [d] in both initial and medial position. The sound of voiced alveolar affricate consonants [dʒ] was pronounced appropriately while voiceless alveolar affricate consonant was pronounced into voiceless alveolar fricative consonant [s]. The factors which cause the participant find it difficult to learn pronunciation were afraid of making mistakes, limited time to repeat it at home, and habit.

Using Kahoot as a skill improvement technique in pronunciation

Pronunciation is one of the main problems in language teaching and learning and it gets little attention. Most of students underestimate the importance of pronunciation considering that pronunciation is less important than other aspects of language. Many researchers investigated the weakness of pronunciation among students in all stages. However, there is still a strong need to develop pronunciation of foreign language students. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using Kahoot application for developing EFL pronunciation and conducted with second year students at advanced level from Translation and Interpretation Department at Selcuk University in Turkey. A diagnostic test provided in a pronunciation course material was used in order to determine mispronouncing sounds. The study followed the two groups (control and experimental) with pre-post-test design. The pre-test was administered to the students of both groups at the beginning. After the administration of the pre-test, for instruction session, the control group followed the activities in the course material and experimental group was taught using Kahoot application for the same activities. Then, the post-test was administered to both groups. The results were statistically analyzed (t-test) and the findings revealed that the EFL pronunciation skills of the experimental group were developed as a result of using Kahoot application. It is recommended that Kahoot application can be used in different educational stages for developing EFL pronunciation skills.

Performance-Based Testing in a French Pronunciation Course Using Speak Everywhere

Evaluating oral capabilities is a long-standing struggle in language courses. The author developed a series of Performance-Based Tests (PBTs) using Speak Everywhere, an online platform for oral homework and testing. Students record answers and have as many attempts as they need to complete the activities. In order to allow students the opportunity to compare PBTs and traditional testing, the author used paper-based quizzes during the first half of the semester and PBTs for the second half. Student response was positive. Suggestions for other implementations of PBTs using Speak Everywhere are provided.

К вопросу о составлении учебного пособия по фонетике для польских студентов-русистов

The article concerns theoretical premises leading to the development of a comprehensive Rus-sian pronunciation course for foreigners. The author of Fonetyka rosyjska. Praktyczny przewodnik po wymowie i intonacji z ćwiczeniami, was guided by two principles, meaning that the phonological system of the native language may be a starting point and the articulation base for learning foreign pronunciation as well as that the next learning units should be based on the most difficult parts of Russian phonetics – especially those in which an interference with Polish language is observed, and those which involve pronunciation mistakes, frequently made by Polish speaking people learn-ing Russian. Finally, the material layout consists of simultaneous isolation of difficulties during the systematic introduction of the new phonetic elements.

SONGS HELPED THEM LEARN THE ENGLISH CONNECTED SPEECH

In the previous years, the students at the place where the present study was conducted were taught the English connected speech through drill. This used to bring about students’ poor attitudes and unsatisfactory achievement. This study was aimed at examining if selected songs would improve the students’ connected speech performance. Nonequivalent Control Group Design was used in this experimental study. It involved six intact groups of students attending Pronunciation course – three were randomly assigned to the experimental group and the remaining three assigned to the control group. Both groups were pre-tested. The results were equal. After 3 sessions of connected speech lesson both groups were tested again. The post-test results of these two groups were then compared to see if the sample means were significantly different. As the study also aimed to find out the students’ perception towards the teaching practice implemented, a questionnaire was employed. The t-test showed that the difference of the sample means was not significantly large. Nevertheless, based on the feedbacks that were elicited through the questionnaire, the use of songs for teaching the English connected speech seemed to remain promising. Overall, the study showed that the use of songs for teaching the English connected speech tended to indicate a prospective better learning outcome. As the experiment took only 3 sessions, the chance for such treatment to be effective is increased if period of study is extended.

A aprendizagem de línguas assistida por dispositivos móveis para ultrapassar as barreiras dos alunos relativamente ao treino de pronúncia

This paper describes a qualitative investigation of learner’s perceptions of a mobile assisted language learning (MALL) tool for improving attitudes towards English pronunciation study. Our goal was to reduce the barriers to learning and improve learners’ experience. To do this, MALL was implemented via the development of an e-learning app called SOMONA. The curriculum design of the SOMONA program was based on Judy Gilbert’s Prosody Pyramid framework. The creative design was done intuitively through a series of brainstorming sessions. Simplicity, animation, bright colors and music were implemented as the key design features. Once the app passed usability testing, 20 learners were randomly selected to use the app and complete the English pronunciation course. Afterwards, they were given a survey to evaluate their attitudes towards the course material and the app as a learning tool. The objective was to determine if SOMONA was an effective way to overcome barriers to learning English pronunciation. The results showed an overwhelmingly positive response from the users and indicated that the application was indeed useful in overcoming learning barriers. More study needs to be done to determine if the app alone is effective in facilitating quantifiable improvement in English pronunciation.

Kazoo training for L2 pronunciation practice and reduced foreign accentedness?

ABSTRACTThis paper presents a controlled pretest–training–posttest study on using a small membraphone instrument called kazoo for L2 pronunciation practice and reducing foreign accentedness. Learners were recorded for free speech before and after a six-week pronunciation and oral skills course including L2 prosody training with personal kazoos. A control group did not receive any kazoo training but did similar tasks in regular speech. Samples of all learners’ free speech before and after the course were rated for foreign accentedness by L1 speakers. In addition, learners taking part in the kazoo group were interviewed in focus groups to ascertain their views on kazoo training. The results imply that the kazoo has potential as a pronunciation teaching and learning tool. Even if a group-specific analysis did not yield clear results, developing on an individual level was more common in the kazoo group. Moreover, many of the learners found positive aspects about kazooing. However, problems occurred as well; these are also reported on in this paper to hopefully help others who wish to conduct further teaching experiments and develop specialised tasks and materials for kazoo pronunciation practice.

Thai EFL Learners’ Self-perceived Pronunciation Competence and their Instructor-rated Performance

This paper reports on case study examining relationships between English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) students’ self-perceived pronunciation ability and their performance in an advanced pronunciation course at a Northeastern university in Thailand. The participants were 10 students randomly selected from a pool of 29 students enrolled in the course. The data came from classroom observations, students’ interviews and instructor’s interviews. The findings show that self-perception plays an important role in their pronunciation learning. In some cases, it was related to sociolinguistic factors, especially anxiety. The informants’personality was another important factor related to their language learning behavior and learning outcome.

Back to Orthoepia – Spelling in Pronunciation Instruction: “Words Commonly Mispronounced” by Learners of Six L1s

This is a continuation of Nowacka’s (2016) study on the importance of local and global errors and spelling in pronunciation instruction. Unlike in the previous research that focused on the performance of Polish learners only, respondents of six different nationalities are included, in search of some cross-national universals or absence of them. This study seeks to answer the following questions: whether there is a need to focus on spelling in a pronunciation course with learners representing six different L1s and if this is the case which graphophonemic / phonotactic rules of English should be explicitly taught to all of these learners and which ones might be L1 specific only. The intention is also to empirically confirm the existence of local errors in the performance of around 240 speakers and 50 more listeners, constituting 291 listeners of six nationalities (Kazakh, Malaysian, Polish, Turkish, Tajik and Ukrainian) and to confirm the usefulness of memorizing Sobkowiak’s (1996) ‘Words Commonly Mispronounced’ even for learners of different L1s.

Expanding pronunciation instructional time beyond the classroom: Microsoft Office 2016 OneNote Class Notebook as an interactive delivery platform

Like other performance‐based subjects such as theater or music, pronunciation is heavily time‐dependent because students need plentiful opportunities to receive input, practice skills, and get coaching and feedback from their teachers. When the Language Education and Partnerships Intensive English Program at Wright State University offered a short‐term, campus/community adult ESL pronunciation course, the course planner/teacher chose Microsoft's Office 2016 OneNote Class Notebook (ONCN) program to compensate for time and availability issues common to adult learners that would interfere with their characteristic desires to see substantial progress as they engage in personally significant activities in a low‐stress environment. ONCN's capacity for handling multiple data types, providing individualized content, and delivering multiple computer‐assisted pronunciation technologies on demand increased the flexibility and efficiency of delivering content, practice opportunities, and teacher–student interaction. Digital class notebooks were created, consisting of a content library to maintain reference and course materials, a collaboration space for cooperative learning activities, and individual student notebooks containing weekly assignments and individualized materials and practice opportunities. Students could also make audio and video recordings of themselves for teacher and self‐assessment and submit scripts to receive model recordings from the teacher. This article details how teachers can create and use course notebooks with ONCN to expand pronunciation learning opportunities.

Using corpus-based discourse analysis for curriculum development: Creating and evaluating a pronunciation course for internationally educated nurses

This paper discusses the development of corpus-based curriculum for ESP, with a focus on two underresearched areas: health care communication and the use of corpus materials for pronunciation. Three aspects of corpus-based curriculum development are explored: corpus-based needs analysis; corpus-based materials development; and corpus-based assessment and evaluation (Flowerdew, 2012; Tono, 2011). First, this paper briefly reports on a quantitative corpus-based analysis of 104 nurse-patient interactions that was conducted to identify needs of nurses in clinical interactions, with a focus on the findings related to pronunciation (pitch range, tone choice, and prominence/sentence stress). Key differences were found between international and U.S. nurse discourse in the use of these features. Next, the paper describes the curriculum for a Pronunciation for Nurses course, with an emphasis on corpus-based materials development from the corpus described above. Finally, the paper discusses the corpus-based assessment of participants' progress and an evaluation of the Pronunciation for Nurses curriculum, including pre and post-tests, interviews with nurse participants, interviews with ESL teachers, and course evaluations. The methods discussed in the paper have implications for other ESP contexts and other aspects of language use.

Second language prosody and its development: connection between different aspects

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the development of L2 prosody and, in particular, whether different aspects can affect each other. Finnish-speaking learners of Swedish took part in a pronunciation and oral skills course and were recorded for various speaking tasks before and after the experimental intervention. Read-aloud declarative sentences (statements) from nine learners were acoustically analysed for several tonal and temporal aspects, focusing on the marking of primary stress. The results reveal that the learning of Swedish tonal word accent 2 (H*LH) facilitates other tonal developments towards native-like utterance intonation. A link between tonal and temporal developments in the marking of primary stress was, however, not found, but the duration measurements suggest that articulation rate and tonal developments may be connected. The study’s implications for teaching and future research regarding any L2 – not only Swedish – include that aspects of learning L2 prosody should not be treated as separate, and that more emphasis should be placed on the possible connections between the learning of different aspects.

English pronunciation training through the eyes of university graduates

The aim of the current study is to examine the program of pronunciation training and its implementation from a new perspective, which is that of MA graduates. The data were obtained from 65 graduates of the Faculty of English at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań by means of an online survey. The research questions posed in the study explore the matter of taught models and varieties of English, materials, teaching, and opinions regarding the accent the participants received. By providing a new perspective on the teaching and learning of pronunciation the study might help university teachers to enhance the pronunciation courses in their institutions.