English Pronunciation Research Articles

Applying the Pronunciation Power Software to Enhance English Pronunciation Skills for University Students at Tan Trao University

The article is based on the general argument about the Pronunciation Power software, English pronunciation skills, and the importance of teaching and learning pronunciation to conduct a survey on the current state of English prownunciation learning among college students at Tan Trao University. The aim is to provide an experimental basis for the application of the Pronunciation Power software to enhance English pronunciation skills for university students at Tan Trao University. The experimental results show that the academic performance, stability, and knowledge retention of students in the experimental class are higher than those in the control class. This is in line with the scientific hypothesis and confirms that the application of the Pronunciation Power software to enhance English pronunciation skills for college students at Tan Trao University is necessary, meaningful, and effective.

Corpus-based English Pronunciation Learning System in English Teaching

Corpus-based English Pronunciation Learning System in English Teaching

Phonological Competence and Performance of Second Language Learners: Production of ed-ending Verbs by English Students in Public Tertiary Institutions in Gombe State

The study aims to investigate the production of English verbs ending in -ed by English students in tertiary institutions. Thus, it describes regular past tense verbs are produced by English learners from different native languages. In the process, each participant will be individually audio-recorded reading a passage with regular past tense verbs and will be given a questionnaire which contains items testing three manifestations of ‘ed’ morpheme in terms of pronunciation. Thus, the instruments to be used in data collection are closed-ended questionnaires and sound recordings of participant reading of prepared passages. The participants will be individually audio recorded using a digital audio-recorder. The participants may have demonstrated English pronunciation knowledge when responding to the questionnaire but missed the pronunciation while reading. This may be attributed to the difference between language learners’ competence and performance. Consequently, the study attempts to add to the field by investigating regular past tense verb productions by English learners from different first language backgrounds. Thus, it may have pedagogical suggestions for teaching pronunciation particularly that of verbs ending with –ed so teachers and authors of pronunciation manuals should take into account the target-like voicing assimilation processes as well as possible syllable simplification strategies manifesting in second language learners’ production of the target language.

Types of English Pronunciation Errors among Egyptian English Major Post-graduate Students

Types of English Pronunciation Errors among Egyptian English Major Post-graduate Students

Retracted: Design of Regression Model for MultiParameter Evaluation of English Pronunciation Quality

Retracted: Design of Regression Model for MultiParameter Evaluation of English Pronunciation Quality

A Quasi-Experimental Study of English Vocabulary Teaching Based on Incidental Acquisition

Recent years have witnessed a phenomenon that major English teachers in China have adopted the traditional teaching pattern, mechanically linking English pronunciations directly with the meaning of Chinese, which gradually dampens learners’ enthusiasm. The chief purpose of this paper was to design one English vocabulary teaching lesson based on incidental acquisition. More specifically, the questions raised are, on the one hand, whether incidental vocabulary teaching imprints differences on the learning outcomes for middle school students, and, on the other hand, whether incidental acquisition results in positive feedback between teachers and students. The technique we applied was referred to as questionnaires and interviews addressed to a sample of 68 students. Focusing on the effect of incidental vocabulary acquisition, the analysis demonstrated that it could enhance students’ vocabulary capacity. In addition, it was interesting to note that excellent students and average students tended to embrace the new teaching style while underachievers were on the opposite side. On this basis, it is recommended for English teachers to design English vocabulary lessons, adopting visual, auditory, oral, reading or writing training. More precisely, they should use phonics rules and patterns, holistic learning, classified vocabulary teaching, visual illustration or multimedia teaching to give lessons effectively and expand learners’ vocabulary.

Retracted: Automatic English Pronunciation Evaluation Algorithm Based on Sequence Matching and Feature Fusion

Retracted: Automatic English Pronunciation Evaluation Algorithm Based on Sequence Matching and Feature Fusion

高校英语专业学生语音课堂学习感受调查

高校英语专业学生语音课堂学习感受调查

AI-POWERED APPS TO ENHANCE NOVICE NEWSREADERS’ ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION

Among the goals that Communication students, who are ESP learners, desire to achieve is to become professional newsreaders who can deliver the news in both Indonesian and English. These novice newsreaders with little to no knowledge about news delivery in English often face problems with English pronunciation. This study aims to help forty-one novice newsreaders, who are students of the Islamic Broadcasting and Communication Department, with their English pronunciation using AI-powered apps and to reveal their perceptions of the apps. The students were involved in one cycle of Classroom Action Research (CAR), where they had to make a video of them reading English news before using the apps as the pre-test and another video after the lecturer taught them how to use the apps as the post-test. The researcher distributed a questionnaire via Google Form after the post-test to complete the data. The results show that AI-powered apps can enhance novice newsreaders’ English pronunciation, especially in the aspects of Accuracy, Key Words, Chunking and Pausing, Intonation, as well as Sounds and Vocal Features; yet, Intonation becomes the lowest improved aspect. Also, the respondents believed that the apps help them with their future job as newsreaders, are easy to use, and give instant feedbacks, which are necessary for independent learning and suitable for ESP learners. The ELSA app rose to the top of the list of the respondents’ favorites. Finally, it is recommended that future researchers carry out comparable studies that focus on one or two particular English sounds evaluated across multiple cycles.

A Study on Native and Nonnative Teacher Assessment of Korean-speaking Children’s English Pronunciation

This study investigates the variability of native and nonnative raters in their assessments of Korean-speaking English (KSE) learners’ pronunciation with and without regards to the students’ English proficiency. Sixty 6th graders participated as speakers, and four KSE teachers and four native English-speaking (NES) teachers participated as assessors. The KSE and NES teacher ratings of the students’ English pronunciation in segmentals, stress-rhythm, and intonation were analyzed using t-tests and ANOVA.
 The results were as follows. The KSE teachers were stricter on the assessments of the students’ pronunciation in the three features across students of all English proficiency levels. The main effect of the KSE and NES raters on the assessments of the three features did not vary significantly according to the students’ English proficiency. The NES and KSE teacher ratings of the three features conformed to the students’ proficiency levels diagnosed by a written test. Both groups of raters tended to assess the accuracy of the suprasegmentals significantly higher than that of segmentals across students of all English proficiency levels, although the two assessor groups differed in the accuracy of segmentals and intonation for students of upper and intermediate levels. Based on the findings, implications for teaching and assessing English pronunciation were suggested.

Junior High School Students’ Perception of Using Mobile Application to Learn English Pronunciation

Technology into their teaching as well as how to assist students in making use of resources such as media and the internet to improve their learning of all four skills, particularly teaching and learning English pronunciation. Students are gradually motivated by their personal learning needs, including those that arise from greater mobility and traveling activities, during the initial period of mobile learning. Mobile learning, particularly Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL), has become essential tools in the teaching and learning process as a result of this process. The purpose of this research is to look into junior high school students' perceptions of using a mobile app to learn English pronunciation. This study is an action research project that was carried out in one of Indonesia's Islamic Junior High Schools with first-grade students as participants (a total of 65 students). Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. The results revealed that students perceived the use of mobile application in learning pronunciation positive and it can enhanceding the participants’ English pronunciation skills. The data analysis is shown by their positive feedbacks during the action implementation. The findings of this study suggest that various teaching media and tools be used to improve the English language skills of Junior High School students in the future. In this era, teachers are required to understand how to incorporate.

STUDENTS' ENGLISH VOWEL PRONUNCIATION IN HANDLING PHONE CALLS

Language is an important aspect of communication, and is a tool for expressing ourself, thoughts and ideas. Currently, people are required to master a foreign language, one of the most widely used languages is English. In mastering English, as well as learning languages in general, it has been divided into five skills, namely speaking, listening, writing, reading, and structure/ grammar. One of the skills discussed in this study is speaking (pronunciation of vowels) in the practice of handling telephone calls. In this study, data collection was collected by using the observation method and the data analyzed in this study were qualitative data. The data was obtained from 20 students of Triatma Mulya University who were taking English course in Post Intermediate Level. Then the data was processed using qualitative descriptive analysis techniques. During the learning process, students experience problems in pronouncing English. This can be seen in the pronunciation of vowel sounds that are not in accordance with the pronunciation standards in English especially vowel pronunciation such as /É”/ which becomes /a/, vowel /É’/ which becomes /o/, /i:/ which becomes /e/, and vowel /u:/ which becomes /o/. In addition to students' English pronunciation, during the learning process several obstacles were also found, such as barriers from linguistic factors, barriers to mastery of content components including topics, content structure, content quality, and content quantity. Keywords: speaking, pronunciation, vowel sounds.

English Pronunciation Teaching in NNS Settings: A Re-Consideration of Conceptual and Methodological Paradigms

English Pronunciation Teaching in NNS Settings: A Re-Consideration of Conceptual and Methodological Paradigms

Exploring English Language Proficiency, English Language Problems, and English Needs Among First Year Undergraduate Students

English is used widely worldwide and is recognized as the most important language for communication. This research focused on the needs, problems, and proficiency levels in the English language for first-year students majoring in English for Business Management. A questionnaire, an Intensive English test, and a semi-structured interview were used to conduct this research with 40 undergraduate students. Participants achieved low scores in every area of the Intensive English test and expressed their problems and needs in studying the English language. The participants had the desire to learn speaking, reading, writing, and listening language skills, and native English-speaking teachers as well as Thai teachers took turns teaching as requested. The challenges faced when learning English included students’ inability to listen and speak the language. Moreover, students need to improve their English pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. The research shows the importance of English at higher education levels and understanding the needs of students with different levels of English proficiency in order to prepare them to be ready to use the language for education and work in the future. Students who want to study English for Business Management must have a good foundation in English to further expand their knowledge in the curriculum, which has an emphasis on using English skills in various areas, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Furthermore, one of the project objectives is to prepare students for the first semester of their university life.

Modern Technologies for the Teaching of English Pronunciation: A Survey of Elementary School Teachers of AJ&K

The aim of the study was to analyze the Use of Modern Technology for the Teaching of English Pronunciation at the Elementary Level in District Kotli AJ&K. The study was descriptive in nature and used a survey method for data collection. The study population was 288 elementary school teachers. A simple random sampling technique was used for the selection of the sample. The sample size was consisted of two hundred (200) respondents. Five-point Likert scale questionnaire was used as a research instrument to get the responses from the respondents. The reliability of the instrument was checked by using Cronbach’s alpha statistical technique. The questionnaire was consisted of 30 items. The researcher collected the data personally from the sample of the study. Simple percentage, mean scores and standard deviations analyzed the collected data, and also analyzed the t-test.

Acculturation Strategy and its Influence on the use of Rhoticity by Polish Adult Immigrants to Wales

Migration to a foreign country can be a complex process involving the adjustment to a new culture and the acquisition of a second language (L2). Acculturation, the process by which an individual integrates their native values and behaviours with those of the host culture, is an integral part of this process. It has been suggested that the choice of acculturation strategy can either facilitate or hinder L2 acquisition (Schumann, 1986; Berry, 1997). Pronunciation is a vital aspect of L2 proficiency and is often seen as mediating an individual's identity in the host culture (Piske et al., 2001). This study focuses on the pronunciation patterns of ten adult Polish immigrants living in Welshpool, Wales, and attempts to examine the potential relationship between a chosen acculturation strategy (adaptation or preservation) and the use of rhoticity in English. Rhoticity, a salient feature of British English pronunciation that varies in use and quality depending on the region (Wells, 1982), has been previously studied in relation to the use of rhoticity by Polish speakers (Jaworski, 2010; Jaworski & Gillian, 2011; Stolarski, 2013, 2015; Zając, 2016; Rojczyk & Zając, 2017; Matysiak, 2020), with a notable emphasis on the use of taps in intervocalic and post-vocalic positions. The present study found some inconsistencies in the use of rhoticity in English.

Pronunciation Difficulties and Challenges in the Field of Research in Jordan

This paper presents the current evidence regarding English pronunciation challenges and problems in the Jordanian context by reviewing related literature. The present study was carried out to determine the extent to which pronunciation research regarding challenges is carried out in Jordan. The available literature on pronunciation is limited to phonological variances, consonants’ and vowels’ variations, syllable structure differences and similarities, and mother tongue as an effective element. In order to achieve this objective identifying pronunciation difficulties and challenges in the field of research in Jordan, this study followed systematic literature review (SLR) framework adapted from previous studies in this regard. The findings revealed that one of the key problems in learning English language pronunciation is related to the socio-psycho variables e.g., anxiety, self-confidence, motivation, attitudes and so on noting that studies investigated did not present these factors in detail and they focused more on the role of learners’ native language, exposure to language, phonemic variations and vowels, and syllable structures’ differences. Hence, future studies in this regard are recommended to investigate the challenges related to anxiety, self-confidence, motivation, attitudes and their role on affecting pronunciation teaching and learning.

Student-Teacher Conferences in an English Pronunciation Course: Goals, Characteristics and Views

Student-teacher conferences are considered an effective pedagogical tool for individualized writing instruction. Yet, little is known about the goals, characteristics and perceptions of student-teacher conferences for individualized English as a second language (ESL) pronunciation instruction. This article presents an exploratory study on student and instructor perceptions of mandatory student-teacher conferences in a semester-long ESL pronunciation course. Data were gathered from 24 college ESL students and five experienced ESL instructors via pre-/post-instruction read-aloud tests, four questionnaires and a focus group discussion. The results indicated pronunciation improvement during the course and participants’ overall satisfaction with the learning outcomes, goals, format and characteristics of the conferences. Participants’ views on benefits, drawbacks, and recommendations for these one-on-one meetings revealed valuable insights for pronunciation instructors.

A Voice Recognition Based Game Design for More Accurate Pronunciation of English

The development of technology has made it considerably easier for people to meet a number of needs. Without technology, it is no longer possible to run certain applications. Nowadays, in many countries, the process of speaking English poses some problems in terms of different situations, such as allocating time for people. In this study, a game-based application was developed to help a person anywhere in the world pronounce English better. The application was implemented in C # programming language. The Speech.dll library was used to introduce voice commands to the system and to perform other necessary operations. Voice commands can be sent by the user via the wireless headset from anywhere in the shooting area. There is no need to wait at the computer while using the application because the developed application gives voice feedback to the user that it is right or wrong after the voice recognition process. In this application letter, word or sentence exercises can be done. The program aims to improve the level of pronunciation of people who want to improve their English speaking skills.

Phonemic Characterization of the Production of English Consonants by Nonnative Saudi Speakers

The current study characterizes the production of English consonants by Saudi L2 speakers and offers pedagogical implications for teachers and curriculum designers. Fifteen nonnative Saudi speakers, with at least one of year of residence in an English-speaking country, were recorded individually reading an English passage containing all the English consonants. Their recordings were subjected to a segmental, phonemic analysis to identify and describe any phonemic mispronunciation. The following consonants were found challenging to the Saudi L2 speakers: /v/, /?/, /p/ and /?/. Their production of these consonants was characterized by devoicing of /v/, inserting /g/ after /?/, voicing or lack of aspiration of /p/, and trilling or tapping of /?/. L1 influence played the main role in their mispronunciation. Their production of /v/ and /p/ resulted in phonemic substitutions with /f/ and /b/, respectively. These substitutions have the potential of being detrimental to speech intelligibility according to the Functional Load Principle and Lingua Franca Core; therefore, they should be prioritized in teaching English pronunciation to Saudi learners. The paper concludes by outlining pedagogical implications and offering tips for teaching English pronunciation to Saudi learners.