Pronunciation Fluency Research Articles

Exploring EFL students’ pronunciation learning supported by corpus-based language pedagogy

Recent advances in corpus-based language pedagogy (CBLP) have proven effective for teaching text-based language skills such as reading and writing. However, its application to spoken language, particularly for improving pronunciation, has received little attention. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of a CBLP-supported pronunciation course focusing on segmental and suprasegmental features to enhance students’ pronunciation accuracy and fluency. Seventy-four EFL students participated in a 14-week quasi-experimental study using pre- and post-tests, surveys, and interviews. Results indicated significant improvements in both the segmental and suprasegmental aspects of students’ pronunciation, with large effect sizes in reading accuracy, phonetic accuracy, and pronunciation fluency. Interview responses revealed that students perceived this CBLP-supported approach as beneficial, reporting positive impacts on their access to authentic spoken language, awareness of pronunciation features, and listening and speaking skills. Students also appreciated the opportunities for autonomous learning and expressed a desire for continued access to spoken corpora, along with further teacher guidance and exposure to written corpora for enhancing other skills.

Efficiency of phonics-based instruction in developing reading, spelling, and pronunciation fluency among Yemeni EFL primary learners

In Yemen, there is a scarcity of research and a lack of application for phonics-based instruction. Hence, the present study aimed to explore EFL teachers' perspectives on the efficiency of phonics instruction in developing reading, spelling and pronunciation fluency among Yemeni EFL learners at primary schools. The study sample comprised 33 EFL teachers from six schools in Dhamar City, Yemen. The participants were asked to give their views and share their experiences on the efficacy of phonics-based instruction in developing the above-mentioned language skills. The participants were selected based on the convenient sampling technique and asked to respond to a questionnaire consisting of 15 statements. The data obtained were analyzed using the SPSS program version 22.0 to display descriptive statistics quantitatively. The results revealed that teaching phonics is so crucial for the development and improvement of learners' reading fluency, spelling mastery, and pronunciation proficiency. In addition, phonics teaching contributes to reducing and/or eliminating the learners' errors in spelling, reading, and pronunciation. The findings highlighted the importance of integrating phonics teaching into the curricula of English in the early stages at Yemeni schools.

Does brand name matter in social media marketing? The interaction effect of brand name and ranking on behavior intention: a case of business school students in the US Midwest

ABSTRACT This study examines the interplay of university brand name and ranking on behavior intention in both social media (e.g. Facebook) and traditional media (e.g. Magazine) contexts. One pre-test and two experiments were performed to test the interaction effect of brand name and raking on behavior intention and the underlying mechanism of the effect with the sample of US business school students in the Midwest. The findings demonstrate that brand name does not matter very much in lower-ranking universities. But in higher-ranking universities, brand name adaptation leads to higher behavior intention. In addition, the mediation test demonstrates that processing fluency (pronunciation fluency and meaning fluency) is the underlying mechanism to determine the behavior intention. In traditional media (e.g. magazine) context, the processing fluency effect is more dominant in lower-ranking university brands. Several theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Analysis of the Effect of Speaking Skills on The Ability of Commenting Story Books with Talent as A Moderator Variable at Private Middle School in Medan

Abstract: This study aims to find out the level of students' ability to comment on storybook by determining the intrinsic elements. The level of students' ability to comment on storybook researched based on the effect of speaking skill. The method used in this study is the experimental method with quantitative approach. The data obtained by using the description test through recorder and oral test. Based on the story that has been read by the teacher, 38 eighth grade students who are chosen as the respondents are asked to retell the story in front of the class. The assessment given to the respondents include clarity, speech fluency, pronunciation fluency, intonation, word choice accuracy, body flexibility, subject mastery, and completeness. The results of this study indicate that in the post-test, the speaking skill of students reach an average value of 65.58, or categorized fair. Meanwhile, in the post-test, the students reach an average value of 80.21, or categorized good. Therefore, it can be concluded from the results that there speaking skill has an effect on students’ ability to comment on storybook in class VIII of Private Middle School in Medan. Thus, this proves that the data obtained by students categorized good. Keywords: Speaking, Skills, Commengting, Book, Talent

USING GOOGLE SEARCH FOR ENGLISH GRAMMAR LEARNING

Background/Purpose: Second/foreign language learners face problems in different areas such as correct word usage, grammatical accuracy, and pronunciation fluency. This paper responds to one of these problems by investigating the impact of strategic Google Search on Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ grammar learning.
 
 Methodology: Sixty Iranian intermediate EFL learners from a private English language institute in Isfahan, Iran were selected and randomly divided into two groups. To find which areas of grammar are most problematic among the participants, a multiple-choice grammar pretest which was validated by five English experts was given to them. Then 10 questions that most participants answered wrongly were selected as the most challenging ones. During 10 class sessions, the participants were taught how to select the correct choice through Google Search. In fact, each participant in the class had a laptop connected to the internet. The researcher taught them how to search on Google strategically and the participants found out that in Google sites there are some sentences which are grammatically wrong and they should not trust them. They learned how to search strategically for the correct choices. At the end of the sessions they answered a posttest containing different questions but in the same grammatical areas. The pretest and posttest both were conducted while the participants were connected to internet sites.
 
 Findings: Data analysis was done through running t-test using SPSS software and statistically significant difference was revealed. The findings showed that those participants who were taught how to strategically use Google Search performed better in the posttest. Therefore, the results revealed that correct Google Search had improved the Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ grammar knowledge. 
 
 Contributions: This study has several implications for both language learners and teachers regarding the use of Google platform for English grammar learning. In addition, it contributes to the body of knowledge that strategic Google Search does not only improve the Iranian EFL learners’ English grammar but also make them less dependent on teachers thus promoting autonomous learning.
 
 Keywords: Google search, EFL learners, grammar learning, intermediate EFL learners, Iran, web-based instruction.
 
 Cite as: Tavakoli, M. (2021). Using Google search for English grammar learning. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 6(2), 318-339. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss2pp318-339

The Use of Songs as Teaching Media to Improve Students’ Pronunciation Fluency

The use of songs to improve student’s fluency is not only for pleasant study but also for enriching their vocabulary. This research paper is to investigate song effectivity as teaching media to improve university students’ fluency. To answer the research question, this study used the pertinence of classroom observations, by using songs and documents. The result results indicate that songs are effective to improve students’ pronunciation.

Looking for an EIL Pronunciation Standard: A Literature Review and Classroom Experience from the Russian L1 Perspective

This article concerns itself with the identification of language units essential to the intelligibility of communication of non-native English speakers (NNESs) in international settings, or English as an international language (EIL) communication. It focuses on a seemingly narrow but nevertheless significant area of speech production and reception – pronunciation. Based on the works of pronunciation scholars and classroom experience, we outline areas of concern for NNES training and suggest pronunciation foci for Russian learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). We specifically examine areas where academic discourse goals overlap with the goals of developing NNES pronunciation fluency and rhetorical competence, targeting those features that, if improved upon, would make NNES speech sound intelligible, educated and cultured as the academic environment requires. We consider these features in view of their importance for two emerging pedagogical domains: English as a lingua franca (ELF) and English as a medium of instruction (EMI), particularly taking into account their approach to NNESs’ identity and attitude.