The Impact of Phonetics Instruction on Pronunciation Growth and Attitude Shifts Among EFL Undergraduates: Insights From Testing and Interviews
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1606.19Keywords:
English pronunciation, learning strategies, motivation, pronunciation proficiency, pronunciation growthAbstract
The present mixed-methods study investigated the effect of targeted phonetics instruction on the changing pronunciation and attitudes of 72 first-year female English majors at Majmaah University, KSA, in 2025. An experimental group of 36 participants received a 14-week intensive phonetics course, while a control group that also numbered 36 participants did not. Quantitative analysis of pre- and post-test pronunciation scores revealed a significant improvement in the experimental group with a mean increase of 4.37 points and no change in the control group. Furthermore, the experimental group demonstrated significantly higher motivation and engagement. Qualitative virtual interviews revealed that individuals believe learning pronunciation opens up work options and improves communication, despite difficulties with certain sounds. Effective teaching tactics can help learners overcome these challenges and gain confidence. To summarize, the study's findings emphasized the need to incorporate basic phonetics training into the EFL curriculum, particularly at the primary school level, through qualified teachers who can use systematic ways to foster pronunciation abilities. This study, with its considerable findings, provides important insights for improving EFL training.
References
Alghazo, S., Jarrah, M., & Al Salem, M. N. (2023). The efficacy of the type of instruction on second language pronunciation acquisition. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 8, p. 1182285). Frontiers Media SA.
Alghazo, S., & Zidan, M. (2019). Native-speakerism and professional teacher identity in L2 pronunciation learning. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 9(1), 241-251.
Alghazo, S. (2015). The Role of Curriculum Design and Teaching Materials in Pronunciatio Learning. Research in Language, 13(3), 316-333.
Agustine, D., Arvianti, I., & Heriyanto, E. (2022). The Improvement of Mispronunciation Is Encountered by Most Young English learners. Journal CULTURE (Culture, Language, and Literature Review), 9(1), 94-118.
Al-Jarf, R. (2022). Text-To-Speech Software for Promoting EFL Freshman Students' Decoding Skills and Pronunciation Accuracy. Journal of Computer Science and Technology Studies, 4(2), 19–30.
Alavinia, P., & Gholizadeh, M. (2017). Does Learner Motivation Impact Pronunciation Gains in the Light of Teacher and Peer Oral Corrective Feedback? Applied Research on English Language, 6(2), 159-178.
Abu-Rabia, S., & Kehat, S. (2004). The critical period for second language pronunciation: Is there such a thing? Educational Psychology, 24(1), 77-97.
Abd Elwahab, W. (2020). The effect of local Arabic dialects on learning English language pronunciation. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 11(1), 489-499.
Alzinaidi, M. H., & Latif, M. M. (2019). Diagnosing Saudi Students' English Consonant Pronunciation Errors. Arab World English Journal, 10(4), 180-193.
Ahmed, Z. A. D. A. (2017). Difficulties encountered by EFL students in learning pronunciation: A case study of Sudanese higher secondary schools. International Journal of English Linguistics, 7(4), 75-82.
Derwing, T. M. (2017). The efficacy of pronunciation instruction. In The Routledge handbook of contemporary English pronunciation (pp. 320-334). Routledge.Taylorfrancis.com.
Derwing, T. M., Munro, M. J., & Wiebe, G. (1998). Evidence in favor of a broad framework for pronunciation instruction. Language learning, 48(3), 393-410.
Fadillah, A. C. (2020). Pronunciation Difficulties of EFL Learners in Indonesia: A Literature Study. Journal Budaya Brawijaya, 2(1), 7-13.
Foote, J. A., & Trofimovich, P. (2017). Second language pronunciation learning: An overview of theoretical perspectives. The Routledge handbook of contemporary English pronunciation, 75-90.
Gagliardi, M. R. (2016). Speaking and Pronunciation Confidence of Middle School ESL Students at Various Proficiency Levels. Digitalcommons.hamline.edu.
Granena, G., & Long, M. H. (2013). Age of onset, length of residence, language aptitude, and ultimate L2 attainment in three linguistic domains. Second language research, 29(3), 311-343.
Gilakjani, A. P., & Ahmadi, M. R. (2011). Why Is Pronunciation So Difficult to Learn? English language teaching, 4(3), 74-83.
Gilakjani, A. P. (2012). The significance of pronunciation in English language teaching. English language teaching, 5(4), 96-107.
Gilakjani, A. P. (2012). A study of factors affecting EFL learners' English pronunciation learning and the strategies for instruction. International journal of humanities and social science, 2(3), 119-128.
Hameed, R. A. (2024, October). The Pronunciation Problems Encounter EFL Learners in Spoken English at University. In ZAC Conference Series: Social Sciences and Humanities (Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 41-52).
Hago, O. E., & Khan, W. A. (2015). The pronunciation problems faced by Saudi EFL learners at secondary schools. Education and Linguistics Research, 1(2), 85–99.
Hewings, M. (2004). Pronunciation Practice Activities. A Resource Book for Teaching English. Cambridge University Press.
Hancock, M. (2012). English Pronunciation in Use Intermediate with Answers. Cambridge University Press.
Kelly, G. (2006). How To Teach Pronunciation (With Cd). Pearson Education India.
Kobilova, N. R. (2022). Importance of pronunciation in English language communication. Academic research in educational sciences, 3(6), 592-597.
Khamkhien, A. (2010). Thai learners' English pronunciation competence: Lesson learned from word stress assignment. Journal of language teaching and research, 1(6), 757-764.
Lee, B., Plonsky, L., & Saito, K. (2020). The effects of perception-vs. production-based pronunciation instruction. System, 88, 102185.
Meisarah, F. (2023). Effecting Factors of Pronunciation Learning Strategies for University Students. Intelegensia: Jurnal Pendidikan dan Pembelajaran, 8(1), 57-69.
Marzá, N. E. (2014). Pronunciation and comprehension of oral English in the English as a foreign language class: Key aspects, students’ perceptions and proposals. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 5(2), 262-273.
O'Connor, J. D. (1980). Better English Pronunciation. Cambridge University Press.
Plailek, T. (2021). Pronunciation problems and factors affecting English pronunciation of EFL students. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education (TURCOMAT), 12(12), 2026-2033.
Pennington, M. C. (2021). Teaching pronunciation: The state of the art 2021. RELC Journal, 52(1), 3-21.
Reed, M., & Levis, J. M. (2019). The handbook of English pronunciation. John Wiley & Sons.
Reiterer, S. M. (Ed.). (2018). Exploring language aptitude: Views from psychology, the language sciences, and cognitive neuroscience (Vol. 16). Springer.
Saito, K. (2021). Effects of corrective feedback on second language pronunciation development. Cambridge University Press.
Saito, K. (2015). The role of age of acquisition in late second language oral proficiency attainment. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 37(4), 713–743.
Saito, K., Suzukida, Y., & Sun, H. (2019). Aptitude, experience, and second language pronunciation proficiency development in classroom settings: A longitudinal study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41(1), 201-225.
Shahzada, G. (2012). Views of the teachers regarding the students' poor pronunciation in English language. Journal of educational and social research, 2(1), 309–316.
Tabula, R. V., Suwanaroa, S., & Polerk, S. (2020). An Investigation of Factors Causing English Mispronunciation of Students in English for International Communication. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation, 3(11), 194-205.
Thomson, R. I., & Derwing, T. M. (2015). The effectiveness of L2 pronunciation instruction: A narrative review. Applied linguistics, 36(3), 326-344.
Wang, X. (2022). Segmental versus suprasegmental: Which one is more important to teach? RELC Journal, 53(1), 194-202.
