The impact of teaching absent consonants on Iranian female intermediate EFL learners’ pronunciation

Journal Title: International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences - Year 2014, Vol 8, Issue 10

Abstract

Teaching pronunciation to learners of English as a foreign language has always been a controversial issue. Some believe that it is useless to teach pronunciation in isolation and explicitly. Some others believe that the teacher’s explicit explanation will certainly help the learners improve their pronunciation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the instruction of pronouncing absent consonants of English in Persian would have an effect on female intermediate EFL learners’ pronunciation. For this purpose 80 students from Iran Language Institute in Rasht participated in the study. In order to make them homogenized, an OPT test was given to them. 46 were assigned intermediate, and they were randomly assigned into two groups of 23 as an experimental and a control group. A pre-test of pronunciation (pronouncing 5 different words including the target sounds) was administered to both groups, and their voices were recorded. Then just the experimental group went under 20 sessions of treatment on pronunciation. After the treatment, again both groups sat for the same test, but this time as a post-test. All the recorded voices were evaluated using Rosetta Stone software. The results showed that there was a noticeable improvement in the pronunciation of participants in the experimental group, who received the treatment.

Authors and Affiliations

Homeira Daryagasht| Department of TEFL, Guilan Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Guilan, Iran, Morteza Khodabandehlou| Department of TEFL, Guilan Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Guilan, Iran. email: Dr.morteza.khodabandehlou@gmail.com

Keywords

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  • EP ID EP6767
  • DOI -
  • Views 331
  • Downloads 17

How To Cite

Homeira Daryagasht, Morteza Khodabandehlou (2014). The impact of teaching absent consonants on Iranian female intermediate EFL learners’ pronunciation. International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences, 8(10), 1596-1602. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-6767