Tasks in explicit L2 pronunciation instruction: FonF vs. FonFS in improving phonemic accuracy and comprehensibility
The effects of focusing second/foreign language (L2) learners’ attentions on phonological forms while communicating in meaningful discourse has recently attracted attention in L2 pronunciation research. One such treatment is focus-on-form (FonF) instruction wherein L2 learners practice and notice...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2018
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/12878/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/12878/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/12878/1/22373-71773-1-PB.pdf |
| Summary: | The effects of focusing second/foreign language (L2) learners’ attentions on phonological forms while
communicating in meaningful discourse has recently attracted attention in L2 pronunciation research. One such
treatment is focus-on-form (FonF) instruction wherein L2 learners practice and notice pronunciation features
in communicative tasks rather than in decontextualized exercises and drills (i.e., focus-on-forms [FonFS]).
Given this, the current study investigated the differential effects of FonF and FonFS instructions on improving
Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ pronunciation of the most problematic English
consonants. After identifying the problematic English consonants (i.e., /θ/, /ð/, /w/, /ŋ/) via remedial and expert
judgment approaches, 45 pre-intermediate learners embarked on an 8-hour course. The experimental group
received FonF, the comparison group received FonFS, and the control group had a free conversation class
minus any feedback on the target consonants. Learners’ pronunciations were measured in terms of phonemic
accuracy and comprehensibility in controlled and spontaneous tasks. The results of immediate and delayed
post-test for phonemic accuracy revealed that whereas both FonF and FonFS were equally effective in
controlled tasks, only FonF instruction proved effective up to the delayed post-test in spontaneous tasks; no
such improvements, however, were observed for the control group. Results also showed that improvements in
phonemic accuracy led to overall comprehensibility enhancements in EFL learners’ speech. The article
concludes with some pedagogical implications of the findings. |
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