PRONUNCIATION INSTRUCTION IN VIETNAMESE TERTIARY SETTINGS: INSIGHTS FROM EFL TEACHERS’ COGNITIONS AND CLASSROOM PRACTICES

Do Minh Luan

Abstract


This study aims at investigating teachers’ cognitions and classroom practices towards pronunciation instruction in Vietnamese tertiary EFL classrooms. Participants included 76 Vietnamese EFL teachers in some universities in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Data were collected through a questionnaire and classroom observations. The study findings showed that the teachers highlighted the importance of pronunciation teaching with a specific focus on communicative purposes. However, the results also indicated a mismatch between the teachers’ stated cognitions about pronunciation instruction and their actual classroom practices. Therefore, this study gives recommendations for further research on exploring situational factors influencing pronunciation instruction as well as the need for teacher training.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


pronunciation instruction, teachers’ cognitions, classroom practices

Full Text:

PDF

References


Al-Tamimi, N. O. M., & Attamimi, R. A. (2018). Using explicit pronunciation instructions to develop students’ English speaking competencies: A quasi-experimental study. International Journal of English Language Teaching, 6(4), 57-73.

Bai, B., & Yuan, R. (2019). EFL teachers’ beliefs and practices about pronunciation teaching. ELT Journal, 73(2), 134-143.

Baker, A. (2014). Exploring teachers' knowledge of second language pronunciation techniques: Teacher cognitions, observed classroom practices, and student perceptions. TESOL Quarterly, 48(1), 136-163.

Basturkmen, H. (2012, 2012/06/01/). Review of research into the correspondence between language teachers' stated beliefs and practices. System, 40(2), 282-295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2012.05.001

Birello, M. (2012). Interview: Teacher cognition and language teacher education: Beliefs and practice. A conversation with Simon Borg. Bellaterra Journal of Teaching & Learning Language & Literature, 5(2), 88-94.

Borg, S. (2003). Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what language teachers think, know, believe, and do. Language Teaching Research, 36(2), 81-109.

Borg, S. (2006). Teacher cognition and language education: Research and practice. London: Continuum. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/13621688080120030702

Borg, S. (2012). Researching language teacher cognition and practice: International case studies. In B. Roger & B. Anne (Eds.), Current approaches to language teacher cognition research: A methodological analysis: (pp. 11-29). Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/doi:10.21832/9781847697912-003

Borg, S. (2015). Teacher cognition and language education: Research and practice. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Burri, M., & Baker, A. (2019). “I never imagined” pronunciation as “such an interesting thing”: Student teacher perception of innovative practices. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 29(1), 95-108.

Burri, M., Baker, A., & Chen, H. (2017). “I feel like having a nervous breakdown”: Pre-service and in-service teachers' developing beliefs and knowledge about pronunciation instruction. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 3(1), 109-135. https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.3.1.05bur

Buss, L. (2016a). Beliefs and practices of Brazilian EFL teachers regarding pronunciation. Language Teaching Research, 20(5), 619-637.

Buss, L. (2016b). The role of training in shaping pre-service teacher cognition related to L2 pronunciation. Ilha do Desterro, 70(3), 201-226. https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2017v70n3p201

Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. M., & Goodwin, J. M. (2010). Teaching Pronunciation: A Course Book and Reference Guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). New York: Routledge.

Couper, G. (2016). Teacher cognition of pronunciation teaching amongst English language teachers in Uruguay. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 2(1), 29-55. https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.2.1.02cou

Couper, G. (2017). Teacher cognition of pronunciation teaching: Teachers' concerns and issues. TESOL Quarterly, 51(4), 820-843.

Couper, G. (2019). Teachers’ cognitions of corrective feedback on pronunciation: Their beliefs, perceptions and practices. System, 84, 41-52.

Couper, G. (2021). Teacher cognition of pronunciation teaching: The techniques teachers use and why. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 7(2), 212-239. https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.20004.cou

Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Crookes, G. V. (2015). Redrawing the boundaries on theory, research, and practice concerning language teachers’ philosophies and language teacher cognition: Toward a critical perspective. The Modern Language Journal, 99(3), 485-499.

Darcy, I. (2018). Powerful and effective Pronunciation instruction: How can we achieve it? The CATESOL Journal, 30(1), 13-45.

Derwing, T. M. (2018). The efficacy of pronunciation instruction. In O. Kang, R. I. Thomson, & J. Murphy (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary English Pronunciation (pp. 320-334). London: Routledge.

Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J. (2005). Second language accent and pronunciation teaching: A research-based approach. TESOL Quarterly, 39(3), 379-397.

Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J. (2015). Pronunciation fundamentals: Evidence-based perspectives for L2 teaching and research. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Foote, J. A., Holtby, A., & Derwing, T. (2012). Survey of the Teaching of Pronunciation in Adult ESL Programs in Canada, 2010. TESL Canada Journal, 29, 1-22.

Foote, J. A., & Trofimovich, P. (2018). Second language pronunciation learning: An overview of theoretical perspectives. In O. Kang, R. I. Thomson, & J. M. Murphy (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary English Pronunciation (pp. 75-90). New York, NY: Routledge.

Foote, J. A., Trofimovich, P., Collinsa, L., & Urzúa, F. S. (2016). Pronunciation teaching practices in communicative second language classes. The Language Learning Journal, 44(2), 181-196.

Fraser, H. (2006). Helping teachers help students with pronunciation: A cognitive approach. Prospect, 21(1), 80-96.

Gilakjani, A. P., & Sabouri, N. B. (2016). Why is English pronunciation ignored by EFL teachers in their classes? International Journal of English Linguistics, 6(6), 195-208.

Gordon, J. (2019). The knowledge base of L2 pronunciation teaching: The case of a nonnative-speaking teacher. TESL Canada Journal(2), 91-117. https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v36i2.1314

Gordon, J. (2020). Implementing explicit pronunciation instruction: The case of a nonnative English-speaking teacher. Language Teaching Research, 0(0), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820941991

Gordon, J., Darcy, I., & Ewert, D. (2013). Pronunciation teaching and learning: Effects of explicit phonetic instruction in the L2 classroom. Proceedings of the 4th Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference, Aug. 2012. (pp. 194-206). Ames, IA: Iowa State University.

Ha, X. V., & Murray, J. C. (2020). Corrective feedback: Beliefs and practices of Vietnamese primary EFL teachers. Language Teaching Research, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820931897

Ha, X. V., & Nguyen, L. T. (2021). Targets and sources of oral corrective feedback in English as a foreign language classrooms: Are students' and teachers' beliefs aligned? Frontiers in Psychology, 12(2479), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.697160

Ha, X. V., Nguyen, L. T., & Hung, B. P. (2021). Oral corrective feedback in English as a foreign language classrooms: A teaching and learning perspective. Heliyon, 7(7), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07550

Jarosz, A. (2019). English pronunciation in L2 instruction: The case of secondary school learners. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

Kissling, E. M. (2013). Teaching pronunciation: Is explicit phonetics instruction beneficial for FL learners? The Modern Language Journal, 97(3), 720-744. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43651702

Levis, J. M. (2018). Intelligibility, oral communication, and the teaching of pronunciation. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Li, Y., & Oliveira, H. (2015). Research on Classroom Practice. In S. J. Cho, The Proceedings of the 12th International Congress on Mathematical Education Cham.

Nguyen, L. T., & Bui, H. P. (2021). Communicative pronunciation teaching: Insights from the Vietnamese tertiary EFL classroom. System, 101, 1-12.

Nguyen, L. T., Bui, H. P., Duong, U. T. T., & Le, T. T. (2021, 2021-August-20). Teachers’ and learners’ beliefs about pronunciation instruction in tertiary English as a foreign language education [Original Research]. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(3481), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.739842

Nguyen, L. T., & Newton, J. (2020). Pronunciation teaching in tertiary EFL classes: Vietnamese teachers’ beliefs and practices. The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language, 24(1), 1-20.

Nguyen, T. H., Fehring, H., & Warren, W. (2015). EFL teaching and learning at a Vietnamese university: What do teachers say? English Language Teaching, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v8n1p31

Oxford, R. L. (1990). Language learning strategies. Boston: Heinle and Heinle Publications.

Pallant, J. (2016). SPSS survival manual: A step by step guide to data analysis using IBM SPSS (6th ed.). New York, NY: Open University Press.

Pardede, P. (2018). Improving EFL students’ English pronunciation by using the explicit teaching approach. Journal of English Teaching, 4(3), 143-155.

Peltola, M. S., Lintunen, P., & Tamminen, H. (2014). Advanced English learners benefit from explicit pronunciation teaching: an experiment with vowel duration and quality. AFinLA-e: Soveltavan kielitieteen tutkimuksia, 2014(6), 86-98.

Pennington, M. C. (2019). ‘Top-Down’ pronunciation teaching revisited. RELC Journal, 50(3), 371-358.

Phan, L. H. N. (2017). Challenges/constraints in teaching today’s English in Vietnam: Teachers’ voices. Proceeding of 8th Annual International Conference on TESOL, HCMC, Vietnam.

Quoc, T. X., Thanh, V. Q., Dang, T. D. M., Mai, N. D. N., & Nguyen, P. N. K. (2021). Teachers' perspectives and practices in teaching English pronunciation at Menglish center. International Journal of TESOL & Education, 1(2), 158-175.

Saito, K. (2011). Examining the role of explicit phonetic instruction in native-like and comprehensible pronunciation development: an instructed SLA approach to L2 phonology. Language Awareness, 20, 45 - 59.

Saito, K., & Lyster, R. (2012). Effects of form-focused instruction and corrective feedback on L2 pronunciation development of /ɹ/ by Japanese learners of English. Language learning, 62, 595-633.

Tran, T. D. P., & Nguyen, B. H. (2020). EFL teachers' beliefs and practices of teaching pronunciation in a Vietnamese setting. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(12), 7022-7035. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2020.081270

Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). London and Singapore: Sage publications.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v7i5.4485

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright © 2015 - 2023. European Journal of English Language Teaching (ISSN 2501-7136) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing GroupAll rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms.

All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).