Re-visiting Well-Known Techniques to Improve the Pronunciation of SegmentalFeatures (and Venturing into the New Normal)

This project aimed at improving students’ pronunciation of segmental features through theuse and activation of some learning strategies, including the systematic practice oftranscribing, reading aloud and recording texts into phonemic symbols. The participantswere two homogenous learner groups attending the ۲nd year and doing English Phonetics IIin ۲۰۱۷ and ۲۰۱۹ at Loutaif Institute in Orán, Argentina. The experimental ۲۰۱۹ group’sperformance was compared to the control ۲۰۱۷ group. The intervention focused on theimplementation of written and oral home assignments in the experimental group as well asthe teacher’s instruction on learning strategies and informal feedback on the group’s weeklybasedperformance. Both groups’ performances were registered by the teacher in class. Thedata considered five indicators: attendance, written and oral home assignments, and writtenand oral mid-term tests. These indicators were described and analyzed in relation to theinfluence produced by the application of the aforementioned techniques through the use andactivation of learning strategies and their influence on the pronunciation of segmentals whiledeveloping automaticity and autonomy. By the end of ۲۰۱۹, the results showed a significantimprovement in students’ performance. These techniques can now be implemented in thenew normal by utilizing some ICT tools.

کلیدواژه ها:

Segmental Features ، Phonemic Transcription ، Reading Aloud ، Recording ، Learning Strategies ، Autonomy ، Automaticity