The effectiveness of direct articulatory–abdominal pronunciation instruction for English learners in Hong Kong

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Michael Yeldham ◽  
Vincent Choy
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction

scholarly journals Politeness in Business Communication: Investigating English Modal Sequences in Chinese Learners’ Letter Writing

RELC Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
David D. Qian ◽  
Mingwei Pan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Letter Writing ◽  
Epistemic Modality ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
Tertiary Level ◽  
Esl Learners

Politeness has been a source of inspiration for research in pragmatics and inter- and intra-cultural communication. However, the existing literature focusses more on how politeness is realized in the context of first language use. Few studies have investigated the issue related to the use of English by second language learners from varying subcultures within the same cultural tradition. The present study examines how Hong Kong and Shanghai tertiary-level learners of English convey politeness in their business letter writing, as reflected in the use of modal sequences. Three hundred business letters were collected from students in Hong Kong and another 300 from students in Shanghai. Majoring in various disciplines, these students were all in their final year of study, and their English proficiency level was generally scored at B2, as compared with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Following a mixed-methods approach, the study tracked a rather complex distribution of politeness realizations by different modal sequences. The findings were that Hong Kong ESL learners appeared to be more strategic users of modal sequences as evidenced by a variety of usage examples from the two purpose-built learner corpora, which were developed to monitor and compare English learners’ business writing at the tertiary level. Another finding was that epistemic modality tended to better preserve politeness in the writing.

Narratives of second language identity amongst young English learners in Hong Kong

ELT Journal ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Besser ◽  
A. Chik
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Language Identity

scholarly journals Radio Drama Competition as an Effective Tool to Boost the Motivation and Self-Confidence of Primary and Secondary School English Learners in Hong Kong

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 154
Author(s):  
Kevin Kai-Wing Chan ◽  
William Ko Wai Tang
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Radio Drama ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Primary And Secondary School

In this report, we investigate the use of a radio drama competition to boost motivation, self-confidence, and cooperation in language learning for primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong. The results suggest the radio drama competition had a positive impact on increasing motivation, collaboration, and confidence in language learning.  For the study, we used online surveys and interviews with students and teachers who participated in the radio drama competition to examine their perceptions of the competition. We have included the surveys and interview results of two competitions in consecutive years, and both years’ results indicate students had positive views about their experience. Both students and teachers believed the competition enhanced collaboration and teamwork, confidence, and communication skills most.  This paper contributes to the literature by shedding light on the pedagogical implications of English teachers incorporating more radio drama and language arts into their classrooms to improve students’ language learning. Well-selected language arts materials could increase students’ language learning process as well as their motivation and self-confidence to learn the target language.

scholarly journals Designing Phonetic Alphabets for Bahasa Indonesia (PABI) for the teaching of intelligible English pronunciation in Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 726-734
Author(s):  
Yeni Karlina ◽  
Amin Rahman ◽  
Raqib Chowdhury
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Sound System ◽  
English Classrooms ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Phonetic Transcription ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Bahasa Indonesia

The sociolinguistic development of English has placed a greater emphasis on intelligibility as the ultimate goal of pronunciation instruction. However, various studies have indicated that English pronunciation of Indonesian English learners was not satisfactory due to difficulties in learning English pronunciation and lack of emphasis given to the teaching of English pronunciation in English classrooms in Indonesia. In this paper we propose the development of Phonetic Alphabets for Bahasa Indonesia (PABI). This practical instrument allows English teachers and students in Indonesia to transcribe the pronunciations of English words into phonetic transcription with locally-appropriate readability and accessibility without compromising the pronunciation intelligibility. The development of PABI started with contrastive analysis of common phonemes in the two languages, i.e., English and Bahasa Indonesia (BI). Next, we identified the English phonemes missing in Bahasa Indonesia which English learners in Indonesia have to conceptualise. We then located those English sound ‘pairs’ which seem identical to Indonesians and are thus used interchangeably in BI. A corpus of 30,000 commonly used English words was transcribed in PABI using a computer software IPA to L1PA developed by Rahman and Bhattacharya (2020). Proposals to modify the IPA to suit the BI sound system entailed the adjustments in the consonant phonemes, vowel phonemes, and cluster sounds. These adjustments are expected to improve the readability and accessibility of the conventional IPA in facilitating the teaching and learning of intelligible English pronunciation in Indonesia. Practical uses of the PABI guidelines are drawn to improve its utility. Implications for the development of context sensitive and locally-appropriate pronunciation teaching and learning are drawn based on the findings.

Setting segmental priorities for English learners: Evidence from a longitudinal study

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Murray J. Munro ◽  
Tracey M. Derwing ◽  
Ron I. Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Limited Time ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Longitudinal Investigation ◽  
Phonetic Learning ◽  
Intelligible Speech ◽  
Over Time

AbstractContemporary views of adult pronunciation instruction emphasize the development of intelligible speech using empirically-validated pedagogical principles. Because learners typically have limited time for pronunciation work, instruction should be provided in a way that maximizes the use of the available opportunities. However, achievement of such a goal entails applying detailed knowledge of the phonetic learning process with due attention to the nature of differences that arise among learners, whether they share or do not share the same native language. In this longitudinal investigation, we examined productions of consonants and consonant clusters in English learners from two language backgrounds over a two-year period. Extensive between- and within-group variability was observed, with some targets produced very well at the outset, and others improving over time. The results argue against a common curriculum for learners. Instead, pronunciation instruction that focuses on individual learners' needs is called for. The findings are discussed in terms of strategies that might be used to develop effective and efficient pedagogical practices.

Establishing an empirical basis for priorities in pronunciation teaching

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. McAndrews ◽  
R. I. Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
English Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Speech Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Empirical Basis ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Adult English Learners ◽  
Colombian Spanish ◽  
Central Purpose

The central purpose of this study is to illustrate how ESL instructors can take a principled approach to setting pronunciation instruction priorities for learners. Elicited speech samples from 30 adult English learners were analysed for suprasegmental and segmental pronunciation features. Guided by Levis’ (2005) intelligibility principle, results of the analysis led to recommended foci for pronunciation instruction. The study’s participants come from three distinct first language (L1) backgrounds (Mandarin Chinese, Colombian Spanish, and Slavic), reflecting the type of linguistic breadth found in typical ESL classrooms. It is recommended that problematic features observed in the speech of participants from all three L1s be addressed as a whole group, with each L1 group also receiving separate instruction for their specific difficulties. Finally, results of the speech analysis are compared with previously published material describing L1-specific pronunciation difficulties.

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