Perceptions of pronunciation and the link to oral production anxiety among German students
Abstract
In a time when the communicative approach is the teaching methodology of choice in most foreign language classes, certain aspects of language are often brought to the forefront: grammar and vocabulary. Explicit instruction of pronunciation, by contrast, is often not attended to during regular instruction. More researchers have only recently begun to challenge the current notion that foreign language pronunciation will be acquired incidentally only at a point when the student is ready (e.g. Plough et al. 2010, Rossiter 2009). Parallel to the development of the communicative approach is the focus on language-related anxiety. Horwitz (2001) asserts that one-third of all second language learners experience some level of language anxiety. This study seeks to identify to what extent explicit pronunciation instruction plays in the level of anxiety students experience in the German classroom. A total of 284 students at the second-, fourth-, and sixth-semester levels were interviewed and surveyed about their language learning experiences. The results indicated that students did not generally feel anxious about speaking German, but did worry about their pronunciation. Many students also indicated that pronunciation is either important or very important to them. Additionally, they expressed their desire to practice pronunciation more in class and to receive corrective feedback from their instructors. Students who had received explicit pronunciation instruction in the past were very satisfied with their experience.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Sundquist, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Linguistics|Foreign language education
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