Gergana Vitanova and Ann Miller
vitanogp@email.uc.edu
University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH, USA)

Most of the literature on pronunciation deals with what and how to teach, while the learner remains an abstract, silent body in the classroom. By examining our students' reflections, we give voice to their beliefs and concerns about pronunciation learning. The findings suggest that students benefit from detailed phonetic/phonological instruction, which, in turn, allows them to employ metacognitive strategies in a larger communicative context. The article also underlines that socio-affective factors, while often ignored, are a significant aspect of pronunciation learning.

Introduction

Morley (1994) underlies that the prevalent focus in pronunciation teaching nowadays should be on designing "new-wave instructional programs" (p. 70). Moreover, she stresses that these new instructional designs should take into account not only language forms and functions, but also issues of learner self-involvement and learner strategy training. In other words, students should become active partners in their own learning, who have developed the skills to monitor and modify their speech patterns if necessary.

This action-research study has been driven by Morley's statement. We assume that by giving students the skills to analyze their language learning processes, we would help them keep improving even after they have left the context of the classroom. Reflective practice has played an important role in both teaching and learning. Pennington (1992), for example, asserts that reflective practice should become the means for not only enhancing classroom practices, but also developing motivated and confident second language learners. And yet, while reflections have had an established place in writing courses, it is not traditionally applied to pronunciation learning.

In this article, we share the results of a study, in which we asked the students of three pronunciation courses to reflect on their learning experiences. The reflections served a two-fold purpose. First, they were implemented as a tool of encouraging self-awareness and learner involvement in the process of improvement pronunciation. Second, they enabled us to "hear" our authentic students' voices and perceptions of their learning. Thus, the reflections helped us gain insight into the strategies and components of pronunciation instruction the learners found most valuable.

The Participants

The participating students were enrolled in a graduate pronunciation course in a mid-western university setting. They had diverse language backgrounds (primarily Chinese and Korean, but also Spanish, Russian, Taiwanese, Greek, French, and Indian) and academic majors. While the students' language competency varied, they all had had formal English instruction in the past, although not necessarily in pronunciation. We collected data from students from three pronunciation classes, two sections each, over the course of three quarters. The reflection prompts were open-ended, for example: Why do you wish to improve your pronunciation? What do you find most helpful in improving pronunciation? Students were given detailed consent forms in the beginning of each class, explaining that their participation would not affect their academic performance. While the students were encouraged to remain anonymous, most of them opted to use their names and seemed eager to express their concerns about pronunciation learning.

Listening to the Students' Voices: Major Themes and Findings

The following major themes emerged in the students' reflections:

Value of Phonetic and Phonological Knowledge: Part of the Consciousness Raising Process

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