Examining the impact of homework-based instruction on EFL learners' ability to predict English phrase rhythm

Many factors have been described as contributing to Japanese students' difficulties with the oral production of English, including the fundamental differences between Japanese and English (Cross, 2000), the segmental and word-level focus of current instruction at junior and senior high schools (Okita, 1999), and the propensity for English education in Japan to focus on receptive skills (Torikai, 2000). Although the current epistemology in pronunciation education advocates the balance of segmental and suprasegmental instruction, there has been a perceived lack of extended suprasegmental instruction at the high school level in Japan, particularly in the area of alternating phrase rhythm. This suggests that increased attention be given to phrase rhythm due to its foundational nature in the spoken production of English discourse. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of instructional intervention on recently-graduated Japanese high school students' ability to accurately predict the alternating phrase rhythm of English through the identification of content words and loud function words versus soft function words. Through multiple administrations of a phrase-rhythm test to two groups of first-year, first-semester freshmen at a Japanese university, insights were gained regarding the effectiveness of homework materials designed for this study. Although a statistical analysis of the data obtained from these tests showed no significant difference between the scores of the control group and the group receiving the instructional treatment, marked trends regarding the word selection patterns of the participants as a whole were observed. These discoveries should prove useful in the creation of lessons and instructional materials for Japanese students that address the prediction of English alternating phrase rhythm, particularly those utilizing a homework-based approach in the pre-production phase of English pronunciation instruction.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Teaching English as a Second Language

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2003

Author dc:creator

• Young, John Austin, Jr.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dickerson, Wayne B.

• Teaching English as Second Language
• Japanese students
• Oral production of English
• Suprasegmental instruction
• Alternating phrase rhythm

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright by John Austin Young, Jr., 2003

Language dc:language

eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125935

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/125935