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Pronunciation Learning Strategies and Learning Strategies Related to Pronunciation Ability in American University Students Studying Spanish

Peterson, Susan S.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1394793631

Abstract Details

1997, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, EDU Teaching and Learning.
In order to more fully understand the factors that influence pronunciation ability in adult students of a foreign language, this study investigated the relationship between pronunciation ability and learning strategies. In the first phase of this project, 11 students from three levels of university Spanish classes participated in either diary keeping or interviews designed to reveal the strategies they were using to learn or improve their Spanish pronunciation. This part of the investigation revealed 23 pronunciation learning strategies that had not been documented previously in the literature. Before proceeding with the larger, quantitative phase of the study, the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) (version 5.1, Oxford, 1989) was modified to include 20 additional items focusing specifically on pronunciation learning. The modified SILL was then given to 64 students from three levels of university Spanish and the results were analyzed through factor analysis. Six factors emerged: authentic/functional practice strategies, reflection strategies (regarding language knowledge and state of mind), pronunciation and memory strategies, affective and memory strategies, cooperation strategies, and factor six (which could not be meaningfully named). The same 64 students also engaged in a pronunciation task (reading aloud), which was recorded and then judged by three raters on a scale from 1 (not at all nativelike) to 7 (completely nativelike). The relationship between learning strategy use, as measured by the six factors of the modified SILL, and pronunciation ability, as measured by the three raters, was investigated by means of scatter plots and correlation coefficients. Two of the six factors were shown to have a positive relationship with pronunciation ability: authentic/functional practice strategies (r=.58) and reflection strategies (r=.42). Several variables of secondary importance were also analyzed in terms of their relationship to pronunciation ability. Side-by-side box plots showed pronunciation ability to have a positive relationship with level of Spanish, self-ratings of pronunciation ability, perceived importance of pronunciation, and out-of-class exposure to Spanish. Scatter plots also showed a strong positive relationship between pronunciation ability and the cognitive subscale of the original SILL (r=.61).
Gilbert A. Jarvis (Advisor)
Alan R. Hirvela (Committee Member)
Terrell A. Morgan (Committee Member)
184 p.
Education; Language

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Peterson, S. S. (1997). Pronunciation Learning Strategies and Learning Strategies Related to Pronunciation Ability in American University Students Studying Spanish [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1394793631

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Peterson, Susan. Pronunciation Learning Strategies and Learning Strategies Related to Pronunciation Ability in American University Students Studying Spanish. 1997. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1394793631.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Peterson, Susan. "Pronunciation Learning Strategies and Learning Strategies Related to Pronunciation Ability in American University Students Studying Spanish." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 1997. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1394793631

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1394793631
316
© 1997, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.