The Role of oral practice in improving the learners' acquisition of word stress

Abstract

This experimental study investigates the role of the teaching of English word stress through three modes of pronunciation/speech practice to see if this can improve the learners' performance. We noticed that the production element in the Foreign Languages Department (the English Section) at the University of Setif is not satisfactorily taken into account, and the practice activities done in the language lab are limited to imitation and do not allow for communicative oral practice of the targeted pronunciation feature. Thus, our research question concerns whether the use of controlled, guided and free pronunciation-oriented speaking practice help our students produce word stress more accurately. Questionnaires and tests were the main research tools used in this study. The teacher's questionnaire, the subjects' questionnaire, and pre-test's results helped us identify and diagnose some of the students' problems with word stress and the potential causes. Students participated in either experimental or control group, study English as a foreign language. Material used for instruction is planned to be production-oriented and the lessons were of a practice type. A variety of tasks including listening and spelling awareness activities were also designed, added to that, an integration of three speaking practice modes (controlled, guided, and free) simultaneously, taking into account the learners' difficulties even with any features related to word stress, such as syllable division and vowel reduction. The pre-test/post-test data indicated that our teaching strategy facilitated the improvement of word stress production among these students to some extent. The experimental group exceeded the abilities of the control group.