The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the four sources of English pronunciation self-efficacy and English pronunciation proficiency of Chinese college learners of English. A sample of 429 English majors at a college in China was selected. The test scores from a read-aloud task were used as the measure of subjects’ English pronunciation proficiency. The questionnaire was used to collect the data of four English pronunciation self-efficacy sources. The Pearson correlations showed that the four sources were correlated significantly with English pronunciation proficiency. The multiple regression analysis showed that 45% variance in English pronunciation proficiency was explained by the linear combinations of the four sources; however, the nominal variable of gender was not statistically significant in explaining the variance in English pronunciation proficiency. Overall, the significant relationship between English pronunciation self-efficacy sources and English pronunciation proficiency was observed in the present study. Pedagogical implications for teaching English pronunciation were discussed based on the results.
Melody with text has been known to play a positive role as a memory aid and a learning facilitator. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of song on young EFL learners’ text recall, especially focusing on the factors of memory retention, L2 proficiency, and text length. 41 Korean young learners of English between the aged of 11 and 12 years participated. As a result, significant effects of song text have been observed in the young EFL learners’text recall in L2. They appear to undergo the process of text and melody integration and take an advantage of the song mode in recalling the words and even a longer phrase for a larger amount of time, especially in their second language. The findings shed lights on pedagogical application of songs to second language teaching for young learners.
Boon-Joo Park and Jihye Shin. 2016. Song Effects on Young EFL Learners’ Text Recall in Korean (L1) and English (L2): Focusing on Proficiency and Text Length Factors. Studies in Modern Grammar 90, 117-136. Melody with text has been known to play a positive role as a memory aid and a learning facilitator. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of song on young EFL learners’ text recall, especially focusing on the factors of memory retention, L2 proficiency, and text length. 41 Korean young learners of English between the aged of 11 and 12 years participated. As a result, significant effects of song text have been observed in the young EFL learners’text recall in L2. They appear to undergo the process of text and melody integration and take an advantage of the song mode in recalling the words and even a longer phrase for a larger amount of time, especially in their second language. The findings shed lights on pedagogical application of songs to second language teaching for young learners.