79
People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Larbi Ben M’hidi University-Oum El Bouaghi Faculty of Letters and Languages Department of English The Effect of Listening to Audio-Stories on Acquiring Accurate pronunciation ( Dark [ϯ] and Clear [l]) by EFL learners The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi University- English Department A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Languages Sciences By: Ms. BENACHI Loubna Supervisor: Mr. BOULEMAIZ Djalel Examiner: Ms. ALLIOUCHE Nadjiba 2016-2017

The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

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Page 1: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

Peoplersquos Democratic Republic of Algeria

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Larbi Ben Mrsquohidi University-Oum El Bouaghi

Faculty of Letters and Languages

Department of English

The Effect of Listening to Audio-Stories on Acquiring Accurate

pronunciation ( Dark [ϯ] and Clear [l]) by EFL learners

The case of Second Year LMD Students at Lrsquoarbi Ben MrsquoHidi

University- English Department

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Master of Arts in Languages Sciences

By Ms BENACHI Loubna Supervisor Mr BOULEMAIZ Djalel

Examiner Ms ALLIOUCHE Nadjiba

2016-2017

I

Dedication

In the Name of Allah the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful

Every challenging work needs self-efforts as well as guidance of elders especially those

who were very close to our heart

My humble effort I dedicate to my sweet and loving Mother and Father whose affection

Love encouragement and prays of day and night make me able

To get such success and honor

It is with my deepest gratitude and warmest affection that I dictate this thesis to my

supervisor Mr Boulemaiz Djalel who has been a constant source of

Knowledge and inspiration

A special feeling of gratitude to my loving brothers Chichou and Fethi I am really blessed

For Having you by my side may ALLAH protect you

To my soul mate my pretty sister Marwa whose words of encouragement and push for

Tenacity ring in my ears

To all my family especially my grandmothers for being my first teachers

To all my friends especially Sara Sara Imane Khadija Zineb Fatine Lamiss Bessma

Marwa Farouk Djamel Mohamed Amine Mohamed Lazhar

thanks for your support in The hardest moments

II

Acknowledgment

First of all I am deeply grateful to ALLAH Coming from the intense gratification of

My supervisor Mr Boulemaiz Djalel whose contribution has raised the quality of this

thesis He has always supported me and has patiently guided me I am very grateful to his

supervision and I owe him the greatest degree of appreciation

I would to acknowledge and thank Ms Alliouche Nadjiba for her precious time I place

on record my sincere gratitude to Ms Stiti and Ms Guerfi who gave me the opportunity to

conduct my experimental study

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mr Bouri Mr Fizi and Mr Ayadi I am

really grateful and indebted to them for their experts sincere and valuable guidance and

encouragement extended to me

I take this opportunity to record our sincere thanks to all of the faculty members of

the Department of English at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University for their help and

encouragement I also thank my parents for their unceasing encouragement and support

I also place on record my sense of gratitude to one and all who directly or indirectly

have lent their helping hand in this venture

III

Abstract

The present research aims at investigating the usefulness of using audio stories in EFL

classrooms in order to improve learnersrsquo pronunciation It is based on the assumption that

listening to audio stories have a positive effect on improving EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

with a particular focus on the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] In order to attain the aim of this research

a quasi-experimental study was implemented The experiment took six sessions including a

pre-test period of treatment and a post-test At the start two intact classes of second year

EFL students at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi English department were selected and they were divided

into an experimental group and a control group each contained 20 students First of all a

pronunciation test was administered to both groups as a pre-test Later the experimental

group received a period of treatment of four sessions in which they were exposed to the

target language through listening to different audio-stories whilst the control group did not

receive the same treatment Afterward a post-test was administered to both groups in order

to investigate the learnersrsquo improvement in pronouncing correctly the dark [ϯ] and clear [l]

After that the learnersrsquo performance on the pre-test and the post-test which was recorded

using the Praat was assessed by the researcher In order to show the development that

learners have shown in both tests a t-test was utilized for determining and comparing both

group means Depending on the results gathered it is proved that being exposed to the target

language as it is produced by the native speakers through listening to audio-stories aids to

improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation in particular and their speaking proficiency in general

Therefore teachers are recommended to use Audio-stories in EFL classrooms in order to

enhance learnersrsquo pronunciation of the target language

Key words listening skills audio-stories pronunciation rime duration

IV

List of Abbreviations

EFL English as a Foreign Language

ESL English as a second Language

FLA Foreign Language Aptitude

Cpre Control Group pre-test

Cpost Control Group Post-test

Epre Experimental Group pre-test

Epost Control Group Post-test

H1 Alternative Hypothesis

H0 Null Hypothesis

V

List of Tables

Table 1 The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the Pre-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphellip41

Table 2 The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in The Pre-test hellip43

Table 3 Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental Group in the

Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip45

Table 4 The Mean of the Control Group in the Pre-test and Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46

Table 5 The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphellip48

Table 6 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores Differenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip51

Table 7 The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip52

Table 8 The Mean of the Control Group and The Experimental Group in the Post-testhellip53

VI

List of Figures

Figure 1 Articulatory Differences in l Velarization helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Figure 2 Experimental Group Procedureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

Figure 3 Control Group Procedureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

Figure 4 Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ]in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

Figure 5 Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoCabalrdquo helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39

Figure 6 Example of the Clear [l]in the Word ldquolabourrdquohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39

Figure 7 The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquohelliphellip40

Figure 8 The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the word ldquoballrdquohelliphelliphellip41

Figure 9 The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip43

Figure 10 The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip47

Figure 11 The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in The Pre-test and the

Post- testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip49

Figure 12 The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the pre-test and the Post-

testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

Figure 13 The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and The Experimental Group in

the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip54

VII

Content

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

1 Statement of the problem helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

2 Aim of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

3 Research questionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 3

4 Research hypothesishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

5 Means of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

6 Structure of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip4

Chapter One Theoretical background

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

11 Definition of Listening Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

13 Reasons of listening helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

14 Types of Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

141 Extensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

142 Intensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

15 Listening Processes helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

151 Bottom-up Processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

152 Top down processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

16 Brief History of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

17 Definition of Storytellinghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip12

18 Definition of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip13

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Storyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip14

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classroomshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

11Definition of Speaking Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

12Speaking Sub-Competencies Skillshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

13 Definition of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

VIII

14Importance of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip24

15 Factors Affecting Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

16151 Internal Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

152 External Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28

Conclusion helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Chapter two Field Work

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

21 Methodologyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

211 Research Participantshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

212 The Procedurehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35

2121 The Research Design helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2122 The Pre-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2123 The Treatment Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

2124 The Control Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

2125 The Post-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

213 Scoring helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

214 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47

21431 Paired Sample t-test helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group

in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip55

215 Discussion of the Resultshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

216 Pedagogical Implicationshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip58

General Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip59

Limitation of The Studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60

List of Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip61

Appendices

IX

Reacutesumeacute

ملخص

1

General introduction

Introduction

1 Statement of the Problem

2 Aim of the Study

3 Research Question

4 Research Hypothesis

5 Means of the Study

6 Structure of the Study

2

Introduction

Acquiring comprehensible pronunciation for EFL learners is one of the key supplies

for language proficiency Nowadays mastering the foreign language is the main concern

that most of EFL learners share This high attention raises due to the exposure to the target

language and to the complications that learners may face at whatever time they want to

communicate whether with foreigners or with one another using for instance the English

language Besides listening is not only a matter of innate ability but it is a matter of how to

develop that inborn capacity in order to improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Accordingly audio-stories are used to help developing the learnersrsquo listening skill and to

improve their pronunciation accurateness Furthermore using audio stories in teaching EFL

learners help to evidence that an effective listening process leads to an effective articulation

1 Statement of the Problem

Generally speaking there are various factors that affect learnersrsquo acquisition of the

target language pronunciation The Algerian EFL learners encounter many problems

concerning articulation because EFLESL learners do not have much opportunities to be

exposed to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers in the classroom Since

English is a foreign language learners avoid using it outside the classroom which is resulted

in a bad pronunciation Therefore EFL teachers are required to use audio-stories inside the

classrooms in order to develop studentsrsquo second language and to improve their pronunciation

accuracy

3

2 Aim of the Study

The current study deals with the learnersrsquo pronunciation difficulties of the dark [ϯ]

and the clear [l] It aims at investigating the effect of listening to audio-stories on fostering

the target languagersquos accurate pronunciation of both allophones

3 Research Question

The present study seeks to answer the following question

Does listening to audio-stories help EFL learners to acquire the accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

4 Research Hypothesis

In order to answer the research question the subsequent hypotheses are framed

H1 The EFL learners will acquire accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the

clear [l] through listening to audio-stories

H0 Listening to audio stories will not help EFL learners to acquire accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

5 Means of the Research

In order to achieve the objective of our research a quasi-experimental design is

administered to second year LMD students of English Department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi

University The selected sample (40 students from 210) consists of two groups the control

group and the experimental group Both groups will be pretested in order to assess their

pronunciation accuracy level The pre-test is a kind of short story and small sentences that

contain the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] which learners have to read After that the Praat will be

used in order to record their voices Later on the experimental group will take the treatment

for four sessions in which they will listen to the audio stories each session will take one

4

hour and a half However the control group will not receive any kind of treatment (they will

be taught in a normal way without listening to audio stories) Furthermore a post-test which

is different from that of the pre-test will be administered to both groups in order to test their

pronunciation development

6 Structure of the Study

The present study is divided into two chapters The first chapter is a theoretical one

and it is composed of two sections The first section is about listening to audio stories in

which we define the process of listening and mention the main differences between listening

and hearing After that we discuss the reasons of listening its types and processes Later

on the second sub-section deals with audio stories At the start we introduce a brief history

about the notion of audio stories and then we introduce stories in general Afterward we

discuss the characteristics of audio stories their use and advantages The second section

deals with the pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] at the beginning we shed light

on the definition of speaking skill and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section

deals with the definition of pronunciation and its importance Besides it introduces factors

that affect pronunciation The second chapter deals with the field work in which it sheds

light on collecting data presenting and analyzing it and at the end interpreting results

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 2: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

I

Dedication

In the Name of Allah the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful

Every challenging work needs self-efforts as well as guidance of elders especially those

who were very close to our heart

My humble effort I dedicate to my sweet and loving Mother and Father whose affection

Love encouragement and prays of day and night make me able

To get such success and honor

It is with my deepest gratitude and warmest affection that I dictate this thesis to my

supervisor Mr Boulemaiz Djalel who has been a constant source of

Knowledge and inspiration

A special feeling of gratitude to my loving brothers Chichou and Fethi I am really blessed

For Having you by my side may ALLAH protect you

To my soul mate my pretty sister Marwa whose words of encouragement and push for

Tenacity ring in my ears

To all my family especially my grandmothers for being my first teachers

To all my friends especially Sara Sara Imane Khadija Zineb Fatine Lamiss Bessma

Marwa Farouk Djamel Mohamed Amine Mohamed Lazhar

thanks for your support in The hardest moments

II

Acknowledgment

First of all I am deeply grateful to ALLAH Coming from the intense gratification of

My supervisor Mr Boulemaiz Djalel whose contribution has raised the quality of this

thesis He has always supported me and has patiently guided me I am very grateful to his

supervision and I owe him the greatest degree of appreciation

I would to acknowledge and thank Ms Alliouche Nadjiba for her precious time I place

on record my sincere gratitude to Ms Stiti and Ms Guerfi who gave me the opportunity to

conduct my experimental study

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mr Bouri Mr Fizi and Mr Ayadi I am

really grateful and indebted to them for their experts sincere and valuable guidance and

encouragement extended to me

I take this opportunity to record our sincere thanks to all of the faculty members of

the Department of English at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University for their help and

encouragement I also thank my parents for their unceasing encouragement and support

I also place on record my sense of gratitude to one and all who directly or indirectly

have lent their helping hand in this venture

III

Abstract

The present research aims at investigating the usefulness of using audio stories in EFL

classrooms in order to improve learnersrsquo pronunciation It is based on the assumption that

listening to audio stories have a positive effect on improving EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

with a particular focus on the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] In order to attain the aim of this research

a quasi-experimental study was implemented The experiment took six sessions including a

pre-test period of treatment and a post-test At the start two intact classes of second year

EFL students at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi English department were selected and they were divided

into an experimental group and a control group each contained 20 students First of all a

pronunciation test was administered to both groups as a pre-test Later the experimental

group received a period of treatment of four sessions in which they were exposed to the

target language through listening to different audio-stories whilst the control group did not

receive the same treatment Afterward a post-test was administered to both groups in order

to investigate the learnersrsquo improvement in pronouncing correctly the dark [ϯ] and clear [l]

After that the learnersrsquo performance on the pre-test and the post-test which was recorded

using the Praat was assessed by the researcher In order to show the development that

learners have shown in both tests a t-test was utilized for determining and comparing both

group means Depending on the results gathered it is proved that being exposed to the target

language as it is produced by the native speakers through listening to audio-stories aids to

improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation in particular and their speaking proficiency in general

Therefore teachers are recommended to use Audio-stories in EFL classrooms in order to

enhance learnersrsquo pronunciation of the target language

Key words listening skills audio-stories pronunciation rime duration

IV

List of Abbreviations

EFL English as a Foreign Language

ESL English as a second Language

FLA Foreign Language Aptitude

Cpre Control Group pre-test

Cpost Control Group Post-test

Epre Experimental Group pre-test

Epost Control Group Post-test

H1 Alternative Hypothesis

H0 Null Hypothesis

V

List of Tables

Table 1 The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the Pre-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphellip41

Table 2 The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in The Pre-test hellip43

Table 3 Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental Group in the

Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip45

Table 4 The Mean of the Control Group in the Pre-test and Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46

Table 5 The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphellip48

Table 6 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores Differenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip51

Table 7 The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip52

Table 8 The Mean of the Control Group and The Experimental Group in the Post-testhellip53

VI

List of Figures

Figure 1 Articulatory Differences in l Velarization helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Figure 2 Experimental Group Procedureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

Figure 3 Control Group Procedureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

Figure 4 Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ]in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

Figure 5 Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoCabalrdquo helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39

Figure 6 Example of the Clear [l]in the Word ldquolabourrdquohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39

Figure 7 The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquohelliphellip40

Figure 8 The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the word ldquoballrdquohelliphelliphellip41

Figure 9 The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip43

Figure 10 The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip47

Figure 11 The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in The Pre-test and the

Post- testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip49

Figure 12 The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the pre-test and the Post-

testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

Figure 13 The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and The Experimental Group in

the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip54

VII

Content

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

1 Statement of the problem helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

2 Aim of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

3 Research questionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 3

4 Research hypothesishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

5 Means of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

6 Structure of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip4

Chapter One Theoretical background

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

11 Definition of Listening Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

13 Reasons of listening helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

14 Types of Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

141 Extensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

142 Intensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

15 Listening Processes helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

151 Bottom-up Processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

152 Top down processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

16 Brief History of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

17 Definition of Storytellinghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip12

18 Definition of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip13

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Storyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip14

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classroomshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

11Definition of Speaking Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

12Speaking Sub-Competencies Skillshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

13 Definition of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

VIII

14Importance of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip24

15 Factors Affecting Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

16151 Internal Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

152 External Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28

Conclusion helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Chapter two Field Work

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

21 Methodologyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

211 Research Participantshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

212 The Procedurehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35

2121 The Research Design helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2122 The Pre-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2123 The Treatment Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

2124 The Control Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

2125 The Post-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

213 Scoring helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

214 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47

21431 Paired Sample t-test helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group

in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip55

215 Discussion of the Resultshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

216 Pedagogical Implicationshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip58

General Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip59

Limitation of The Studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60

List of Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip61

Appendices

IX

Reacutesumeacute

ملخص

1

General introduction

Introduction

1 Statement of the Problem

2 Aim of the Study

3 Research Question

4 Research Hypothesis

5 Means of the Study

6 Structure of the Study

2

Introduction

Acquiring comprehensible pronunciation for EFL learners is one of the key supplies

for language proficiency Nowadays mastering the foreign language is the main concern

that most of EFL learners share This high attention raises due to the exposure to the target

language and to the complications that learners may face at whatever time they want to

communicate whether with foreigners or with one another using for instance the English

language Besides listening is not only a matter of innate ability but it is a matter of how to

develop that inborn capacity in order to improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Accordingly audio-stories are used to help developing the learnersrsquo listening skill and to

improve their pronunciation accurateness Furthermore using audio stories in teaching EFL

learners help to evidence that an effective listening process leads to an effective articulation

1 Statement of the Problem

Generally speaking there are various factors that affect learnersrsquo acquisition of the

target language pronunciation The Algerian EFL learners encounter many problems

concerning articulation because EFLESL learners do not have much opportunities to be

exposed to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers in the classroom Since

English is a foreign language learners avoid using it outside the classroom which is resulted

in a bad pronunciation Therefore EFL teachers are required to use audio-stories inside the

classrooms in order to develop studentsrsquo second language and to improve their pronunciation

accuracy

3

2 Aim of the Study

The current study deals with the learnersrsquo pronunciation difficulties of the dark [ϯ]

and the clear [l] It aims at investigating the effect of listening to audio-stories on fostering

the target languagersquos accurate pronunciation of both allophones

3 Research Question

The present study seeks to answer the following question

Does listening to audio-stories help EFL learners to acquire the accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

4 Research Hypothesis

In order to answer the research question the subsequent hypotheses are framed

H1 The EFL learners will acquire accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the

clear [l] through listening to audio-stories

H0 Listening to audio stories will not help EFL learners to acquire accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

5 Means of the Research

In order to achieve the objective of our research a quasi-experimental design is

administered to second year LMD students of English Department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi

University The selected sample (40 students from 210) consists of two groups the control

group and the experimental group Both groups will be pretested in order to assess their

pronunciation accuracy level The pre-test is a kind of short story and small sentences that

contain the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] which learners have to read After that the Praat will be

used in order to record their voices Later on the experimental group will take the treatment

for four sessions in which they will listen to the audio stories each session will take one

4

hour and a half However the control group will not receive any kind of treatment (they will

be taught in a normal way without listening to audio stories) Furthermore a post-test which

is different from that of the pre-test will be administered to both groups in order to test their

pronunciation development

6 Structure of the Study

The present study is divided into two chapters The first chapter is a theoretical one

and it is composed of two sections The first section is about listening to audio stories in

which we define the process of listening and mention the main differences between listening

and hearing After that we discuss the reasons of listening its types and processes Later

on the second sub-section deals with audio stories At the start we introduce a brief history

about the notion of audio stories and then we introduce stories in general Afterward we

discuss the characteristics of audio stories their use and advantages The second section

deals with the pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] at the beginning we shed light

on the definition of speaking skill and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section

deals with the definition of pronunciation and its importance Besides it introduces factors

that affect pronunciation The second chapter deals with the field work in which it sheds

light on collecting data presenting and analyzing it and at the end interpreting results

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 3: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

II

Acknowledgment

First of all I am deeply grateful to ALLAH Coming from the intense gratification of

My supervisor Mr Boulemaiz Djalel whose contribution has raised the quality of this

thesis He has always supported me and has patiently guided me I am very grateful to his

supervision and I owe him the greatest degree of appreciation

I would to acknowledge and thank Ms Alliouche Nadjiba for her precious time I place

on record my sincere gratitude to Ms Stiti and Ms Guerfi who gave me the opportunity to

conduct my experimental study

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mr Bouri Mr Fizi and Mr Ayadi I am

really grateful and indebted to them for their experts sincere and valuable guidance and

encouragement extended to me

I take this opportunity to record our sincere thanks to all of the faculty members of

the Department of English at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University for their help and

encouragement I also thank my parents for their unceasing encouragement and support

I also place on record my sense of gratitude to one and all who directly or indirectly

have lent their helping hand in this venture

III

Abstract

The present research aims at investigating the usefulness of using audio stories in EFL

classrooms in order to improve learnersrsquo pronunciation It is based on the assumption that

listening to audio stories have a positive effect on improving EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

with a particular focus on the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] In order to attain the aim of this research

a quasi-experimental study was implemented The experiment took six sessions including a

pre-test period of treatment and a post-test At the start two intact classes of second year

EFL students at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi English department were selected and they were divided

into an experimental group and a control group each contained 20 students First of all a

pronunciation test was administered to both groups as a pre-test Later the experimental

group received a period of treatment of four sessions in which they were exposed to the

target language through listening to different audio-stories whilst the control group did not

receive the same treatment Afterward a post-test was administered to both groups in order

to investigate the learnersrsquo improvement in pronouncing correctly the dark [ϯ] and clear [l]

After that the learnersrsquo performance on the pre-test and the post-test which was recorded

using the Praat was assessed by the researcher In order to show the development that

learners have shown in both tests a t-test was utilized for determining and comparing both

group means Depending on the results gathered it is proved that being exposed to the target

language as it is produced by the native speakers through listening to audio-stories aids to

improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation in particular and their speaking proficiency in general

Therefore teachers are recommended to use Audio-stories in EFL classrooms in order to

enhance learnersrsquo pronunciation of the target language

Key words listening skills audio-stories pronunciation rime duration

IV

List of Abbreviations

EFL English as a Foreign Language

ESL English as a second Language

FLA Foreign Language Aptitude

Cpre Control Group pre-test

Cpost Control Group Post-test

Epre Experimental Group pre-test

Epost Control Group Post-test

H1 Alternative Hypothesis

H0 Null Hypothesis

V

List of Tables

Table 1 The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the Pre-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphellip41

Table 2 The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in The Pre-test hellip43

Table 3 Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental Group in the

Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip45

Table 4 The Mean of the Control Group in the Pre-test and Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46

Table 5 The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphellip48

Table 6 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores Differenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip51

Table 7 The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip52

Table 8 The Mean of the Control Group and The Experimental Group in the Post-testhellip53

VI

List of Figures

Figure 1 Articulatory Differences in l Velarization helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Figure 2 Experimental Group Procedureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

Figure 3 Control Group Procedureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

Figure 4 Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ]in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

Figure 5 Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoCabalrdquo helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39

Figure 6 Example of the Clear [l]in the Word ldquolabourrdquohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39

Figure 7 The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquohelliphellip40

Figure 8 The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the word ldquoballrdquohelliphelliphellip41

Figure 9 The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip43

Figure 10 The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip47

Figure 11 The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in The Pre-test and the

Post- testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip49

Figure 12 The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the pre-test and the Post-

testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

Figure 13 The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and The Experimental Group in

the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip54

VII

Content

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

1 Statement of the problem helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

2 Aim of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

3 Research questionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 3

4 Research hypothesishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

5 Means of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

6 Structure of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip4

Chapter One Theoretical background

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

11 Definition of Listening Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

13 Reasons of listening helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

14 Types of Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

141 Extensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

142 Intensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

15 Listening Processes helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

151 Bottom-up Processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

152 Top down processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

16 Brief History of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

17 Definition of Storytellinghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip12

18 Definition of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip13

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Storyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip14

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classroomshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

11Definition of Speaking Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

12Speaking Sub-Competencies Skillshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

13 Definition of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

VIII

14Importance of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip24

15 Factors Affecting Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

16151 Internal Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

152 External Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28

Conclusion helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Chapter two Field Work

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

21 Methodologyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

211 Research Participantshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

212 The Procedurehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35

2121 The Research Design helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2122 The Pre-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2123 The Treatment Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

2124 The Control Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

2125 The Post-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

213 Scoring helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

214 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47

21431 Paired Sample t-test helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group

in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip55

215 Discussion of the Resultshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

216 Pedagogical Implicationshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip58

General Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip59

Limitation of The Studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60

List of Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip61

Appendices

IX

Reacutesumeacute

ملخص

1

General introduction

Introduction

1 Statement of the Problem

2 Aim of the Study

3 Research Question

4 Research Hypothesis

5 Means of the Study

6 Structure of the Study

2

Introduction

Acquiring comprehensible pronunciation for EFL learners is one of the key supplies

for language proficiency Nowadays mastering the foreign language is the main concern

that most of EFL learners share This high attention raises due to the exposure to the target

language and to the complications that learners may face at whatever time they want to

communicate whether with foreigners or with one another using for instance the English

language Besides listening is not only a matter of innate ability but it is a matter of how to

develop that inborn capacity in order to improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Accordingly audio-stories are used to help developing the learnersrsquo listening skill and to

improve their pronunciation accurateness Furthermore using audio stories in teaching EFL

learners help to evidence that an effective listening process leads to an effective articulation

1 Statement of the Problem

Generally speaking there are various factors that affect learnersrsquo acquisition of the

target language pronunciation The Algerian EFL learners encounter many problems

concerning articulation because EFLESL learners do not have much opportunities to be

exposed to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers in the classroom Since

English is a foreign language learners avoid using it outside the classroom which is resulted

in a bad pronunciation Therefore EFL teachers are required to use audio-stories inside the

classrooms in order to develop studentsrsquo second language and to improve their pronunciation

accuracy

3

2 Aim of the Study

The current study deals with the learnersrsquo pronunciation difficulties of the dark [ϯ]

and the clear [l] It aims at investigating the effect of listening to audio-stories on fostering

the target languagersquos accurate pronunciation of both allophones

3 Research Question

The present study seeks to answer the following question

Does listening to audio-stories help EFL learners to acquire the accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

4 Research Hypothesis

In order to answer the research question the subsequent hypotheses are framed

H1 The EFL learners will acquire accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the

clear [l] through listening to audio-stories

H0 Listening to audio stories will not help EFL learners to acquire accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

5 Means of the Research

In order to achieve the objective of our research a quasi-experimental design is

administered to second year LMD students of English Department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi

University The selected sample (40 students from 210) consists of two groups the control

group and the experimental group Both groups will be pretested in order to assess their

pronunciation accuracy level The pre-test is a kind of short story and small sentences that

contain the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] which learners have to read After that the Praat will be

used in order to record their voices Later on the experimental group will take the treatment

for four sessions in which they will listen to the audio stories each session will take one

4

hour and a half However the control group will not receive any kind of treatment (they will

be taught in a normal way without listening to audio stories) Furthermore a post-test which

is different from that of the pre-test will be administered to both groups in order to test their

pronunciation development

6 Structure of the Study

The present study is divided into two chapters The first chapter is a theoretical one

and it is composed of two sections The first section is about listening to audio stories in

which we define the process of listening and mention the main differences between listening

and hearing After that we discuss the reasons of listening its types and processes Later

on the second sub-section deals with audio stories At the start we introduce a brief history

about the notion of audio stories and then we introduce stories in general Afterward we

discuss the characteristics of audio stories their use and advantages The second section

deals with the pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] at the beginning we shed light

on the definition of speaking skill and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section

deals with the definition of pronunciation and its importance Besides it introduces factors

that affect pronunciation The second chapter deals with the field work in which it sheds

light on collecting data presenting and analyzing it and at the end interpreting results

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 4: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

III

Abstract

The present research aims at investigating the usefulness of using audio stories in EFL

classrooms in order to improve learnersrsquo pronunciation It is based on the assumption that

listening to audio stories have a positive effect on improving EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

with a particular focus on the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] In order to attain the aim of this research

a quasi-experimental study was implemented The experiment took six sessions including a

pre-test period of treatment and a post-test At the start two intact classes of second year

EFL students at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi English department were selected and they were divided

into an experimental group and a control group each contained 20 students First of all a

pronunciation test was administered to both groups as a pre-test Later the experimental

group received a period of treatment of four sessions in which they were exposed to the

target language through listening to different audio-stories whilst the control group did not

receive the same treatment Afterward a post-test was administered to both groups in order

to investigate the learnersrsquo improvement in pronouncing correctly the dark [ϯ] and clear [l]

After that the learnersrsquo performance on the pre-test and the post-test which was recorded

using the Praat was assessed by the researcher In order to show the development that

learners have shown in both tests a t-test was utilized for determining and comparing both

group means Depending on the results gathered it is proved that being exposed to the target

language as it is produced by the native speakers through listening to audio-stories aids to

improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation in particular and their speaking proficiency in general

Therefore teachers are recommended to use Audio-stories in EFL classrooms in order to

enhance learnersrsquo pronunciation of the target language

Key words listening skills audio-stories pronunciation rime duration

IV

List of Abbreviations

EFL English as a Foreign Language

ESL English as a second Language

FLA Foreign Language Aptitude

Cpre Control Group pre-test

Cpost Control Group Post-test

Epre Experimental Group pre-test

Epost Control Group Post-test

H1 Alternative Hypothesis

H0 Null Hypothesis

V

List of Tables

Table 1 The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the Pre-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphellip41

Table 2 The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in The Pre-test hellip43

Table 3 Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental Group in the

Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip45

Table 4 The Mean of the Control Group in the Pre-test and Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46

Table 5 The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphellip48

Table 6 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores Differenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip51

Table 7 The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip52

Table 8 The Mean of the Control Group and The Experimental Group in the Post-testhellip53

VI

List of Figures

Figure 1 Articulatory Differences in l Velarization helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Figure 2 Experimental Group Procedureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

Figure 3 Control Group Procedureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

Figure 4 Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ]in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

Figure 5 Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoCabalrdquo helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39

Figure 6 Example of the Clear [l]in the Word ldquolabourrdquohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39

Figure 7 The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquohelliphellip40

Figure 8 The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the word ldquoballrdquohelliphelliphellip41

Figure 9 The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip43

Figure 10 The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip47

Figure 11 The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in The Pre-test and the

Post- testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip49

Figure 12 The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the pre-test and the Post-

testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

Figure 13 The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and The Experimental Group in

the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip54

VII

Content

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

1 Statement of the problem helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

2 Aim of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

3 Research questionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 3

4 Research hypothesishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

5 Means of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

6 Structure of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip4

Chapter One Theoretical background

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

11 Definition of Listening Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

13 Reasons of listening helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

14 Types of Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

141 Extensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

142 Intensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

15 Listening Processes helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

151 Bottom-up Processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

152 Top down processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

16 Brief History of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

17 Definition of Storytellinghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip12

18 Definition of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip13

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Storyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip14

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classroomshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

11Definition of Speaking Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

12Speaking Sub-Competencies Skillshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

13 Definition of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

VIII

14Importance of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip24

15 Factors Affecting Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

16151 Internal Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

152 External Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28

Conclusion helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Chapter two Field Work

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

21 Methodologyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

211 Research Participantshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

212 The Procedurehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35

2121 The Research Design helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2122 The Pre-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2123 The Treatment Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

2124 The Control Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

2125 The Post-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

213 Scoring helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

214 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47

21431 Paired Sample t-test helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group

in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip55

215 Discussion of the Resultshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

216 Pedagogical Implicationshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip58

General Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip59

Limitation of The Studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60

List of Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip61

Appendices

IX

Reacutesumeacute

ملخص

1

General introduction

Introduction

1 Statement of the Problem

2 Aim of the Study

3 Research Question

4 Research Hypothesis

5 Means of the Study

6 Structure of the Study

2

Introduction

Acquiring comprehensible pronunciation for EFL learners is one of the key supplies

for language proficiency Nowadays mastering the foreign language is the main concern

that most of EFL learners share This high attention raises due to the exposure to the target

language and to the complications that learners may face at whatever time they want to

communicate whether with foreigners or with one another using for instance the English

language Besides listening is not only a matter of innate ability but it is a matter of how to

develop that inborn capacity in order to improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Accordingly audio-stories are used to help developing the learnersrsquo listening skill and to

improve their pronunciation accurateness Furthermore using audio stories in teaching EFL

learners help to evidence that an effective listening process leads to an effective articulation

1 Statement of the Problem

Generally speaking there are various factors that affect learnersrsquo acquisition of the

target language pronunciation The Algerian EFL learners encounter many problems

concerning articulation because EFLESL learners do not have much opportunities to be

exposed to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers in the classroom Since

English is a foreign language learners avoid using it outside the classroom which is resulted

in a bad pronunciation Therefore EFL teachers are required to use audio-stories inside the

classrooms in order to develop studentsrsquo second language and to improve their pronunciation

accuracy

3

2 Aim of the Study

The current study deals with the learnersrsquo pronunciation difficulties of the dark [ϯ]

and the clear [l] It aims at investigating the effect of listening to audio-stories on fostering

the target languagersquos accurate pronunciation of both allophones

3 Research Question

The present study seeks to answer the following question

Does listening to audio-stories help EFL learners to acquire the accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

4 Research Hypothesis

In order to answer the research question the subsequent hypotheses are framed

H1 The EFL learners will acquire accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the

clear [l] through listening to audio-stories

H0 Listening to audio stories will not help EFL learners to acquire accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

5 Means of the Research

In order to achieve the objective of our research a quasi-experimental design is

administered to second year LMD students of English Department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi

University The selected sample (40 students from 210) consists of two groups the control

group and the experimental group Both groups will be pretested in order to assess their

pronunciation accuracy level The pre-test is a kind of short story and small sentences that

contain the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] which learners have to read After that the Praat will be

used in order to record their voices Later on the experimental group will take the treatment

for four sessions in which they will listen to the audio stories each session will take one

4

hour and a half However the control group will not receive any kind of treatment (they will

be taught in a normal way without listening to audio stories) Furthermore a post-test which

is different from that of the pre-test will be administered to both groups in order to test their

pronunciation development

6 Structure of the Study

The present study is divided into two chapters The first chapter is a theoretical one

and it is composed of two sections The first section is about listening to audio stories in

which we define the process of listening and mention the main differences between listening

and hearing After that we discuss the reasons of listening its types and processes Later

on the second sub-section deals with audio stories At the start we introduce a brief history

about the notion of audio stories and then we introduce stories in general Afterward we

discuss the characteristics of audio stories their use and advantages The second section

deals with the pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] at the beginning we shed light

on the definition of speaking skill and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section

deals with the definition of pronunciation and its importance Besides it introduces factors

that affect pronunciation The second chapter deals with the field work in which it sheds

light on collecting data presenting and analyzing it and at the end interpreting results

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 5: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

IV

List of Abbreviations

EFL English as a Foreign Language

ESL English as a second Language

FLA Foreign Language Aptitude

Cpre Control Group pre-test

Cpost Control Group Post-test

Epre Experimental Group pre-test

Epost Control Group Post-test

H1 Alternative Hypothesis

H0 Null Hypothesis

V

List of Tables

Table 1 The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the Pre-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphellip41

Table 2 The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in The Pre-test hellip43

Table 3 Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental Group in the

Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip45

Table 4 The Mean of the Control Group in the Pre-test and Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46

Table 5 The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphellip48

Table 6 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores Differenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip51

Table 7 The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip52

Table 8 The Mean of the Control Group and The Experimental Group in the Post-testhellip53

VI

List of Figures

Figure 1 Articulatory Differences in l Velarization helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Figure 2 Experimental Group Procedureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

Figure 3 Control Group Procedureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

Figure 4 Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ]in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

Figure 5 Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoCabalrdquo helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39

Figure 6 Example of the Clear [l]in the Word ldquolabourrdquohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39

Figure 7 The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquohelliphellip40

Figure 8 The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the word ldquoballrdquohelliphelliphellip41

Figure 9 The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip43

Figure 10 The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip47

Figure 11 The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in The Pre-test and the

Post- testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip49

Figure 12 The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the pre-test and the Post-

testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

Figure 13 The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and The Experimental Group in

the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip54

VII

Content

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

1 Statement of the problem helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

2 Aim of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

3 Research questionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 3

4 Research hypothesishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

5 Means of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

6 Structure of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip4

Chapter One Theoretical background

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

11 Definition of Listening Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

13 Reasons of listening helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

14 Types of Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

141 Extensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

142 Intensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

15 Listening Processes helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

151 Bottom-up Processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

152 Top down processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

16 Brief History of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

17 Definition of Storytellinghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip12

18 Definition of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip13

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Storyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip14

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classroomshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

11Definition of Speaking Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

12Speaking Sub-Competencies Skillshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

13 Definition of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

VIII

14Importance of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip24

15 Factors Affecting Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

16151 Internal Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

152 External Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28

Conclusion helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Chapter two Field Work

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

21 Methodologyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

211 Research Participantshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

212 The Procedurehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35

2121 The Research Design helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2122 The Pre-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2123 The Treatment Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

2124 The Control Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

2125 The Post-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

213 Scoring helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

214 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47

21431 Paired Sample t-test helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group

in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip55

215 Discussion of the Resultshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

216 Pedagogical Implicationshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip58

General Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip59

Limitation of The Studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60

List of Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip61

Appendices

IX

Reacutesumeacute

ملخص

1

General introduction

Introduction

1 Statement of the Problem

2 Aim of the Study

3 Research Question

4 Research Hypothesis

5 Means of the Study

6 Structure of the Study

2

Introduction

Acquiring comprehensible pronunciation for EFL learners is one of the key supplies

for language proficiency Nowadays mastering the foreign language is the main concern

that most of EFL learners share This high attention raises due to the exposure to the target

language and to the complications that learners may face at whatever time they want to

communicate whether with foreigners or with one another using for instance the English

language Besides listening is not only a matter of innate ability but it is a matter of how to

develop that inborn capacity in order to improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Accordingly audio-stories are used to help developing the learnersrsquo listening skill and to

improve their pronunciation accurateness Furthermore using audio stories in teaching EFL

learners help to evidence that an effective listening process leads to an effective articulation

1 Statement of the Problem

Generally speaking there are various factors that affect learnersrsquo acquisition of the

target language pronunciation The Algerian EFL learners encounter many problems

concerning articulation because EFLESL learners do not have much opportunities to be

exposed to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers in the classroom Since

English is a foreign language learners avoid using it outside the classroom which is resulted

in a bad pronunciation Therefore EFL teachers are required to use audio-stories inside the

classrooms in order to develop studentsrsquo second language and to improve their pronunciation

accuracy

3

2 Aim of the Study

The current study deals with the learnersrsquo pronunciation difficulties of the dark [ϯ]

and the clear [l] It aims at investigating the effect of listening to audio-stories on fostering

the target languagersquos accurate pronunciation of both allophones

3 Research Question

The present study seeks to answer the following question

Does listening to audio-stories help EFL learners to acquire the accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

4 Research Hypothesis

In order to answer the research question the subsequent hypotheses are framed

H1 The EFL learners will acquire accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the

clear [l] through listening to audio-stories

H0 Listening to audio stories will not help EFL learners to acquire accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

5 Means of the Research

In order to achieve the objective of our research a quasi-experimental design is

administered to second year LMD students of English Department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi

University The selected sample (40 students from 210) consists of two groups the control

group and the experimental group Both groups will be pretested in order to assess their

pronunciation accuracy level The pre-test is a kind of short story and small sentences that

contain the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] which learners have to read After that the Praat will be

used in order to record their voices Later on the experimental group will take the treatment

for four sessions in which they will listen to the audio stories each session will take one

4

hour and a half However the control group will not receive any kind of treatment (they will

be taught in a normal way without listening to audio stories) Furthermore a post-test which

is different from that of the pre-test will be administered to both groups in order to test their

pronunciation development

6 Structure of the Study

The present study is divided into two chapters The first chapter is a theoretical one

and it is composed of two sections The first section is about listening to audio stories in

which we define the process of listening and mention the main differences between listening

and hearing After that we discuss the reasons of listening its types and processes Later

on the second sub-section deals with audio stories At the start we introduce a brief history

about the notion of audio stories and then we introduce stories in general Afterward we

discuss the characteristics of audio stories their use and advantages The second section

deals with the pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] at the beginning we shed light

on the definition of speaking skill and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section

deals with the definition of pronunciation and its importance Besides it introduces factors

that affect pronunciation The second chapter deals with the field work in which it sheds

light on collecting data presenting and analyzing it and at the end interpreting results

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 6: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

V

List of Tables

Table 1 The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the Pre-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphellip41

Table 2 The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in The Pre-test hellip43

Table 3 Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental Group in the

Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip45

Table 4 The Mean of the Control Group in the Pre-test and Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46

Table 5 The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphellip48

Table 6 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores Differenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip51

Table 7 The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip52

Table 8 The Mean of the Control Group and The Experimental Group in the Post-testhellip53

VI

List of Figures

Figure 1 Articulatory Differences in l Velarization helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Figure 2 Experimental Group Procedureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

Figure 3 Control Group Procedureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

Figure 4 Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ]in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

Figure 5 Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoCabalrdquo helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39

Figure 6 Example of the Clear [l]in the Word ldquolabourrdquohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39

Figure 7 The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquohelliphellip40

Figure 8 The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the word ldquoballrdquohelliphelliphellip41

Figure 9 The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip43

Figure 10 The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip47

Figure 11 The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in The Pre-test and the

Post- testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip49

Figure 12 The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the pre-test and the Post-

testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

Figure 13 The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and The Experimental Group in

the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip54

VII

Content

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

1 Statement of the problem helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

2 Aim of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

3 Research questionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 3

4 Research hypothesishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

5 Means of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

6 Structure of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip4

Chapter One Theoretical background

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

11 Definition of Listening Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

13 Reasons of listening helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

14 Types of Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

141 Extensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

142 Intensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

15 Listening Processes helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

151 Bottom-up Processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

152 Top down processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

16 Brief History of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

17 Definition of Storytellinghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip12

18 Definition of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip13

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Storyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip14

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classroomshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

11Definition of Speaking Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

12Speaking Sub-Competencies Skillshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

13 Definition of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

VIII

14Importance of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip24

15 Factors Affecting Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

16151 Internal Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

152 External Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28

Conclusion helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Chapter two Field Work

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

21 Methodologyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

211 Research Participantshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

212 The Procedurehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35

2121 The Research Design helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2122 The Pre-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2123 The Treatment Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

2124 The Control Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

2125 The Post-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

213 Scoring helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

214 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47

21431 Paired Sample t-test helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group

in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip55

215 Discussion of the Resultshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

216 Pedagogical Implicationshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip58

General Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip59

Limitation of The Studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60

List of Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip61

Appendices

IX

Reacutesumeacute

ملخص

1

General introduction

Introduction

1 Statement of the Problem

2 Aim of the Study

3 Research Question

4 Research Hypothesis

5 Means of the Study

6 Structure of the Study

2

Introduction

Acquiring comprehensible pronunciation for EFL learners is one of the key supplies

for language proficiency Nowadays mastering the foreign language is the main concern

that most of EFL learners share This high attention raises due to the exposure to the target

language and to the complications that learners may face at whatever time they want to

communicate whether with foreigners or with one another using for instance the English

language Besides listening is not only a matter of innate ability but it is a matter of how to

develop that inborn capacity in order to improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Accordingly audio-stories are used to help developing the learnersrsquo listening skill and to

improve their pronunciation accurateness Furthermore using audio stories in teaching EFL

learners help to evidence that an effective listening process leads to an effective articulation

1 Statement of the Problem

Generally speaking there are various factors that affect learnersrsquo acquisition of the

target language pronunciation The Algerian EFL learners encounter many problems

concerning articulation because EFLESL learners do not have much opportunities to be

exposed to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers in the classroom Since

English is a foreign language learners avoid using it outside the classroom which is resulted

in a bad pronunciation Therefore EFL teachers are required to use audio-stories inside the

classrooms in order to develop studentsrsquo second language and to improve their pronunciation

accuracy

3

2 Aim of the Study

The current study deals with the learnersrsquo pronunciation difficulties of the dark [ϯ]

and the clear [l] It aims at investigating the effect of listening to audio-stories on fostering

the target languagersquos accurate pronunciation of both allophones

3 Research Question

The present study seeks to answer the following question

Does listening to audio-stories help EFL learners to acquire the accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

4 Research Hypothesis

In order to answer the research question the subsequent hypotheses are framed

H1 The EFL learners will acquire accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the

clear [l] through listening to audio-stories

H0 Listening to audio stories will not help EFL learners to acquire accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

5 Means of the Research

In order to achieve the objective of our research a quasi-experimental design is

administered to second year LMD students of English Department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi

University The selected sample (40 students from 210) consists of two groups the control

group and the experimental group Both groups will be pretested in order to assess their

pronunciation accuracy level The pre-test is a kind of short story and small sentences that

contain the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] which learners have to read After that the Praat will be

used in order to record their voices Later on the experimental group will take the treatment

for four sessions in which they will listen to the audio stories each session will take one

4

hour and a half However the control group will not receive any kind of treatment (they will

be taught in a normal way without listening to audio stories) Furthermore a post-test which

is different from that of the pre-test will be administered to both groups in order to test their

pronunciation development

6 Structure of the Study

The present study is divided into two chapters The first chapter is a theoretical one

and it is composed of two sections The first section is about listening to audio stories in

which we define the process of listening and mention the main differences between listening

and hearing After that we discuss the reasons of listening its types and processes Later

on the second sub-section deals with audio stories At the start we introduce a brief history

about the notion of audio stories and then we introduce stories in general Afterward we

discuss the characteristics of audio stories their use and advantages The second section

deals with the pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] at the beginning we shed light

on the definition of speaking skill and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section

deals with the definition of pronunciation and its importance Besides it introduces factors

that affect pronunciation The second chapter deals with the field work in which it sheds

light on collecting data presenting and analyzing it and at the end interpreting results

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 7: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

VI

List of Figures

Figure 1 Articulatory Differences in l Velarization helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Figure 2 Experimental Group Procedureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

Figure 3 Control Group Procedureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

Figure 4 Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ]in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

Figure 5 Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoCabalrdquo helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39

Figure 6 Example of the Clear [l]in the Word ldquolabourrdquohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39

Figure 7 The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquohelliphellip40

Figure 8 The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the word ldquoballrdquohelliphelliphellip41

Figure 9 The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip43

Figure 10 The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip47

Figure 11 The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in The Pre-test and the

Post- testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip49

Figure 12 The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the pre-test and the Post-

testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

Figure 13 The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and The Experimental Group in

the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip54

VII

Content

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

1 Statement of the problem helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

2 Aim of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

3 Research questionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 3

4 Research hypothesishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

5 Means of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

6 Structure of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip4

Chapter One Theoretical background

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

11 Definition of Listening Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

13 Reasons of listening helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

14 Types of Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

141 Extensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

142 Intensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

15 Listening Processes helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

151 Bottom-up Processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

152 Top down processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

16 Brief History of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

17 Definition of Storytellinghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip12

18 Definition of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip13

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Storyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip14

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classroomshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

11Definition of Speaking Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

12Speaking Sub-Competencies Skillshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

13 Definition of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

VIII

14Importance of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip24

15 Factors Affecting Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

16151 Internal Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

152 External Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28

Conclusion helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Chapter two Field Work

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

21 Methodologyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

211 Research Participantshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

212 The Procedurehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35

2121 The Research Design helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2122 The Pre-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2123 The Treatment Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

2124 The Control Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

2125 The Post-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

213 Scoring helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

214 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47

21431 Paired Sample t-test helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group

in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip55

215 Discussion of the Resultshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

216 Pedagogical Implicationshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip58

General Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip59

Limitation of The Studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60

List of Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip61

Appendices

IX

Reacutesumeacute

ملخص

1

General introduction

Introduction

1 Statement of the Problem

2 Aim of the Study

3 Research Question

4 Research Hypothesis

5 Means of the Study

6 Structure of the Study

2

Introduction

Acquiring comprehensible pronunciation for EFL learners is one of the key supplies

for language proficiency Nowadays mastering the foreign language is the main concern

that most of EFL learners share This high attention raises due to the exposure to the target

language and to the complications that learners may face at whatever time they want to

communicate whether with foreigners or with one another using for instance the English

language Besides listening is not only a matter of innate ability but it is a matter of how to

develop that inborn capacity in order to improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Accordingly audio-stories are used to help developing the learnersrsquo listening skill and to

improve their pronunciation accurateness Furthermore using audio stories in teaching EFL

learners help to evidence that an effective listening process leads to an effective articulation

1 Statement of the Problem

Generally speaking there are various factors that affect learnersrsquo acquisition of the

target language pronunciation The Algerian EFL learners encounter many problems

concerning articulation because EFLESL learners do not have much opportunities to be

exposed to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers in the classroom Since

English is a foreign language learners avoid using it outside the classroom which is resulted

in a bad pronunciation Therefore EFL teachers are required to use audio-stories inside the

classrooms in order to develop studentsrsquo second language and to improve their pronunciation

accuracy

3

2 Aim of the Study

The current study deals with the learnersrsquo pronunciation difficulties of the dark [ϯ]

and the clear [l] It aims at investigating the effect of listening to audio-stories on fostering

the target languagersquos accurate pronunciation of both allophones

3 Research Question

The present study seeks to answer the following question

Does listening to audio-stories help EFL learners to acquire the accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

4 Research Hypothesis

In order to answer the research question the subsequent hypotheses are framed

H1 The EFL learners will acquire accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the

clear [l] through listening to audio-stories

H0 Listening to audio stories will not help EFL learners to acquire accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

5 Means of the Research

In order to achieve the objective of our research a quasi-experimental design is

administered to second year LMD students of English Department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi

University The selected sample (40 students from 210) consists of two groups the control

group and the experimental group Both groups will be pretested in order to assess their

pronunciation accuracy level The pre-test is a kind of short story and small sentences that

contain the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] which learners have to read After that the Praat will be

used in order to record their voices Later on the experimental group will take the treatment

for four sessions in which they will listen to the audio stories each session will take one

4

hour and a half However the control group will not receive any kind of treatment (they will

be taught in a normal way without listening to audio stories) Furthermore a post-test which

is different from that of the pre-test will be administered to both groups in order to test their

pronunciation development

6 Structure of the Study

The present study is divided into two chapters The first chapter is a theoretical one

and it is composed of two sections The first section is about listening to audio stories in

which we define the process of listening and mention the main differences between listening

and hearing After that we discuss the reasons of listening its types and processes Later

on the second sub-section deals with audio stories At the start we introduce a brief history

about the notion of audio stories and then we introduce stories in general Afterward we

discuss the characteristics of audio stories their use and advantages The second section

deals with the pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] at the beginning we shed light

on the definition of speaking skill and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section

deals with the definition of pronunciation and its importance Besides it introduces factors

that affect pronunciation The second chapter deals with the field work in which it sheds

light on collecting data presenting and analyzing it and at the end interpreting results

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 8: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

VII

Content

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

1 Statement of the problem helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

2 Aim of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

3 Research questionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 3

4 Research hypothesishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

5 Means of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3

6 Structure of the studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip4

Chapter One Theoretical background

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

11 Definition of Listening Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

13 Reasons of listening helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8

14 Types of Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

141 Extensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9

142 Intensive Listeninghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

15 Listening Processes helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

151 Bottom-up Processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10

152 Top down processhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

16 Brief History of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

17 Definition of Storytellinghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip12

18 Definition of Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip13

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Storyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip14

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classroomshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Storieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

11Definition of Speaking Skillhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20

12Speaking Sub-Competencies Skillshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

13 Definition of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

VIII

14Importance of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip24

15 Factors Affecting Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

16151 Internal Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

152 External Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28

Conclusion helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Chapter two Field Work

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

21 Methodologyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

211 Research Participantshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

212 The Procedurehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35

2121 The Research Design helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2122 The Pre-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2123 The Treatment Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

2124 The Control Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

2125 The Post-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

213 Scoring helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

214 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47

21431 Paired Sample t-test helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group

in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip55

215 Discussion of the Resultshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

216 Pedagogical Implicationshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip58

General Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip59

Limitation of The Studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60

List of Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip61

Appendices

IX

Reacutesumeacute

ملخص

1

General introduction

Introduction

1 Statement of the Problem

2 Aim of the Study

3 Research Question

4 Research Hypothesis

5 Means of the Study

6 Structure of the Study

2

Introduction

Acquiring comprehensible pronunciation for EFL learners is one of the key supplies

for language proficiency Nowadays mastering the foreign language is the main concern

that most of EFL learners share This high attention raises due to the exposure to the target

language and to the complications that learners may face at whatever time they want to

communicate whether with foreigners or with one another using for instance the English

language Besides listening is not only a matter of innate ability but it is a matter of how to

develop that inborn capacity in order to improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Accordingly audio-stories are used to help developing the learnersrsquo listening skill and to

improve their pronunciation accurateness Furthermore using audio stories in teaching EFL

learners help to evidence that an effective listening process leads to an effective articulation

1 Statement of the Problem

Generally speaking there are various factors that affect learnersrsquo acquisition of the

target language pronunciation The Algerian EFL learners encounter many problems

concerning articulation because EFLESL learners do not have much opportunities to be

exposed to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers in the classroom Since

English is a foreign language learners avoid using it outside the classroom which is resulted

in a bad pronunciation Therefore EFL teachers are required to use audio-stories inside the

classrooms in order to develop studentsrsquo second language and to improve their pronunciation

accuracy

3

2 Aim of the Study

The current study deals with the learnersrsquo pronunciation difficulties of the dark [ϯ]

and the clear [l] It aims at investigating the effect of listening to audio-stories on fostering

the target languagersquos accurate pronunciation of both allophones

3 Research Question

The present study seeks to answer the following question

Does listening to audio-stories help EFL learners to acquire the accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

4 Research Hypothesis

In order to answer the research question the subsequent hypotheses are framed

H1 The EFL learners will acquire accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the

clear [l] through listening to audio-stories

H0 Listening to audio stories will not help EFL learners to acquire accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

5 Means of the Research

In order to achieve the objective of our research a quasi-experimental design is

administered to second year LMD students of English Department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi

University The selected sample (40 students from 210) consists of two groups the control

group and the experimental group Both groups will be pretested in order to assess their

pronunciation accuracy level The pre-test is a kind of short story and small sentences that

contain the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] which learners have to read After that the Praat will be

used in order to record their voices Later on the experimental group will take the treatment

for four sessions in which they will listen to the audio stories each session will take one

4

hour and a half However the control group will not receive any kind of treatment (they will

be taught in a normal way without listening to audio stories) Furthermore a post-test which

is different from that of the pre-test will be administered to both groups in order to test their

pronunciation development

6 Structure of the Study

The present study is divided into two chapters The first chapter is a theoretical one

and it is composed of two sections The first section is about listening to audio stories in

which we define the process of listening and mention the main differences between listening

and hearing After that we discuss the reasons of listening its types and processes Later

on the second sub-section deals with audio stories At the start we introduce a brief history

about the notion of audio stories and then we introduce stories in general Afterward we

discuss the characteristics of audio stories their use and advantages The second section

deals with the pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] at the beginning we shed light

on the definition of speaking skill and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section

deals with the definition of pronunciation and its importance Besides it introduces factors

that affect pronunciation The second chapter deals with the field work in which it sheds

light on collecting data presenting and analyzing it and at the end interpreting results

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 9: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

VIII

14Importance of Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip24

15 Factors Affecting Pronunciationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

16151 Internal Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25

152 External Factorshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28

Conclusion helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip31

Chapter two Field Work

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

21 Methodologyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

211 Research Participantshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34

212 The Procedurehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35

2121 The Research Design helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2122 The Pre-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36

2123 The Treatment Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37

2124 The Control Grouphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

2125 The Post-test Phasehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38

213 Scoring helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

214 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47

21431 Paired Sample t-test helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip50

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group

in the Post-testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip55

215 Discussion of the Resultshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

216 Pedagogical Implicationshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip58

General Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip59

Limitation of The Studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60

List of Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip61

Appendices

IX

Reacutesumeacute

ملخص

1

General introduction

Introduction

1 Statement of the Problem

2 Aim of the Study

3 Research Question

4 Research Hypothesis

5 Means of the Study

6 Structure of the Study

2

Introduction

Acquiring comprehensible pronunciation for EFL learners is one of the key supplies

for language proficiency Nowadays mastering the foreign language is the main concern

that most of EFL learners share This high attention raises due to the exposure to the target

language and to the complications that learners may face at whatever time they want to

communicate whether with foreigners or with one another using for instance the English

language Besides listening is not only a matter of innate ability but it is a matter of how to

develop that inborn capacity in order to improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Accordingly audio-stories are used to help developing the learnersrsquo listening skill and to

improve their pronunciation accurateness Furthermore using audio stories in teaching EFL

learners help to evidence that an effective listening process leads to an effective articulation

1 Statement of the Problem

Generally speaking there are various factors that affect learnersrsquo acquisition of the

target language pronunciation The Algerian EFL learners encounter many problems

concerning articulation because EFLESL learners do not have much opportunities to be

exposed to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers in the classroom Since

English is a foreign language learners avoid using it outside the classroom which is resulted

in a bad pronunciation Therefore EFL teachers are required to use audio-stories inside the

classrooms in order to develop studentsrsquo second language and to improve their pronunciation

accuracy

3

2 Aim of the Study

The current study deals with the learnersrsquo pronunciation difficulties of the dark [ϯ]

and the clear [l] It aims at investigating the effect of listening to audio-stories on fostering

the target languagersquos accurate pronunciation of both allophones

3 Research Question

The present study seeks to answer the following question

Does listening to audio-stories help EFL learners to acquire the accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

4 Research Hypothesis

In order to answer the research question the subsequent hypotheses are framed

H1 The EFL learners will acquire accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the

clear [l] through listening to audio-stories

H0 Listening to audio stories will not help EFL learners to acquire accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

5 Means of the Research

In order to achieve the objective of our research a quasi-experimental design is

administered to second year LMD students of English Department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi

University The selected sample (40 students from 210) consists of two groups the control

group and the experimental group Both groups will be pretested in order to assess their

pronunciation accuracy level The pre-test is a kind of short story and small sentences that

contain the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] which learners have to read After that the Praat will be

used in order to record their voices Later on the experimental group will take the treatment

for four sessions in which they will listen to the audio stories each session will take one

4

hour and a half However the control group will not receive any kind of treatment (they will

be taught in a normal way without listening to audio stories) Furthermore a post-test which

is different from that of the pre-test will be administered to both groups in order to test their

pronunciation development

6 Structure of the Study

The present study is divided into two chapters The first chapter is a theoretical one

and it is composed of two sections The first section is about listening to audio stories in

which we define the process of listening and mention the main differences between listening

and hearing After that we discuss the reasons of listening its types and processes Later

on the second sub-section deals with audio stories At the start we introduce a brief history

about the notion of audio stories and then we introduce stories in general Afterward we

discuss the characteristics of audio stories their use and advantages The second section

deals with the pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] at the beginning we shed light

on the definition of speaking skill and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section

deals with the definition of pronunciation and its importance Besides it introduces factors

that affect pronunciation The second chapter deals with the field work in which it sheds

light on collecting data presenting and analyzing it and at the end interpreting results

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 10: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

IX

Reacutesumeacute

ملخص

1

General introduction

Introduction

1 Statement of the Problem

2 Aim of the Study

3 Research Question

4 Research Hypothesis

5 Means of the Study

6 Structure of the Study

2

Introduction

Acquiring comprehensible pronunciation for EFL learners is one of the key supplies

for language proficiency Nowadays mastering the foreign language is the main concern

that most of EFL learners share This high attention raises due to the exposure to the target

language and to the complications that learners may face at whatever time they want to

communicate whether with foreigners or with one another using for instance the English

language Besides listening is not only a matter of innate ability but it is a matter of how to

develop that inborn capacity in order to improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Accordingly audio-stories are used to help developing the learnersrsquo listening skill and to

improve their pronunciation accurateness Furthermore using audio stories in teaching EFL

learners help to evidence that an effective listening process leads to an effective articulation

1 Statement of the Problem

Generally speaking there are various factors that affect learnersrsquo acquisition of the

target language pronunciation The Algerian EFL learners encounter many problems

concerning articulation because EFLESL learners do not have much opportunities to be

exposed to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers in the classroom Since

English is a foreign language learners avoid using it outside the classroom which is resulted

in a bad pronunciation Therefore EFL teachers are required to use audio-stories inside the

classrooms in order to develop studentsrsquo second language and to improve their pronunciation

accuracy

3

2 Aim of the Study

The current study deals with the learnersrsquo pronunciation difficulties of the dark [ϯ]

and the clear [l] It aims at investigating the effect of listening to audio-stories on fostering

the target languagersquos accurate pronunciation of both allophones

3 Research Question

The present study seeks to answer the following question

Does listening to audio-stories help EFL learners to acquire the accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

4 Research Hypothesis

In order to answer the research question the subsequent hypotheses are framed

H1 The EFL learners will acquire accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the

clear [l] through listening to audio-stories

H0 Listening to audio stories will not help EFL learners to acquire accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

5 Means of the Research

In order to achieve the objective of our research a quasi-experimental design is

administered to second year LMD students of English Department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi

University The selected sample (40 students from 210) consists of two groups the control

group and the experimental group Both groups will be pretested in order to assess their

pronunciation accuracy level The pre-test is a kind of short story and small sentences that

contain the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] which learners have to read After that the Praat will be

used in order to record their voices Later on the experimental group will take the treatment

for four sessions in which they will listen to the audio stories each session will take one

4

hour and a half However the control group will not receive any kind of treatment (they will

be taught in a normal way without listening to audio stories) Furthermore a post-test which

is different from that of the pre-test will be administered to both groups in order to test their

pronunciation development

6 Structure of the Study

The present study is divided into two chapters The first chapter is a theoretical one

and it is composed of two sections The first section is about listening to audio stories in

which we define the process of listening and mention the main differences between listening

and hearing After that we discuss the reasons of listening its types and processes Later

on the second sub-section deals with audio stories At the start we introduce a brief history

about the notion of audio stories and then we introduce stories in general Afterward we

discuss the characteristics of audio stories their use and advantages The second section

deals with the pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] at the beginning we shed light

on the definition of speaking skill and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section

deals with the definition of pronunciation and its importance Besides it introduces factors

that affect pronunciation The second chapter deals with the field work in which it sheds

light on collecting data presenting and analyzing it and at the end interpreting results

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 11: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

1

General introduction

Introduction

1 Statement of the Problem

2 Aim of the Study

3 Research Question

4 Research Hypothesis

5 Means of the Study

6 Structure of the Study

2

Introduction

Acquiring comprehensible pronunciation for EFL learners is one of the key supplies

for language proficiency Nowadays mastering the foreign language is the main concern

that most of EFL learners share This high attention raises due to the exposure to the target

language and to the complications that learners may face at whatever time they want to

communicate whether with foreigners or with one another using for instance the English

language Besides listening is not only a matter of innate ability but it is a matter of how to

develop that inborn capacity in order to improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Accordingly audio-stories are used to help developing the learnersrsquo listening skill and to

improve their pronunciation accurateness Furthermore using audio stories in teaching EFL

learners help to evidence that an effective listening process leads to an effective articulation

1 Statement of the Problem

Generally speaking there are various factors that affect learnersrsquo acquisition of the

target language pronunciation The Algerian EFL learners encounter many problems

concerning articulation because EFLESL learners do not have much opportunities to be

exposed to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers in the classroom Since

English is a foreign language learners avoid using it outside the classroom which is resulted

in a bad pronunciation Therefore EFL teachers are required to use audio-stories inside the

classrooms in order to develop studentsrsquo second language and to improve their pronunciation

accuracy

3

2 Aim of the Study

The current study deals with the learnersrsquo pronunciation difficulties of the dark [ϯ]

and the clear [l] It aims at investigating the effect of listening to audio-stories on fostering

the target languagersquos accurate pronunciation of both allophones

3 Research Question

The present study seeks to answer the following question

Does listening to audio-stories help EFL learners to acquire the accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

4 Research Hypothesis

In order to answer the research question the subsequent hypotheses are framed

H1 The EFL learners will acquire accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the

clear [l] through listening to audio-stories

H0 Listening to audio stories will not help EFL learners to acquire accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

5 Means of the Research

In order to achieve the objective of our research a quasi-experimental design is

administered to second year LMD students of English Department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi

University The selected sample (40 students from 210) consists of two groups the control

group and the experimental group Both groups will be pretested in order to assess their

pronunciation accuracy level The pre-test is a kind of short story and small sentences that

contain the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] which learners have to read After that the Praat will be

used in order to record their voices Later on the experimental group will take the treatment

for four sessions in which they will listen to the audio stories each session will take one

4

hour and a half However the control group will not receive any kind of treatment (they will

be taught in a normal way without listening to audio stories) Furthermore a post-test which

is different from that of the pre-test will be administered to both groups in order to test their

pronunciation development

6 Structure of the Study

The present study is divided into two chapters The first chapter is a theoretical one

and it is composed of two sections The first section is about listening to audio stories in

which we define the process of listening and mention the main differences between listening

and hearing After that we discuss the reasons of listening its types and processes Later

on the second sub-section deals with audio stories At the start we introduce a brief history

about the notion of audio stories and then we introduce stories in general Afterward we

discuss the characteristics of audio stories their use and advantages The second section

deals with the pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] at the beginning we shed light

on the definition of speaking skill and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section

deals with the definition of pronunciation and its importance Besides it introduces factors

that affect pronunciation The second chapter deals with the field work in which it sheds

light on collecting data presenting and analyzing it and at the end interpreting results

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 12: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

2

Introduction

Acquiring comprehensible pronunciation for EFL learners is one of the key supplies

for language proficiency Nowadays mastering the foreign language is the main concern

that most of EFL learners share This high attention raises due to the exposure to the target

language and to the complications that learners may face at whatever time they want to

communicate whether with foreigners or with one another using for instance the English

language Besides listening is not only a matter of innate ability but it is a matter of how to

develop that inborn capacity in order to improve the learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Accordingly audio-stories are used to help developing the learnersrsquo listening skill and to

improve their pronunciation accurateness Furthermore using audio stories in teaching EFL

learners help to evidence that an effective listening process leads to an effective articulation

1 Statement of the Problem

Generally speaking there are various factors that affect learnersrsquo acquisition of the

target language pronunciation The Algerian EFL learners encounter many problems

concerning articulation because EFLESL learners do not have much opportunities to be

exposed to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers in the classroom Since

English is a foreign language learners avoid using it outside the classroom which is resulted

in a bad pronunciation Therefore EFL teachers are required to use audio-stories inside the

classrooms in order to develop studentsrsquo second language and to improve their pronunciation

accuracy

3

2 Aim of the Study

The current study deals with the learnersrsquo pronunciation difficulties of the dark [ϯ]

and the clear [l] It aims at investigating the effect of listening to audio-stories on fostering

the target languagersquos accurate pronunciation of both allophones

3 Research Question

The present study seeks to answer the following question

Does listening to audio-stories help EFL learners to acquire the accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

4 Research Hypothesis

In order to answer the research question the subsequent hypotheses are framed

H1 The EFL learners will acquire accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the

clear [l] through listening to audio-stories

H0 Listening to audio stories will not help EFL learners to acquire accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

5 Means of the Research

In order to achieve the objective of our research a quasi-experimental design is

administered to second year LMD students of English Department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi

University The selected sample (40 students from 210) consists of two groups the control

group and the experimental group Both groups will be pretested in order to assess their

pronunciation accuracy level The pre-test is a kind of short story and small sentences that

contain the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] which learners have to read After that the Praat will be

used in order to record their voices Later on the experimental group will take the treatment

for four sessions in which they will listen to the audio stories each session will take one

4

hour and a half However the control group will not receive any kind of treatment (they will

be taught in a normal way without listening to audio stories) Furthermore a post-test which

is different from that of the pre-test will be administered to both groups in order to test their

pronunciation development

6 Structure of the Study

The present study is divided into two chapters The first chapter is a theoretical one

and it is composed of two sections The first section is about listening to audio stories in

which we define the process of listening and mention the main differences between listening

and hearing After that we discuss the reasons of listening its types and processes Later

on the second sub-section deals with audio stories At the start we introduce a brief history

about the notion of audio stories and then we introduce stories in general Afterward we

discuss the characteristics of audio stories their use and advantages The second section

deals with the pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] at the beginning we shed light

on the definition of speaking skill and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section

deals with the definition of pronunciation and its importance Besides it introduces factors

that affect pronunciation The second chapter deals with the field work in which it sheds

light on collecting data presenting and analyzing it and at the end interpreting results

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 13: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

3

2 Aim of the Study

The current study deals with the learnersrsquo pronunciation difficulties of the dark [ϯ]

and the clear [l] It aims at investigating the effect of listening to audio-stories on fostering

the target languagersquos accurate pronunciation of both allophones

3 Research Question

The present study seeks to answer the following question

Does listening to audio-stories help EFL learners to acquire the accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

4 Research Hypothesis

In order to answer the research question the subsequent hypotheses are framed

H1 The EFL learners will acquire accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the

clear [l] through listening to audio-stories

H0 Listening to audio stories will not help EFL learners to acquire accurate

pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

5 Means of the Research

In order to achieve the objective of our research a quasi-experimental design is

administered to second year LMD students of English Department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi

University The selected sample (40 students from 210) consists of two groups the control

group and the experimental group Both groups will be pretested in order to assess their

pronunciation accuracy level The pre-test is a kind of short story and small sentences that

contain the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] which learners have to read After that the Praat will be

used in order to record their voices Later on the experimental group will take the treatment

for four sessions in which they will listen to the audio stories each session will take one

4

hour and a half However the control group will not receive any kind of treatment (they will

be taught in a normal way without listening to audio stories) Furthermore a post-test which

is different from that of the pre-test will be administered to both groups in order to test their

pronunciation development

6 Structure of the Study

The present study is divided into two chapters The first chapter is a theoretical one

and it is composed of two sections The first section is about listening to audio stories in

which we define the process of listening and mention the main differences between listening

and hearing After that we discuss the reasons of listening its types and processes Later

on the second sub-section deals with audio stories At the start we introduce a brief history

about the notion of audio stories and then we introduce stories in general Afterward we

discuss the characteristics of audio stories their use and advantages The second section

deals with the pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] at the beginning we shed light

on the definition of speaking skill and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section

deals with the definition of pronunciation and its importance Besides it introduces factors

that affect pronunciation The second chapter deals with the field work in which it sheds

light on collecting data presenting and analyzing it and at the end interpreting results

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 14: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

4

hour and a half However the control group will not receive any kind of treatment (they will

be taught in a normal way without listening to audio stories) Furthermore a post-test which

is different from that of the pre-test will be administered to both groups in order to test their

pronunciation development

6 Structure of the Study

The present study is divided into two chapters The first chapter is a theoretical one

and it is composed of two sections The first section is about listening to audio stories in

which we define the process of listening and mention the main differences between listening

and hearing After that we discuss the reasons of listening its types and processes Later

on the second sub-section deals with audio stories At the start we introduce a brief history

about the notion of audio stories and then we introduce stories in general Afterward we

discuss the characteristics of audio stories their use and advantages The second section

deals with the pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] at the beginning we shed light

on the definition of speaking skill and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section

deals with the definition of pronunciation and its importance Besides it introduces factors

that affect pronunciation The second chapter deals with the field work in which it sheds

light on collecting data presenting and analyzing it and at the end interpreting results

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 15: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

5

Section One Listening to Audio Stories

Introduction

11 Definition of Listening Skill

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

13 Reasons of Listening

14 Types of Listening

141 Extensive Listening

142 Intensive Listening

15 Listening Processes

151 Bottom-up Process

152 Top down Process

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

17 Definition of Storytelling

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Conclusion

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 16: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

6

Introduction

Nowadays there is a great emphasis put on listening skill since it plays a significant

role in teaching and acquiring the foreign language So this high attention raises because of

the difficulties that learners face whenever they want to communicate thatrsquos why many

researchers shed light on Audio Stories as a tool that can help in developing learnersrsquo

listening process as well as improving their speaking skills and precisely their

pronunciation

The main concern of this section is listening to audio stories First of all we shed

light on the first part which is listening process At the start we need to define listening

skills according to different scholars later on we tackle the main differences between

listening and hearing Also reasons of listening its types and processes Then the second

part of this section deals with the audio stories In the beginning we introduce a brief history

of audio stories and later on the definition of stories in general After that we present the

meaning of audio stories in a specific way and its main characteristics Lastly this section

highlights the use and the advantages of audio stories inside EFL classrooms

11 Definition of Listening Skill

ldquoThe most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen Just to

listen Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attentionrdquo (Remen

2011)

Listening is an important skill in learning and acquiring a foreign language Through

this process learners will be able to receive and understand information According to

Downs (2008) ldquothe word of listening is defined as making an effort to hear something to

pay attention or heedrdquo (p 1) In other words Downs (2008) argues that listening is the way

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 17: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

7

learners pay attention to what is being said In her opinion listening is an active process that

includes using a variety of processes which are attending understanding interpreting

responding and remembering Moreover Mendelsohn (1994) demonstrates listening as ldquothe

ability to understand the spoken language of native speakersrdquo (p 64) To be precise

Mendelsohn defines listening as the listenerrsquo s ability to recognize the native speakerrsquo s

speech in terms of accent pitch intonation vocabulary grammar and trying to interpret the

native speakerrsquo s messages

Saricoban (1999) states that listening is onersquos capacity to realise what is being said

and to recognize the intended meaning He sheds light on two important points the first

point concerns understanding the speakerrsquos pronunciation syntax and lexis whereas the

second point deals with grasping the meaning Willis (1981) lists a series of micro-skills of

listening which she calls enabling skills They are

Predicting what people are going to talk about

Guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic

Using onersquo s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand

Identifying relevant points rejecting irrelevant information

Retaining relevant points (note-taking summarizing)

Recognizing discourse markers eg well oh another thing is now finally

etc

Recognizing cohesive devices e g such as and which including linking

words pronouns references etc

Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress etc which give

clues to meaning and social setting

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 18: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

8

Understanding inferred information eg speakerrsquo s attitude or intentions

(p134

Furthermore listening is an important source of knowledge It is recognized as the

ability of transforming and interpreting the spoken messages that are received by the ears

from the daily life situations Yet listening is a very hard task It requires the learnersrsquo mental

concentration which is something difficult because the human brain can simply lose attention

That is to say listening skill can save learners from communication breakdowns and

increases their motivation to learn the foreign language and speak fluently but only if they

work harder to develop their own listening skills

12 Differences between Listening and Hearing

Listening and hearing are two different activities Kline (1996) emphasizes the

differences between these two concepts to make an effective listening He states that

ldquohearing is the attachment of meaning to the sound Hearing is passive listening is activerdquo

(p7) In other words active listening is a successful element that affects learnersrsquo verbal and

nonverbal behaviors

Surbhi (2016) states the differences between listening and hearing On the one hand

he defines hearing as the natural capacity that happens unconsciously It aids to identify

sounds via the ears Also hearing is a process that permits receiving sound vibrations and

it is one of the five senses On the other hand Surhbi (2016) defines listening skill as the

process of receiving and interpreting messages it occurs consciously

13 Reasons of Listening

Learners through being exposed to different English accents and in any recorded

materials such as radio TV or tapes they want to understand and realize what is being said

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 19: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

9

(Harmer 1998) According to him listening is a very effective process that helps learners to

get a better pronunciation In other words as much as they are exposed to the real language

as much as they will recognize its features

Also Shen (2010) demonstrates that listening skills help to improve understanding

and aids people to become aware of their listening skills So listening plays a vital role in

language learning and acquisition It is an essential skill that bridges the line between

meaning and messages in order to avoid misunderstanding between individuals

14 Types of listening

Generally speaking the listening skill plays a significant role in teaching EFL

classrooms This process guides EFL learners to an effective communication Therefore the

listening skill can be classified into two different types Extensive listening and intensive

listening

141 Extensive Listening

Extensive listening has to do with the learnerrsquos fluency In other words the learner has

to master vocabulary grammarhellipetc and later on he must combine them together to form

a meaningful conversation So fluency depends on the listenerrsquos ability of understanding

whatever he is exposed to weather in an audio tape a text a songhellipetc

Harmer (1998) states that extensive listening is the way students practice their own

listening outside the classroom Students should enjoy listening to an audio material because

they can understand them without the teacherrsquo s help Also students can depend on CDs and

tapes so that they are going to have another chance to listen to their course books dialogues

that they have already provided to them inside the classroom In addition learners must be

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 20: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

10

stimulated to listen to the English language films with sub-titles because this helps students

to acquire the foreign language

In brief extensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-Central (2012) includes

Listening to massive amounts of text

Text which learners can understand reasonably smoothly

high levels of comprehension

Listening without being constrained by pre-set questions or tasks

Listening at or below onersquo s comfortable fluent listening ability

So extensive listening aims to make learners enjoy developing their listening skills

142 Intensive Listening

In contrast to extensive listening intensive listening aims at developing the learnersrsquo

specific listening skills and more precisely to raise the learnersrsquo attention about the spoken

language Intensive listening occurs weather in classrooms or laboratories It exists mostly

when teachers guide their students and provide them with help concerning listening

problems that they face and try to highlight them (Harmer 2007)

So intensive listening according to the Extensive Reading-central (2012) is

Listening for specific information

Listening for the exact words of a phrase or expression

Listening for details

Listening to mimic a text

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

List of References

Alonso SR (2012) The importance of Teaching Listening and Speaking Skills Diagravectica de Lingua

y la Literatura Facultad de Education

Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

learning house on language and linguistic [ Eric No E0355-824]

Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

Comprehension Constantine Constantine University

62

Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

Language International Journal of Science and Basic and Applied Research

Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

phonetic Implementation Academic Press

Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

the Diphthong Education and Teacher Training Faculty Walisongo State institution for

Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

Journal of Engineering Research and Development 12(10) 44-48

Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

Biskra University of Biskra

Zhang Q (2009) Affecting Factors of Native-Like Pronunciation A Literature Review Ching-Ang

University 27(2) 33-52

63

Abrahamson CE (1998) Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in high Education 118(3) Retrieved

from

httpwwwquestiacomlibraryjournal1G1-20494609storytelling-as-a-pedagogical-tool-

inhighereducation

AMP Research Center (2012) Retrieved from

Httpwwwncertrmqeduauconference2001indexhtal

Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

httptoefluobabyloneduiqpaperspearson-2015-1269610pdf

Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

httpitesljorgtechniqueKayi-teaching speakinghtml

English Club (nd) What is listening Retrieved from

httpwwwenglishclubcom

Miller E (2011) Theories of story and storytelling Retrieved from

httpwww-storytellingandvideoconferencingcom167pdf

Pederson E M (1995) Storytelling and the art of listening English teaching forum 33(1)2-5

Retrieved from httpExchangesStategovForumuolsn01p2htm

Remen R N (nd) Listening Skills Retrieved from

httpwwwskillsyouneedcomipslistening-Skills-html

Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 21: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

11

15 Listening Processes

In listening process addressees process information using two distinct strategies

This is devoted to as bottom-up and top-down

151 Bottom-up Process

Richards (1990) states that ldquobottom-up processing refers the use of incoming data as

a source of information about the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 50) According to him Bottom-

up process deals with the perception of sentence components ie recognizing the meaning

of sounds words sentences clauseshellipetc till reaching the meaning of the whole message

152 Top-down Process

Richards (190) states that ldquoTop-down processing on the other hand refers to the use

of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a messagerdquo (p 51) In contrast

to Bottom-up process Richards (1990) points out to the Top-down as the process of using

the listenersrsquo previous knowledge to attain meaning as whole not attaining the meaning of

individual words

16 Brief History of Audio-Stories

Eckert (2016) states that ldquoAudio storytelling in the form of radio drama has been

around for almost a centuryrdquo (p 8) That is to say audio stories in the previous decades took

the form of radio drama Radio drama attained extensive admiration within an era of its

original growth in the 1920rsquo s At that time radio drama played a central role for being the

foundation of people entertainment However by the 1950rsquo s people shifted their attention

to the new invention which was the small screen ie the television As a result of the

invention of this new device audio drama no more attracts the spectatorsrsquo attention it lost

its popularity

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

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Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

of narrative inquiry 104-105

Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

successful sounds scape for an audio play

Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

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Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

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Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

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Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

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Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

University

Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

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Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

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Ziane R (2012) The Role of Listening Comprehension in Improving EFL learners Speaking Skill

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Backley P (nd) Improving your English Pronunciation Retrieved from

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Chaney (1998) Teaching Speaking Retrieved from

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Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

Page 22: The case of Second Year LMD Students at L’arbi Ben M’Hidi

12

Though in 2010 radio drama came back to stage due to the developments shown in

digital soundtrack and internet spreading According to Eckert (2016) ldquoRadio and audio

storytelling has slowly started gaining popularity again thanks to the different online

platforms brought forth by digitalizationrdquo (p 8)

17 Definition of Storytelling

Today stories are a fundamental part of our societies and cultures Telling and

listening to stories is an ancient tradition and common activity that bonds different olden

civilizations together Also stories are an essential component and an ordinary process that

many people used to do on every occasion It is the art of telling factual or fictional stories

Besides stories bring legacy into life because our ancestors told them and people today

only retell them

Moreover listening to stories enhances the learnersrsquo foreign language It aids them

to improve their speaking skills Pederson (1995) states that ldquoin dealing with stories learners

have an experience with the powerful real language of personal communicationrdquo (p 2)

Additionally Pederson (1995) emphasizes the role of telling stories in preserving heritage

he argues that ldquooral stories are a direct expression of a literary and cultural heritage and

through them that heritage is appreciated understood and kept aliverdquo (1995 p2) In other

words stories bond between the past and the present It is considered to be a vital feature of

humankind Furthermore Schram (1994 as cited in Coulter Michael amp Poynor 2007)

points out

A story is a beautiful means of teaching religion values history traditions and

customs a creative method of introducing characters and places an imaginative way

13

to instill hope and resourceful thinking Stories help us to understand who we are and

show us what legacies to transmit to future generations (p 104-105)

So Schram (1994) highlights the role of stories in bridging the gap between the teaching

process and culture

Likewise Abrahamson (1998) sheds light on the role that storytelling plays in the

learning process He states that telling stories plays a significant role in improving learnersrsquo

understanding Besides Abrahamson argues that stories can afford a suitable context that

the listener can use it as a base to perceive the tellerrsquos point of view Moreover Roney (1996)

demonstrates

In its most basic form storytelling is a process where a person (the teller) using

vocalization narrative structure and mental imagery communications with other

humans (the audience) who also use mental imagery and in turn communicate back

to the teller primarily via body language and facial expression (p 2)

By this definition storytelling is the combination of art procedures and ways of

communication

18 Definition of Audio-Stories

The term audio-story is a combination of two words audio and story By definition

audio is sound within the aural range accessible to humankinds Miller (2011) states that

ldquostories are pieces of art and can serve as a basis of gamesrdquo (p 1) So Audio-story is a very

operative means for teaching EFL learners It aids to make the course persuasive Nowadays

14

audio stories can be used to many reasons and the most important one is the exposure to the

real language of native speakers by EFL learners In addition Rubin (2015) points out

ldquoaudio stories are an engaging form of communication that combines speech and music into

a compelling narrativesrdquo (p 1) That is to say audio stories are the process of telling stories

through sound and sound effects only Furthermore Audio-stories are broadly accredited to

progresses in portable equipment for instance smart phones tablets and multimedia

entertainment systems Thus EFL learners find it easy to listen to those audio stories

19 Characteristics of a Good Audio-Story

According to Seifert (nd) finding good audio-stories that suit the EFL learnersrsquo

needs is something very important and it is a very hard task to do However these are some

of the necessary features that EFL teachers must take into consideration whenever they want

to select a good audio-story for their students

Skill Level

Taking into account the learnersrsquo English level before choosing any audio-story For

instance if the audio-story contains a difficult language learners will lose confidence and

as a result they stop listening to the audio-story So determining the learnersrsquo level is very

important

Student Interest

EFL teachers must find out their studentsrsquo interests and normally each teacher has

an idea about this issue So if the audio-stories do not fit the learnersrsquo needs the EFL

teacherrsquos goal from that audio-story will be lost

15

Audio Length

The length of the audio-story plays a significant role in keeping concentration in the

ESL schoolrooms Listening for much time to the audio storytelling leads to boredom As a

result the learnersrsquo s brains lose attention However teachers can use long audio-stories but

they should know how to put it into parts and use classroom discussions to avoid boredom

So these three characteristics aid to develop EFL learnersrsquo listening skills

110 The Use of Audio-Stories in ESL Classrooms

According to Rock (nd) there are several listening practices that ESLEFL teachers

can provide to their students These are samples of activities that can work hand in hand with

audio-stories

Fill in The Blanks

Here EFL teacher provides his students with a written passage that is taken from an

audio-story but he removes some words Later on the teacher asks his learners to listen to

the audio-story after reading that passage and at the same time fill in the blanks

Mastery Memory

This activity has to do with learnerrsquos memory In this kind of practices teachers

provide learners with an audio-story and ask them for example to write down the main

events of the story but when they finish listening to it Teachers in this activity have to make

sure that students do not write them during the listening of the audio-story So the main goal

of the exercise is to reinforce learnerrsquos memory

16

Order the Events

At the start teachers give their learners a series of events that are chosen from an

audio-story Then the teacher gives them some time to read them After that learners listen

to the audio- storytelling and put those events in a sequential order

Buzz Words

This exercise aims to reach the learnerrsquo s vocabulary In this practice teachers

provide learners with a number of words then they ask them to check their meanings before

Afterward teacher turns the lesson into a game ie EFL learners listen to the audio-story

and whenever they hear a word (the buzz word) from that list they have to raise their hands

or clap them

Multiple Choice

This activity deals with providing learners with a number of questions followed by

three answers these questions can be definitions or name of characterhellip etc Then learners

have to listen to the audio-storytelling and pick the write response After teachers play again

the audio-story to correct their answers

Character Quiz

In this practice EFL learners have to listen to the whole story Then the teacher gives

his class a question sheet that contains a list of character qualities and decision and ask them

to choose the suitable one for the leading role

Plot Quiz

This activity has to do with team competition After listening to the whole audio-

storytelling once or twice the teacher divides his class into two to four groups where the

17

teacher plays the role of the coach Several questions that have a relation to the story will be

quizzed to each team if they get the answer they have a point if they fail to answer correctly

the question moves to the next group

Beginning Middle End

After listening to the audio storytelling the teacher splits the classroom into groups

and each group contains no more than four students Later he asks each group to write the

main events of the beginning the middle and the end of the story Finally they discuss them

together

111 Advantages of Using Audio-Stories

Audio-stories play an essential role in teaching the target language Audio-

storytelling is an impeccable implement for any ESL classrooms First of all audio-stories

afford learners with the exposure to the real language as it is produced by the native speakers

ie a natural voice Furthermore Rodero (2012 as cited in Eckert2016) claimed that

ldquoAudio stories that use sound effects and sound shots enhance the learnerrsquo s attention and

creation of visual images significantly compared to those without themrdquo (p 16) That is to

say using audio-stories in ESL classrooms develops learnersrsquo listening skills and provides

them with an imaginary trip inside their minds Also audio- stories enhance learnersrsquo

pronunciation since the learner is exposed to the natural voice In addition EFL teacher can

use audio storytelling as a guideline to his lecture or the opposite he can use it at the end of

the course as a reward

Moreover the EFL teachers depend on audio-stories in improving learnersrsquo

vocabulary through memorization Learners can enrich their vocabulary whenever they

listen to those stories because each time they learn some new words Besides learners can

18

listen to them outside the schoolrooms because they are portable they can upload them in

their mobiles and listen to them any time anywhere Finally audio stories can raise interest

for those learners who are not attracted to reading

Conclusion

In conclusion listening to audio stories aids EFL learners to improve the target

language pronunciation That is to say students will be exposed to the real language as it is

created by the native speakers Besides using audio stories in ESLEFL classrooms increases

the learnersrsquo interest toward learning the foreign language and also enhances their speaking

skills

19

Section two Reflection on Pronunciation

Introduction

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

122 Speaking Sub-Competencies Skills

123 Definition of Pronunciation

124 Importance of Pronunciation

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

1251 Internal Factors

1252 External Factors

Conclusion

20

Introduction

Generally speaking being able to speak the target language fluently and accurately

seems to be very interesting to all EFLESL learners Though students face a lot of troubles

and obstacles when communicating with each other or with native speakers and this is due

to mispronunciation misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the hearer which leads to the

communication breakdowns Furthermore learnersrsquo mispronunciation occurs due to various

factors that affect their oral language and as a consequence it affects their speaking

proficiency

In this section we have dealt with the speaking process and precisely

ldquopronunciationrdquo At the start a slight attention is put upon the definition of speaking skills

and its sub-competencies After that a part of this section is devoted to define pronunciation

and highlight its importance Moreover this section demonstrates some factors that affect

pronunciation which are classified into internal factors and external factors Finally another

point about the English consonant ldquoLrdquo has been raised

121 Definition of Speaking Skill

Mastering the foreign language is the aim of each EFL learner Speaking is one of

the most important language skills it plays a significant role in sharing ideas and thoughts

between individuals Torky (2006) defines speaking as follows ldquoIt is the means through

which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their

opinions intentions hopes and viewpointsrdquo (p 13) Also Ziane (2012) states that ldquoit is the

way by which learners can contribute and be part of oral communicationrdquo (p21) So the

main goal of EFL learners is to be able to speak the target language in order to strengthen

their verbal communication

21

Moreover Chaney (1998) argues that ldquospeaking is the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contextsrdquo

(p 13) From Chaneyrsquo s definition of speaking we deduce that speaking has an important

role in learning the foreign language and improving EFL learnersrsquo communicative skill

However there are some researchers who describe speaking as a hard task They

argue that EFL learners find it so hard to master the foreign language and face a lot of

difficulties even after studying it many years at schools Bueno and Mclaren (2006 as cited

in Alonso 2011) point out

Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face In spite of

this it has traditionally been forced into the background while we teachers of

English have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students how to write

to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a long written

tradition (p 321)

On the whole the speaking skill is a very important process that EFL learners need to acquire

in order to master and shape the target language

122 Speaking Sub CompetenciesSkills

Torky (2006) claims that learners must be able to express themselves in a given

context in order to be proficient in mastering the foreign language She points out to several

speaking skills or competencies that help to achieve this aim which are

22

Linguistic Competence

Torky (2006) states that learners must be skillful in using pronunciation ie their

pronunciation must be clear In addition students have to use correct grammar and

proper lexis

Discourse Competence

In the beginning learners have to be able to use a well-organized discourse In other

words the discourse must be clear and unified Besides they have to be competent in

handling discussion and cooperating efficiently in order to avoid the communication

breakdowns

Pragmatic Competence

EFL learners have to be proficient in using a variety of functions that are related to

the same context and register

Fluency

Speaking smoothly without any complications and with a suitable degree of speech

speed

123 Definition of Pronunciation

According to Gilakjani (2012) ldquopronunciation is an integral part of foreign language

since it directly affects learnersrsquo communicative competence as well as performancerdquo

(p119) That is to say pronunciation plays a fundamental role in learning and improving the

target language Besides Poposka (2016) argues that pronunciation is the key factor of

language in its universal notion and she claims that pronunciation should be defined in

23

relation to different perspectives Poposka (2016) states some of the various points of view

concerning pronunciation definition which are

- The act or manner of pronouncing uttering of speech

- A way of speaking a word especially a way that is accepted or generally understood

- A graphic representation of the way a word is spoken using phonetic symbols (p

200)

Moreover Dauer (1993 as cited in Ummah 2014) states that ldquopronunciation is the

act of producing the sound of speech including articulation vowel formation accent

inflection and intonation often with reference to the correctness or acceptability of the

speech soundrdquo (p 10) In addition Poposka (2016) states that pronunciation is the vocal

capacity to produce particular sounds weather when communicating with individuals or

when being alone This construction of sounds leads to the appearance of some utterances

that may be expressive or worthless (p 200) Furthermore Adult Migrant English Program

research center (AMP 2002) points out

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning it includes

attention to the particular sounds of language (segments) aspects of speech beyond the

level of the individual sound such as intonation phrasing stress timing rhythm

(suprasegmental aspects) (p1)

In other words AMP research center argues that even if these two aspects suprasegmental

and segmental structures are treated separately it is necessary to know that they work hand

in hand in a given context whenever someone speaks

24

124 Importance of Pronunciation

Madden and Moore (1997) states that ldquoin first language acquisition children learn

pronunciation inductively by absorbing and reproducing the sounds in their environmentrdquo

(p 4) That is to say all human beings in their natural development from childhood to

adulthood learn first of all how to talk before learning how to read or write Also Zhang

(2009) claims that ldquolearning a language means to perform the sounds utterances and the

words properly and correctlyrdquo (p 34-35) So pronunciation is a very essential skill in

learning a second language

Moreover Morley (1998 as cited in Zhang 2009) argues that ldquoit is clear that limited

pronunciation skills will make learners lose their self-confidence and result in negative

influence for learners to estimate their credibility and abilitiesrdquo (p 35) In other words it

does not matter whether learners make mistakes concerning grammar or vocabulary all what

matters is the way they pronounce a given word in order to make a worthy impression on

the learnersrsquo language capacities Zhang (2009) points out

Good pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to

you Contrarily poor English pronunciation may confuse people and lead to an

unpleasant talking and misunderstanding even if you used advanced English grammar

or vocabulary (p 35)

Likewise Backley (n d) argues ldquoif a speaker has a clear pronunciation this has immediate

benefits listeners judge the speakerrsquo s overall language ability much more favorably even

to the point of tolerating grammatical and other errorsrdquo (p 126) Therefore good

25

pronunciation aids to avoid misinterpretation and intelligibility between speakers and

listeners and show the learnersrsquo competencies in mastering their second language

Furthermore good pronunciation affects the learnersrsquo speed of acquiring the target language

In addition learners should use only simple structures with good and correct pronunciation

rather than using complex expressions in order to communicate with others

125 Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Generally speaking there are several factors that affect the learnersrsquo pronunciation

These factors can be classified into internal factors and external factors

1251 Internal Factors

Zhang (2009) states that internal factors can be categorized also into biological

factors individual differences and individual efforts and goal setting

Biological Factors

They are branded into four features age ear perception and aptitude

Learnersrsquo Age

At the start there is a difference between young learners and adult learners

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation Nonetheless this does not mean

that adult learners cannot get accurate pronunciation as well They have to work much harder

because their brainsrsquo plasticity reduces That is to say age plays a significant part in learning

the target language pronunciation Moreover Zhang (2009) emphasizes the role of the

critical period hypothesis that was proposed by Lenneberg in 1967 which states that there

is a certain age that helps learners to acquire the foreign language pronunciation accurately

26

and after that age the brain loses its flexibility Furthermore (Nation and Newton (2009) as

cited in Zhang 2009) claim that

Usually if the learner began to speak in the second language before the age of six

there will be little or no accent If the learner began to speak between the age of seven

and eleven the learners likely to have a slight accent If the learner began to speak

after age of twelve the learners almost always have an accent (p 78)

This is the reason behind the acceptance of the idea that learners find it so hard to acquire

the foreign language after maturity

Additionally Zhang (2009) states that young learners have bigger chances than the

adult learners in obtaining accurate pronunciation He claims that the brain loses its

flexibility and becomes rigid after puberty (after nine years old) as a result the brainrsquo s

functions will be devoted to the right and left hemispheres which makes it so difficult to

acquire the foreign languagersquo s pronunciation correctly Also Lenneberg (1967 as cited in

Zhang 2009) argues that ldquobefore the age of two the brain has not developed enough but

after puberty it developed too much and it will lose its plasticity and finish the lateralization

of the language functionrdquo (p 39) In other words it becomes so hard to obtain the native-

like pronunciation after the lateralization

Ear Perception

One of the most important factors that affect the learnersrsquo acquisition of the foreign

language is the ldquoear perceptionrdquo Zhang (2009) claims that the hearing abilities differ from

one person to another That is to say there are learners who have a strong hearing capacity

27

they can hear sounds in a very clear way which help them in reproducing the native speakersrsquo

pronunciation smoothly Whereas there is that kind of learners who do not have that ability

However Zhang argues that the ear perception has nothing to do with the learner age He

claims that it is natural that learners may lose some of their capacities whenever they become

older

Aptitude

Generally speaking foreign language aptitude is the personrsquos ability to learn a foreign

or a second language very rapidly and with no troubles (Wen 2011) Also Dornyei and

skehan (2003 as cited in Wen 2011) states ldquooriginally the notion of FLA presumed a

relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individualsrdquo (p

590) So EFL learners do not have the same ability to acquire the foreign language

Additionally Carroll (1962 as cited in Wen 2011) states four components of the FLA which

are

lsquophonemic coding abilityrsquo (ie the ability to identify and retain sounds and link them

to phonetic symbols)

Sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in a sentence

The ability to learn inductively (ie to infer and generalize linguistic structures from

language samples) and

The ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated translations

(p 233)

Hence aptitude has an important role in improving learnersrsquo foreign language

Although Zhang (2009) argues that all individuals have a language aptitude ability but they

28

differ only in the degree of that aptitude capacity Also he claims that we cannot say that

those people who have a sophisticated level of language aptitude will get to the top and

people with an inferior level of language aptitude will go pear-shaped

Individual Differences

Zhang (2009) states that learnersrsquo different personalities affect the way they acquire

the foreign language pronunciation He argues that extroverted learners are more likely to

acquire the target pronunciation rather than introverted learners because extroverted learners

are not afraid of making mistakes which is not the case with the introverted learners who

face always the fear of failure Besides extroverted students are more friendly they tend to

work with others which leads them to practice the target language so they become more

familiar with it which aids to improve their pronunciation very quickly (p 40-41)

Individual Efforts and Goal setting

At the start the main goal of each EFLESL learner is to master the foreign language

in order to communicate with others Zhang (2009) points out ldquowe must always remember

that teaching never causes learning but rather creates the conditions in which learning can

occurrdquo (p 42) Besides he emphasizes that pronunciation is really a very hard task that

learners can acquire in a few days but it is not something impossible that learners cannot

achieve Though as much time learners spend in practicing the target language

pronunciation the better results they will get

1252 External Factors

External factors can be classified into three aspects learnersrsquo native language

exposure to target language and education factors

29

Learnerrsquo s Native Language

Universally the learnersrsquo native language affects their pronunciation of the foreign

language Zhang (2009) states that studentsrsquo mother tongue reflects the way they pronounce

a certain word in the target language and this is due to the differences that are found between

the two languages In other words learners find a lot of complications in articulating some

sounds for the reason that some of those sounds do not occur in their native language (p

43)

Exposure to the Target Language

Zhang (2009) shows that the acquisition of English language pronunciation is related

to the amount of exposure to it as it is produced by the native speakers That is to say this

depends on the learner himself ie on the situation in which the learning process occurs In

other words Zhang argues that it does not matter weather learners live in a native country

or not it is a matter of how much time they listen to the foreign language and how much

time they use it Zhang (2009) states ldquothe more they spend their time for listening and

speaking English the better their English pronunciation will berdquo (p 44) Thus learnerrsquo s

pronunciation accuracy depends on the surrounding environment where the target language

takes place

Educational Factors

At the start the system of education is responsible for studentsrsquo learning process

Worthy educational structure provides a lot of chances for learners to be exposed to the target

language through creating a suitable learning environment Additionally EFLESL

teachersrsquo accent reflects the learnersrsquo pronunciation because learners take teachers as an

30

exemplary in order to improve their pronunciation That is why teachers should work on

their pronunciation initially (Zhang 2009)

The English Consonant Sound ldquoLrdquo

Generally speaking EFL learners face complications in learning the English L sound

Sproat and Fujimura (1993) argue ldquoEnglish l has traditionally been classified into at least

two allophones namely light which occurs initially and dark which occurs syllable finallyrdquo

(p 291) Furthermore Wang (2016) states that the L consonant sound is a lateral phoneme

in English and it has two allophones he points out

One of them is found before vowels as in ldquoladyrdquo or ldquoflyrdquo called clear l and is

pronounced as the alveolar lateral approximant in a neutral position of the body of

the tongue The other variant is called dark l found before consonants or at word-

finally position as in ldquoboldrdquo or ldquotellrdquo Which is as the velarized lateral approximant

with the tongue in a spoon-like shape Its back part is raised which gives the sound

a w-like resonance (p 44)

In other words the clear [l] occurs when the tip of the tongue raises up and touches the soft

palate just behind the front teeth whereas the dark [ϯ] happens when the tip of the tongue

pulls back and the tongue raises to the middle without touching the soft palate to make the

L sound So the difference between these two allophones is the reason behind those troubles

that the learner may face

However Sproat and Fujimura (1993 as cited in Jiahong 2011) explain the

differences between these two allophones by relating them to the rime duration In other

31

words they point out that whenever the l sound occurs in longer rimes it is going to be a

dark [ϯ] and whenever the rime is short the l sound is clear or light

Figure 1

Articulatory Differences in l Velarization

Source Recasens 2012 p369

Conclusion

To end with it is very important to acknowledge that pronunciation is one way that

leads to an effective and a successful communication That is why many researchers shed

light on the investigation of some factors that may influence the EFL learnersrsquo pronunciation

As a result these identifying concepts help foreigners to overcome their difficulties when

they are introduced to the target language

32

Chapter two Field Work

Introduction

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

212 The Procedure

2121 The Research Design

2122 The Pre-test Phase

2123 The Treatment Phase

2124 The Control Group

2125 The Post-test Phase

213 Scoring

214 Data Analysis

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (independent Sample

t-test)

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group Post-test

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group Post-test (Paired

Sample t-test)

21431 Paired Sample t-test

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

33

21441 An Independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the

Post-test

215 Discussion of the Results

216 Pedagogical Implications

Conclusion

34

Introduction

This research attempts to investigate the effect of listening to audio stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] by second year LMD students

at the department English -LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi The chosen sample is divided into two

groups the control group and the experimental group At the start participantsrsquo

pronunciation accuracy of the dark [ϯ] and clear [l] (the dependent variable) was measured

through a pretest Later on a period of treatment is taken by the experimental group which

is not the case with the control group After that a post-test is administered to both groups

in which the results are gathered using a software called the ldquopraatrdquo In addition we shed

light on describing the sample taking the place in which the study took place the method

used and at last the data collected

21 Methodology

211 Research Participants

The current study involved two intact classes of second year LMD students from

LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi-English Department The selected sample includes students from

different gender Furthermore we favored to select second year students for several reasons

The first reason was that second year students have practiced working with audio supports

which was not the case with first year students so they will not face problems concerning

listening to audio stories The second reason was that second year learners study oral

expression

At the start the experiment includes a sample of forty learners that have been chosen

from two intact classes of second year LMD students The chosen sample represents 1904

from the entire population which comprises 210 learners Additionally both clusters were

35

divided into a control group and an experimental group twenty students in each group At

the beginning the sample was supposed to be comprised of sixty students in which both the

control and the experimental groups covered thirty students Unfortunately there were a lot

of absences in both groups Also there are some students who have not passed both the

pretest and the posttest and others have not received the treatment at all Therefore the

sample size was reduced from sixty to forty students which can be sufficient to represent

the whole population and to get consistent outcomes

In order to gather consistent data that help to achieve the purpose of our research a

quasi-experimental design was designated The use of the chosen method will provide us

with a wide-ranging representation of the reflection of listening to audio stories on the

acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of the dark [l] and clear [l]

212 The Procedure

To accumulate a reliable data an experiment was conducted over six sessions The

treatment period took four sessions and the remained two sessions for the pretest and the

posttest The pretest took a form different from that of the posttest in order to avoid

familiarity to improve the learnersrsquo development and get consistent information Both

groups have taken the tests but only the experimental group took the treatment Besides the

duration of training concerning the treatment period for the experimental group took 90

minutes ie one hour and a half for each session and it started after getting the

authorization of the teacher of oral expression

36

2121 The Research Design

Figure 2

Experimental Group Procedures

Figure 3

Control Group Procedures

2122 The Pre-test Phase

By the first week of March both the control group and the experimental group have

taken the pretest However before choosing the pretest and in order to avoid any problems

we have checked that the dark [l] and the clear [l] are pronounced the same in both the

American and the British accents using the Oxford Advanced Learnerrsquo s Dictionary At the

outset learners were required to read a passage derived from a short story named ldquoThe last

class-The story of the Alsationrdquo that was written by Alphonse Daudet (2001) and also short

sentences (see Appendix A) After that their voices were recorded using a software known

pre-test

treatment

(listening to audio stories)

post-test

pre-test

No treatment

( being taught without listening

to audio-stories)

post-test

37

as the ldquoPraatrdquo Besides our focus here was raised toward the duration (ie the length of a

syllable) of the dark [l] and the clear [l]

Throughout the pretest EFL learners found themselves unable to pronounce the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] that are found in some words correctly In other words students in the control

group and the experimental group most of the time pronounce the dark [ϯ] in the same way

they pronounce the clear [l] ie they spend the same duration for pronouncing the two

allophones Also EFL learners from time to time pronounce them differently but in a wrong

way ie they spent a rime duration that it not suitable neither for the light [l] nor for the

dark[ϯ]

Figure4

Example of the Lateral Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoSawmillrdquo

2123 The Treatment Phase

At first both participants have finished the pretest Though the treatment was

approved to the experimental group only the control group did not receive the same

treatment Besides the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions and each

Rime

duration

38

session took one hour and a half (ie 90 minutes) In each session students were asked to

listen to the audio-story in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of both allophones

after that they discussed the story being listened (see Appendix B)

2124 The Control Group

Concerning the control group students were taught the oral expression without any

exposure to any kinds of treatments In contrast to students in the experimental group who

were provided with the audio stories in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of the

both allophones which are the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ]

2125 The Post-test Phase

Fundamentally after finishing the four sessions of training ie the period of

treatment a posttest was administered to both the experimental group and the control group

(see Appendix c) The posttest as we have said before is different from the pretest in order

to avoid familiarity with the same topic and to ensure the learners improvement of the dark

[ϯ] and clear [l] So the posttest is a kind of a passage which was taken from a short story

that is entitled ldquoThe Game of Billiardsrdquo which is written by Alphonse Daudet and some

words to pronounce Furthermore during the posttest we noticed a kind of development in

learnersrsquo pronunciation of the two allophones with students of the experimental group

especially in pronouncing the single words which was not the case with those learners in

the control group

39

Figure 5

Example of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquocabalrdquo

Figure 6

Example of the Clear [l] in the word ldquolabourrdquo

The rime

duration

The rime

duration

40

213 Scoring

After finishing recording the learnersrsquo pronunciation of the phoneme l of both

groups (the control and the experimental group) we have compared them first of all to the

native speakerrsquo s pronunciation and after that we have calculated the rime duration of the

two allophones ie the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] and at last we gave them scores out of six

(6) for each participant

214 Data Analysis

In this sub-section we are going to investigate the EFL learnersrsquo improvement of

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] Though in order to make sure that EFL

learners have acquired the correct pronunciation of these two allophones we have firstly

investigated the native speakerrsquos pronunciation of the L sound ie the clear [l] and the dark

[ϯ] and we have analyzed the rime duration of two words ldquolightrdquo and ldquoballrdquo as examples

Figure7

The Native Speakerrsquos Pronunciation of the Clear [l] in the Word ldquolightrdquo

Rime

duration

41

Figure8

The Native Speakerrsquo s Pronunciation of the Dark [ϯ] in the Word ldquoballrdquo

From these two figures we have noticed that the native speaker has spent 016 s in

pronouncing an ideal clear [l] (see Figure 7) and he has spent 138 s in order to pronounce

a perfect dark [ϯ] (see Figure 8) Thus this analysis of the native speakerrsquo s voice paved the

way to our research in which we based our investigation on it

Table 1

The Experimental and the Control grouprsquo s Scores in the pre-test

Pre-test

Students

Control

group

Experimental

group

Rime

duration

(second)

C E

Rime

duration

42

2141 The Pre-test Control Group Vs Experimental Group (Independent Sample t-

test)

After gathering data for the control and the experimental group and for the purpose

of comparing and contrasting between the two we have calculated the learnersrsquo scores of

pronunciation of the phoneme l and also we have calculated the rime duration of the two

1 1 2 118 127

2 2 25 095 091

3 1 1 116 102

4 25 2 106 091

5 25 25 078 089

6 15 2 078 105

7 2 15 123 091

8 1 1 117 108

9 15 1 119 119

10 15 1 1 115

11 2 15 091 116

12 15 1 12 119

13 2 15 114 1

14 15 1 108 112

15 1 1 131 112

16 2 1 088 08

17 1 1 127 107

18 1 15 107 149

19 15 1 099 115

20 1 15 114 174

Total 31 285 2149 2222

43

allophones (see Table1) Besides the data collected ie the learnersrsquo scores were used in

calculating the means of both groups in the pre-test (the mean is calculated using the SPSS

see Table 2)

Figure 9

The Pre-test Scores of the Control and the Experimental Group

Table 2

The Mean Score of the Control and the Experimental Group in the Pre-test

Test N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 20 15500 51042 11413

Epre 20 14250 51999 11627

44

In order to calculate the Mean () Results we have to use the following formula

=sumx N

N stands for the total numbers of students in one group

sumx stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the pre-test

1 stands for the mean of the Control Group

2 stands for the mean of the Experimental Group

So1= 31 20 =155

2= 285 20 = 142

From ldquoFigure 9rdquo we can notice that 1 is the most frequent score in both the

experimental and the control groups in the pre-test and we can confirm this information

from Table 1 Furthermore when comparing means of both groups we notice (see Table 2)

that there is only a slight difference between the two groups the mean of the control group

is 155 whereas the mean of the experimental group is 142 So we can deduce that the level

of both groups is approximately the same there is no significant difference Moreover the

rime duration of the phoneme l of the experimental group and the control group is to some

extent the same and we can notice this slight difference in Table 1 and precisely in the total

duration of pronouncing the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by both groups and also in Table 2

2142 Control Group Pre-test Vs Control Group post-test

In order to confirm if there is any kind of progression in the control grouprsquo s scores

in the post-test concerning the pronunciation of the phoneme l (see Table 3) we have

calculated the mean of the post-test (using the SPSS see Table 4) and compared it with the

mean of the pre-test besides we have calculated the rime duration that has been spent At

45

last we have mentioned the learnersrsquo scores differences between the pre-test and the post-

test to confirm the development (see Figure 10)

Table 3

Results and Scores Differences of the Control and Experimental group in the Post-test

Posttest

Students

Rime

Duration

(Second)

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

Cpre Cpost Epre Epost

1 1 1 2 4 118 186 127 21

2 2 175 25 5 095 113 091 253

3 1 1 1 45 116 134 102 245

4 25 2 2 35 106 119 091 234

5 25 15 25 55 078 146 089 24

6 15 175 2 5 078 119 105 267

7 2 2 15 45 123 135 091 263

8 1 125 1 5 117 144 108 254

9 15 1 1 425 119 144 119 242

10 15 1 1 55 1 128 115 274

11 2 1 15 45 091 126 116 285

12 1 2 1 5 12 129 119 268

13 2 125 15 55 114 146 1 328

14 15 1 1 55 108 127 112 223

15 1 1 1 5 131 092 112 275

16 2 1 1 475 088 135 08 274

46

17 1 2 1 5 127 094 107 292

18 1 1 15 575 107 096 149 29

19 15 1 1 525 099 114 115 295

20 1 15 15 575 114 132 174 338

Total 31 27 285 9875 2149 2359 2222 535

Diff -4 +7025 +21 +3128

Mean 155 135 142 493

-02 +351

Table 4

The Mean of the control Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpre 15500 20 51042 11413

Cpost 13500 20 41675 09319

In order to calculate the mean( )result of the control group in the post-test we have to apply

the following formula = sumx N

sum stands for the total number of the data collected in the post-test of the control

group

N refers to the total number of students So = 2720 = 1

47

Figure 10

The Control Group Studentsrsquo Scores Differences

A very insignificant development has been shown in both Figure 7 and Table 3

concerning learners scores in the post-test Besides only Students 681217 and 20 from a

total number of twenty have proved the improvement the mean of the control group has

decreased from 155 in the pre-test to 135 in the post-test ie the mean = -02

2143 Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Experimental Group post-test (Paired Sample

T-test)

In order to identify the scoresrsquo differences between the results of the experimental

group in both the pre-test and the post-test we have calculated the mean of the post-test and

compared it with that of the pre-test to notice if there is any improvement (see Table 3) So

the mean of the post-test is shown in Table 5 below

48

Table 5

The Mean of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and Post-test

Mean N Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Epre 14250 20 51999 11627

Epost 49375 20 59535 13312

From Table 5 we notice that the mean of the experimental group increased from 142 in the

pre-test to 493 in the post-test with a mean difference of 351 ( = +351) and we can

calculate the mean ()of the post-test using the following formula

= sumxN

sum= Stands for the total number of data that was gathered from the post-test in the

Experimental Group

119925 =Stands for the total number of students

So= 9875 20 = 493

From Table 3 we notice that there is a very clear development and difference in

learnersrsquo scores in the post-test which is very different from the pre-test scores (see Figure

12) Moreover we can notice this development from Figure 11 below too It Shows that the

most frequent scores that learners of the experimental group have gained are 45 5 55 and

at last 575(the marks are out of six) that makes a big difference from the scores of the pre-

test in which the most frequent score was 1 In addition to all of this results we can add that

the sum of the rime duration of the post-test differs a lot from that of the pre-test ( = +3128

s)

49

Hence in the light of these results we can say that the period of treatment really

affects in a positive way the learnersrsquo acquisition of the pronunciation of dark [ϯ] and clear

[l] Besides this enhancement was improved in the mean difference between the pre-test and

the post-test of the experimental group Though the comparison of means in the pre-test and

post-test of the experimental group cannot be sufficient in order to make sure that listening

to audio-stories really affects positively the way learners pronounce the Phoneme l

Therefore a paired sample T-test was designed to assess the development of learnersrsquo

acquisition of dark [ϯ] and clear [l] ie to acceptreject the Alternative Hypothesis or to

accept reject the Null Hypothesis (See Table 6 below)

Figure 11

The Scores Frequencies of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

50

Figure 12

The Scores Differences of the Experimental Group in the Pre-test and the Post-test

21431 The paired Sample T-test

In order to know if there is any significant difference between the post-test and the

pre-test scores of the same group a t-test is conducted At first the of the experimental

group is calculated through the following formula

= sumdN

refers to the Difference of mean Scores

N Studentsrsquo scores in the Experimental Group

sum refers to the total sum of the Differences Scores

So = 702520= 35125

51

The Standard deviation of the differences

Sd= radic119956120784= radicsum119941120784

119925minus 119941120784

S stands for the Variance

sum119941120784 refers to the square differences of Scores

After calculating

Sdcong 013

The Standard Error of the Mean Difference (SE)

It is calculated using the following formula

SE ()= 119878119889

radic119873cong003

Finally we calculate the t- value that will be compared to the critical P-value at the point

p=005 in order to accept the alternative hypothesis or rejecting it using the following

formula119957120784120782minus120783=

119878119864(119889) = 117

Table 6

Experimental Group Pre-test Vs Post-test Scores differences

Students Pre-test Post-test Difference

1 2 4 2

2 25 5 25

3 1 45 35

4 2 35 15

5 25 55 3

6 2 5 3

52

7 15 45 3

8 1 5 4

9 1 425 325

10 1 55 45

11 15 45 3

12 1 5 4

13 15 55 4

14 1 55 45

15 1 5 4

16 1 475 375

17 1 5 4

18 15 575 425

19 1 525 425

20 15 575 425

Total 285 9875 7025

Table 7

The Paired Sample T-test for the Experimental Group

Paired Sample T-Test

Epre

Scores-

Epost

Scores

Mean Std

deviati-

on

Std-

Error

Mean

95Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

t Df Sig

(2-

tailed)

Lower Upper

-351250 83695 18715 -390421 -312079 -18768 19 000

53

After calculating the mean of the experimental group in both the pre-test and the post-

test (see Table 5) a mean difference of +351 was noticed Therefore in order to prove if

the development that was noticed in the post-test scores as well as the mean occurred

because of the influence of listening to the audio-stories which is the independent variable

or happened only by coincidence

Hence to confirm the Alternative Hypothesis and reject the Null Hypothesis or vice

versa the t-value (117) was calculated in order to be compared with the critical- value at

the point p=005 and at the level of t=19 Besides p-value (0000) is less than 005 which

means that there a real difference between the learnersrsquo scores in the pre-test (before the

period of treatment) and the leanersrsquo scores in the post-test (after the period of treatment)

Consequently we can deduce that the improvement that was achieved by the experimental

group in the post test did not occur by chance actually it occurred because of listening to

audio-stories that has a positive effect on learnersrsquo pronunciation of both the clear [l] and the

dark [ϯ]

2144 Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the Post-test

Table 8

The Mean of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-test

N Mean Std

Deviation

Std Error

Mean

Cpost 20 13500 41675 09319

Epost 20 49375 59535 13312

54

To calculate the mean () we use the following Formula

= sum119961 N

So 1= sum119961 N

1 refers to the mean of the control group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of students in the control Group

sum119961 stands for the sum of scores of the control group in the post-test

1= 2720 = 135

2 = sum119961 N

2 stands for the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

N refers to the total number of participants in the experimental group

sum119961 Stands for the sum of scores of the experimental group in the post-test

So 2= 987520 = 493

Figure13

The Scores Frequencies of the Control Group and the Experimental Group in the Post-

test

55

From the previous analysis of the mean of both the control and the experimental

group in the pre-test (see Table 3) we have noticed that the level of students in both groups

is almost the same and there is only a slight difference between them Though in the post-

test the scores of the experimental group has increased and as result the mean average has

increased too after the treatment phase for the experimental group (from 142 to 493) but it

decreased for the control group who were taught without being exposed to any kind of

treatment (see Table 8 and Figure 10) Besides we can notice the development also in the

rime duration in studentsrsquo pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] of the experimental

group in the post-test which is not the case with the control group

21441 An independent t-test Experimental Group Vs Control Group in the post-

test

In order to investigate if there is any significant change between two diverse groups

who have run the same test a t-test is used to show this significance difference In our case

we want to inspect if there is any significant variation between the experimental group and

the control group in the post-test and whether we accept the Alternative Hypothesis or

rejecting the Null Hypothesis So depending on the following steps a t-test was calculated

using the following formula

t= 119883 119888minus 119890

radicpartx2

Nx+

1205971199102

119873119910

partx2 = sum(119883 minus 119890 )N

= 306

1205971199102 =sum(119883 minus 119888 )2119873

= 160

119888 the mean of the control group in the post-test

56

119890 the mean of the experimental group in the post-test

partx2 the variation of the experimental group

1205971199102 the variation of the control group

So t= 493minus 135

radic306

20+

160

20

=745

t-value= 745

Depending on the t-value (745) that was calculated we compare it with the critical p-

value at p=005 therefore we have two options

1- If t-value is greater than the critical p-value (t-valuegtcritical-value) we accept the

alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

2- If t-value is less than the critical-value (t-valueltcritical-value) we accept the null

hypothesis and refuse the alternative hypothesis

we can say that

t-value=745 745 gt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

p-value= 0000 0000 lt005

We accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis

Depending on these results we can say that there is a statistical evidence that the

associated sampling means are significantly different In other words there is a real change

between the experimental group and the control group in the post test at the level of

pronunciation due to the positive influence of the independent variable which is ldquolistening

to the audio-storiesrdquo Therefore students of the experimental group showed a significant

57

progress at the level of pronunciation and precisely the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l]

pronunciation

215 Discussion of the Results

The current research has investigated the influence of listening to audio-stories on

acquiring accurate pronunciation of both allophones the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] At the

start the pre-test has proved that learners of both groups ie the control and the

experimental group have the same level through calculating their means The control group

scored a mean of 155 while the experimental group scored a mean of 142 and also they

have got near scores concerning the rime duration of the L sound So these estimated scores

helped us to prove and confirm our hypothesis that states the positive effect of listening to

audio-stories on the level of pronunciation accuracy In the post-test students of the

experimental group showed a significant development compared to the control group and

this is due to the period of treatment that occurred in the oral session Besides the mean

score of the experimental group has been raised from 142 to 493 and from a sum of rime

durations of 2222 s to 535 s while the mean score of the control group has been decreased

from 155 to 135 and increased from a sum of rime durations of 2149 s to 2359 s In

addition a t-test was designed to show if there is any statistical significant difference

between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test the results show the

positive influence of the treatment phase on the dependent variable (pronunciation

accuracy)

216 Pedagogical implication

The present research evidenced the positive influence of being exposed to the target

language pronunciation as it is produced by the native speakers through the exposure to the

audio-stories Therefore we can state a set of pedagogical implications

58

The present study shows that the more students get involved in listening practices

the more they will be proficient in the pronunciation of a various English sounds ie

developing their speaking proficiency

Audio-stories help EFL learners improve their pronunciation as well as to develop

their listening skills

Using multimedia devices (audio-stories in our case) in learning classrooms

enhances the learnersrsquo motivation to get involved in the learning process

Audio-stories can be used by EFL teachers in order to make learners attentive and

interested in the lecture being presented

Audio-stories provide learners with the chance to listen again and again to the story

in order to acquire the accurate pronunciation of a given word

Conclusion

The present research examined the effect of listening to audio stories on fostering the

target language pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The native speakerrsquo s

pronunciation of both allophones was analyzed first through analyzing the rime duration in

order to compare it with the EFL learnersrsquo articulation That is to say the analysis is based

on the native speakerrsquo s rime duration In addition a significant development in learnersrsquo

pronunciation of the dark[ϯ]and the clear [l] was proved which lead to accept the alternative

hypothesis that states listening to audio-stories has a positive effect on acquiring accurate

pronunciation of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] by EFL learners

59

General Conclusion

The present study is based on the investigation of the effectiveness of listening to

audio stories on acquiring accurate pronunciation of the dark [ϯ] and the clear [l] by EFL

learners At the beginning we have stated the problem which was that the Algerian EFL

learners in the English department at LrsquoArbi Ben Mrsquohidi University face a lot of difficulties

concerning the acquisition of the accurate pronunciation of The phoneme l Subsequently

this dissertation tackled the importance of listening to audio-stories on enhancing EFL

learnersrsquo pronunciation accuracy

Our research was tackled in two main chapters The first chapter divided into two

main sections In the first section we tackled the point of listening to audio stories whereas

the second section discussed the reflection of listening to audio stories on the pronunciation

of the clear [l] and the dark [ϯ] The second chapter represented the practical part the field

work The analyzed data showed that there is a positive relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable That is to say there was a development in the

acquisition of the phoneme l which lead us to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject

the null hypothesis

60

Limitations of the Study

Limited sources ie most of the sources that were available were not relevant to our

study

Time constraints this study needs much more time to conduct a better result

Students absences in the pre-test and the post-test and others did not receive the

treatment at all

The lack of interest in the beginning of the treatment session

61

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Brown S (2006) Teaching Listening Cambridge Cambridge University press

Coulter C Michael C ampPoynor L (2007) Storytelling as Pedagogy An Unexpected Outcome

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Daudet A (2001) Five Short Stories Copyright copy Bartlebycom Inc

Downs L J (2008) Listening Skills Training ASTD press

Eckert J (2016) Audio Storytelling in Todayrsquos Visual World The necessary Components of a

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Gilakjani A P (2012) A study of Factors Affecting EFL learnersrsquo English Pronunciation Learning

and the Strategy for instruction Lahijani Iran 2(3) 119-128

Hamer J (1998) How to teach English An Introduction to the Practice of English Language

Teaching English Language Teaching Harlow Longman

Hendrickson J (1992) Storytelling for foreign language and linguistics Washington Dc Eric

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Kline J A (1996) Listening Effectively Air University Press

Madden M and Moore Z (1997) ESL Studentsrsquo Opinions about instruction in Pronunciation

Texas 3(2) 15-32

Mendelson D J (1994) Learning to Listen Dominie Press

Nasreddin K (2010) The Influence of Background Knowledge on Second Language Listening

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Poposka V p (2016) Pronunciation Proficiency Level Problematic Areas of Tertiary as a Foreign

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Richards J C (1990) The Language Teaching Matrix Cambridge Cambridge University Pess

Rubin SS (2015) Tools for Creating Audio Stories scholarship University of California

Roney RC (1996) Storytelling in the classroom Some Theoretical Thoughts Wayne State

University Education Detroit Michigan

Sproat R ampFujimura O (1993) Allophonic variation of the English l and its Implication for

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Torky SA (2006) The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing English

Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Collegersquo s girl Ain Shams

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Ummah A (2014) The Effectiveness of Nursery Rhymes to Facilitate Studentsrsquo of Pronunciation of

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Islamic Studies

Wang M (2016) Research on the Acoustic Realization of Lateral in Sundanese International

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Rock R (nd) 5 Wonderful Websites for Engaging ESL Audio Short Stories Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorsblogeslaudio-short-stories

Seifert S (nd) Follow Along 6 Engaging ESL Audio Stories with worksheet ideas Retrieved from

httpwwwFluentucomenglisheducatorblogeslaudio-stories

Saricoban A (2004) The Teaching of listening The Internet TESL journal

httpitesljorgArticlesSaricobn-listeninghtml

Subhi s (2016) Differences between Hearing and listening Retrieved from

httpkeydifferencescomdifference-between-hearning-and-listeninghtml

64

Shen CD (2010) 3 reasons why listening skills are very important in Todayrsquo s Business World

Retrieved from httpezinearticlescom3-Reasons-why-listening-skills-are-very-important-in-

Todays-Business-worldampid=5436504

the adapted audio-stories that were used in the period of treatment

(httpwwwmanythingsorgvoastories)

Appendix A A pre-test

The Last class- The Story of the Alsatian

I was very late for school that morning and I was terribly afraid of being Scolded

especially as Monsieur Hamel had told us that he should examine us on participles and I

did not know the first thing about them For a moment I thought of saying away from

school and wandering about the fields It was such a warm lovely day I could hear the

blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood and in the ripper field behind the sawmill

the Prussians going through their drill All that was much more tempting to me than the

rules concerning participles but I had the strength to resist and I ran as fast as I could to

school

Sentences

You old fool they will kill you if you always trouble them

People are awfully lazy in the middle of July

Appendix B A post-test

The Game of Billiards

The marshalrsquo s opponent is a young captain of the staff belted and curled and light-

gloved who is in the first rank of billiard-players and capable of beating all the marshals

on earth but he has the tact to keep a respectful distance behind his chief and devotes his

energies to the task of not winning and at the same time not losing too easily He is what is

called an officer with a future

Read the following words

1 Cabal

2 Labour

3 Shell

Appendix c Treatment period

I Session one (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquothe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter One) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

II Session two (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Secret Gardenrdquo (Chapter two) By Frances Hodgson

Burnett

III Session three (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady or the Tigerrdquo by Frank R Stockton

IV Session four (90 minutes)

Listening to ldquoThe Lady in Blackrdquo By Eleanor Porter

Reacutesumeacute

La preacutesente eacutetude vise agrave eacutetudier lrsquoarticulation de dark [ϯ] et clear [l] dans les classes de la

langue anglaise afin dameacuteliorer la prononciation des apprenants Lrsquoeacutetude actuelle repose

sur lhypothegravese que leacutecoute des histoires audio a un effet positif sur lameacutelioration de la

prononciation des apprenants EFL avec un accent particulier sur le dark [ϯ] et clear [l] Afin

datteindre lobjectif de cette recherche une eacutetude quasi-expeacuterimentale a eacuteteacute assigneacute en

deux groupe group teacutemoin et group expeacuterimentale Chaque groupe contenait 20 eacutelegraveves

Lexpeacuterience a pris six seacuteances un preacute-test une peacuteriode de traitement (4 seacuteances) et un

posttest En conclusion les reacutesultats obtenus montrent que les eacutetudiants qui sont exposeacute agrave

la langue cible et qui eacutecoutent au locuteur natif agrave lrsquoaide audio pour ameacuteliorer leurs

prononciations ont montreacute qursquoil y a un deacuteveloppement ameacutelioration au niveau de

compeacutetence des apprenants en particulier et en matiegravere de parole en geacuteneacuterale

Les mots cleacutes audio-histoire Compeacutetence drsquoeacutecoute prononciation dureacute de travaille

ملخص

استخدام القصص الصوتية من اجل المساعدة على اكتساب النطق السليم والدقيق تهدف هذه الدراسة الى التعرف على مدى فعالية

الأجنبية حيث تستند الدراسة الحالية على فرضية مفادها ان الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إيجابي على تحسين ةللغ

استغرقت التجربة ست ق المنهج التجريبيمن أجل تحقيق هدف هذه الدراسة تم تطبينطق الطلاب الأجانب للغة الإنجليزية

جلسات قسمت كالاتي أربع حصص معالجة سبقت باختبارات قبلية ولحقت باختبارات بعدية أجريت الدراسة في قسم اللغة

طالبا من طلاب السنة ثانية جامعي قسم الطلبة الى فوجين حيث 40الإنجليزية بجامعة العربي بن مهيدي وقد شملت الدراسة

ى معالجة لمدة أربع حصص من خلال الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية في حين لم يتعرض الفوج الثاني خضع أحد الفوجين ال

الى نفس المعالجة بعد ذلك تم اجراء الاختبارات البعدية واعتمادا على النتائج المتحصل عليها ثبت ان التعرض الى اللغة

جابي على اكتساب النطق الدقيق للغة المستهدفة الا وهي اللغة الأجنبية عن طريق الاستماع الى القصص الصوتية له تأثير إي

الأجنبية

القصص الصوتية النطق مدة الموجات الصوتيةالكلمات المفتاحية المهارة السمعية

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