I'm helping Libyan undergraduate student majoring in English with her graduation project.
She's thinking of doing some research with freshman college students to find out how effective a phonetics-based approach to EFL/ ESL is/ would be in the Libyan context.
I would appreciate it if you could share with me studies on this or a related topic done in Libya or globally. Studies done in other Arabic-speaking countries would be relevant too.
Thanks a lot.
I don't think that a phonetics-based approach in an EFL/ESL context is desirable; in fact, it is counter-intuitive. Dividing the linguistic levels into phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics is a pedagogic convenience and convention in education and research. When we communicate, we do it at all linguistic levels. True, we may sometimes focus on a particular level such as when we emphasize a particular sound of English (e.g. I said bear not beer). Many EFL departments of English worldwide do include a subject called phonetics on their syllabus to refine students' pronunciation and fine-tune the subtle differences in meaning when sounds are changed.
Thanks a lot for giving your feedback Dr. Zouheir Maalej . I do agree with you and usually opt for the communicative approach when I teach EFL and often use textbooks that incorporate all/ most aspects of the English language.
Still, I'm hoping to find literature on a phonetics-based approach to teaching ESL/EFL to help a student do her senior-year project. I'm thinking she could at least do a critical review of the literature on that approach to discuss why other approaches have gained currency in TESOL and whether it has been abandoned or is still practised to some extent.
Here are three studies. Try to read them please.
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:CefI9CK1hUoJ:https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1171948.pdf+&cd=1&hl=ar&ct=clnk&gl=iq
https://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-09142008-124858/unrestricted/Lemons_PhonicsDS.pdf
https://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/.../Lemons_PhonicsDS.pdf
Good day!
Exploring the effectiveness of phonetics-based approach to teaching English is quite challenging. One has to consider the methodology for conducting such study, such as the identified participants (freshmen and their language background/exposure), rubrics for measuring the effectiveness, the consistency of using the approach, the time frame, and expected input from teachers and outputs from students, to name a few. If effectiveness is sought, who will identify if the approach is effective or not? - The students or the teacher, or the researcher? What rubrics or research tools will be used to measure the effectiveness? One semester or one year may not be sufficient to make a conclusion that the approach is effective. Likewise, if the case is contextualized in ESL or EFL, which aspect is involved since teaching (and learning) English does not only focus on the phonetic/phonological branch of linguistics.
Anyway, you may check out these links which might contribute to your student's review of related literature. These focused on phonics and phonology, and instructions but you may still gain valuable insights.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1171948.pdf
file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/%C3%A3%C3%87%C3%8C%C3%93%C3%8A%C3%AD%C3%91%20%20Faten%20Al%20Hallaq.pdf
Article The Effectiveness of Phonological-Based Instruction in Engli...
Why don't you read my thesis?
Pronunciation Teaching Is Not a One-Size-Fits-All Endeavor: EFL Teachers' Beliefs and Classroom Practices
I agree with Joseleanor Melliza Magno on the complexity of measuring the effectiveness. Besides, the topic is too broad. I would suggest that you student limits the study to one particular skill as the main focus, and looks at how the other skills may be influenced.
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