Universal Journal of Educational Research Vol. 8(12), pp. 7022 - 7035
DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.081270
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EFL Teachers' Beliefs and Practices of Teaching Pronunciation in a Vietnamese Setting


Diem Phuong Thi Tran 1, Huan Buu Nguyen 2,*
1 Aston English Language Center, Can Tho City, Vietnam
2 School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University, Vietnam

ABSTRACT

A plethora of research has witnessed the relationship between beliefs and practices that influence how language teachers make their own decisions to improve their instruction and enhance student learning at tertiary education. In particular, to date, there has been a growing interest in pronunciation teaching of English as a foreign or second language. However, research into beliefs and practices of foreign language learning, namely English, with regard to pronunciation within the Vietnamese context is still scarce. This current study, therefore, is aimed to explore what beliefs teacher hold and how they teach pronunciation in a Vietnamese context. This paper draws on data collected as part of a larger study including questionnaires, interviews, and observations over a fifteen-week semester of an EFL pronunciation course. The focus of this paper is on the data from the questionnaire and observations. The study was conducted with seventy teachers at an English language center in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The findings indicate that the teachers had positive beliefs about teaching pronunciation and that the teachers integrated pronunciation in their English classes with specific focus on intelligibility. The findings further extend the literature on pronunciation teaching practices by providing insights into how contextual factors mediate teachers' existing beliefs and actual happenings that inform their future practices by reflecting on their professional development and learning regarding pronunciation as crucial constituent of learners' communicative competence. The paper concludes by discussing pedagogical implications for teachers, school administrators for the sake of better pronunciation instruction.

KEYWORDS
Teachers' Beliefs, Pronunciation Teaching, Intelligibility

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Diem Phuong Thi Tran , Huan Buu Nguyen , "EFL Teachers' Beliefs and Practices of Teaching Pronunciation in a Vietnamese Setting," Universal Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 8, No. 12, pp. 7022 - 7035, 2020. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.081270.

(b). APA Format:
Diem Phuong Thi Tran , Huan Buu Nguyen (2020). EFL Teachers' Beliefs and Practices of Teaching Pronunciation in a Vietnamese Setting. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(12), 7022 - 7035. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.081270.