To Say or Not To Say: ESL Learners’ Perspective towards Pronunciation Instruction

Abstract

This paper addresses the perspective of ESL learners towards pronunciation instruction. It sought to discover how these learners view their speech classes in terms of course design, the language of instruction, preferred learning and teaching style, and their preferred type of feedback. This study utilized a quantitative-qualitative approach to the problem. The respondents were Education students majoring in English who answered a survey questionnaire and underwent an interview. The data from the survey were tabulated using frequency count and the data from the interview were then categorized, transcribed and analysed. Results showed that ESL learners are informed with their course design and they are open to providing suggestions on how the course could be improved. They favour English as the main mode of instruction, with code-switching as a welcome technique in the classroom. They are attuned to their learning style, mixing several styles. They prefer to be taught theory before practice and favour immediate corrective feedback.Keywords: Course design; ESL; feedback; learner perspective; learning and teaching style; pronunciation instruction.