ERIC Number: EJ1400202
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1362-1688
EISSN: EISSN-1477-0954
The Effects of Prosody Instruction on Listening Comprehension in an EAP Classroom Context
Language Teaching Research, v27 n6 p1480-1503 2023
In many English language teaching contexts, listening activities resemble listening comprehension tests. Scholars have argued that this product-oriented approach is not particularly effective in helping learners improve their listening skills and have advocated for the inclusion of instruction that targets specific features of spoken language. The current study tested these claims in the context of an English-for-academic-purposes (EAP) listening and speaking course. Sixty-four post-secondary learners of English were randomly assigned to one of two groups. In addition to their regularly scheduled listening activities, one group received 100 minutes of instruction for two prosodic features (paratone and prosodic phrasing), while the other group received an equal amount of product-oriented listening instruction. After the instructional treatment, learners in the prosody group outperformed those in the product-oriented group on comprehension of the target prosodic features, and on general listening proficiency tests. It is argued that short periods of instruction targeting prosodic features can improve the effectiveness of traditional product-oriented EAP listening instruction.
Descriptors: English for Academic Purposes, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Intonation, Suprasegmentals, Speech Communication, Teaching Methods, Postsecondary Education, Comparative Analysis, Listening Comprehension, Learning Activities, Instructional Effectiveness, Cues, Phrase Structure, Mandarin Chinese, Native Language, Tone Languages, Intensive Language Courses, Universities
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Postsecondary Education; Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A