ABSTRACT

Name of Researcher: Precy V. Ventura

Institution: Urdaneta City University

Urdaneta City

Course: Master of Arts in Education

Semester and School Year: 2017-2018

Adviser: Dr. Annie Manalang

Title of Thesis: Pronunciation Of Grade III

Pupils in their Reading Task

Key Terms: Pronunciation, Reading Tasks

Background of the Study

This study was conducted to determine the Pronunciation of Grade III

Pupils in their reading Tasks of Toboy Elementary School during the second
semester of the school year 2012-2013. The descriptive method of
research was used in this study, and the chi-square and Pearson-‘r’ was
used to determine the significant relationship between the pupils’ level of
pronunciation performances and their profile.

This study aimed to determine the pronunciation of grade III pupils

in their reading tasks. Specifically, this study focused on the following: 1.)
the pupils’ profile in terms of sex, voice quality, and reading materials
available at home; 2.) the pupils’ level of pronunciation performances in
the areas of vowel sounds, consonant sounds, stress and juncture; 3.) the
significant relationship between the pupils’ level of pronunciation
performances and their profile.

Based on the problems raised, the findings of the study were

summarized as follows: 1.) Seven (7) OR 54% of the respondents are
males, with low pitch (7 or 54%), who have books as the reading materials
available at home (8 or 62%). Most of the Respondents have a “good”
performance in vowel sounds (7 or 54%), “good in consonant sounds (5 or
38%), “fair” in pronouncing words with proper stress (5 or 38.46%), and
“good” in correct juncture (6 or 46%). 3.) there is a significant relationship
between the pupils’ level of pronunciation performances and their profile.

Based from the findings of the study, following conclusions were

drawn:

Majority of the pupils are males, have a low pitch in terms of voice
quality, and books as reading materials available in their home. Most of the
respondents have average performance in pronouncing vowel consonant
sounds, and in pronouncing words with proper stress and juncture. There
is significant relationship between the pupils’ level of pronunciation
performances and their profile.

Based from the findings and conclusion drawn, the following

recommendation are hereby offered:

The teacher should develop reading books or mini libraries that the
feature various reading genres in the classroom to augment the reading
materials available at home. The teacher should give drills on
communicative activities to the pupils that can improve their oral skills in all
areas of pronunciation. The school should enhance their language program
to further improve the pronunciation performances of pupils regardless of
sex, voice quality and reading materials at home.
 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents a summary of the related local and foreign

sources, which have shown similar and contradicting results considered
relevant to the research being studied.

RELATED LITERATURE

The following articles collected from the different books and sources
are related to the study of the researchers on the pronunciation of Grade
III pupils and he proposed activities for enhancing for their skills in
pronunciation.

Local Literature

Individuals always learn to speak earlier than learning to read and

write. One of the general goals in the second language (L2) learning may
be the most important one, which is to speak a target language accurately
and fluently like native speakers. When talking the other people in English,
the first thing they notice, which can create good impression about the
quality of language ability, is pronunciation. Poor unintelligible
pronunciation will make unpleasantness and misunderstanding for both
speakers and listeners. In addition, it is clear that limited pronunciation
skills will make learners lose their sel-confidence in result in negative
influence learners to estimate their credibility and abilities (Morley, 1998).

Furthermore, Lund (2003) pointed out that “pronunciation is the only

aspect of language that calls for a close interaction between the cognitive
and physiological processes. In acquiring new sounds, people also dealing
with a complex re-organizing of the articulatory processes”. Good English
pronunciation will facilitate communication as well as promote willingness
to listen to others. Contrarily, poor English pronunciation may confused
people and lead to unpleasant talking and misunderstanding, even if you
used advanced English grammar or vocabulary is used. Therefore, the uses
of simple words or grammar structure make people understand, but not
simple pronunciation. According to Gelvanovsky (2002), pronunciation has
an important social value, which means that is related to prestige, such as
intelligence, professional competence, persuasiveness, diligence, and social
privilege. Pronunciation can provide information about the speaker’s
geographical and social origin, and in most cases it is the most salient
characteristics of non-native speakers. These sounds are generally
classified into segmental (vowels and consonants), and supra segmental
(stress and juncture). Some studies also find that pronunciation usually
relate to the indispensable factors for socio-economic success: intelligence,
professional competence, persuasiveness, diligence, social privilege, and so
on (Hudson, 1980; Dalton & seidlhofer 1994).
 In the study of Bisnar (2003), pronunciation is a broad subject, a
very difficult one to act upon, having limited theoretical as well as

functional knowledge. The researcher emphasized the need for clarity of

oral rhetoric. Mispronunciation of words brings a bit of confusion to the
listeners. A mispronounced word changes the meaning of the sentences.

According to Tamayosa (2002), teaching pronunciation experiences

had significance in teaching those pupils how to read grammar. Recent
studies revealed that it was easier to teach the children to read if they had
acquired and mastered the reading readiness skills. Thus, pupils with the
reading pronunciation disability could not just be set aside. They to be
given the same opportunity as those without disabilities in reading
pronunciation.

I n general, the authority of dictionary regarding pronunciation is

considered the last word.However, most dictionaries especially the Webster
Dictionary state that all entry pronunciations represent standard usage and
when two or more variants are given for a single word, the form given first
is the most frequent in general use.

Foreign Literature

Dietrich (2003) states that teachers who have training in teaching

pronunciation will probably be delighted with pronunciation book.Those
instructors trying to use the book without the benefit of proper training in
teaching pronunciation may not have the background to utelize it
properly.As stated in the book of Connor,textbooks in English pronunciation
should provide a systematic and thorough introduction to the pronunciation
of English to help intermediate and more advance students improve their
production of the spoken language.Sometimes, disagreements arise
because of mispronunciation in American English, stated that errors in the
production of vowels are primarily due to regionalism.Goodwin (2006) said
that English word stress patterns are somewhat complex and can depend
on several factors: the historical origin of a word, the part of speech, and
affixation.

Moreover, Lu (2002) claims that learners suggest they should

practice speaking.Learners need help in overcoming both their expectation
that pronunciation is a subject which can be learned by listening to a
teacher, and the psychological and social barriersthat make it difficult for
them to practice effectively. In addition , there is also a significant
cognitive component in pronunciation learning, which is much less often
acknowledged.It is useful to think of learning to pronounce a new language
as involving a kind of concept formation rather than as purely physical skill.

It is obvious that creating a stronger link between pronunciation and

communication can help increase learners’ motivation by bringing
pronunciation to a level of intelligibility and encouraging learners’
awareness of its potential as a tool for making their language not only
easier to understand but more effective (Jones,2002).As Levis (2002) has
pointed out, some suprasegmental phenomina may not be as important to
meaning as is sometimes claimed. He found, for example, that native
listeners distinguished meanings in only three of five intonation contours.
Before L2 speakers are taught the patterns of English speech , researchers
and teachers must ensure that the information they provide is accurate,

Within an ESL setting a foreign accent has several consequences for the
speaker (Flege, 1988).On the positive side, it signals to native
speakers(NS) interlocutor that an L2 learner is non-native and my
therefore require modified input (Gass & Varonis, 1984). On the negative
side, an accent may reduce intelligibly in both native speakers-non-native
speaker (NS-NNS) and non-native speakers-non-native speakers (NNS-
NNS) interactions and may serve as a basis for negative social evaluation
and discrimination (Lippi-Green, 1997; Munro, 2003).

In the study of owtlowski (2003), he asserts that usefulness of

teaching pronunciation is a widely debated subject in the language
teaching world. Some of the current researchers would suggest that
teachers could make little or no difference in improving their students’
pronunciation. In contrast, there is research that indicates that the teacher
can make a noticeable difference if certain criteria, such as the teaching of
supra segmental and the linking of pronunciation with listening practice,
are fulfilled. In the analysis of the participants’ productions, Derwing and
Rossiter (2003) determined that the students in both experimental groups
learned what they were taught. The participants in the segmental group
showed considerable improvement in their production of individual sounds,
but the overall effect on comprehensibility in extemporaneous speech was
negligible.
 Wang and Munro (2004) showed that with only a small account of
perceptual training, ESL learners who had received misleading instruction
on this point could learn to focus more on the differences in vowel quality
in largely ignore length. ESL instructors who have not had opportunities for
professional development in pronunciation teaching may develop some
teaching strategies that actually have little or no value or that may be
counterproductive. For example, in a teacher-oriented publication, Usher
(1995) claimed that the distinction between /b/ and /p/ should be taught
to students as a difference in breathing, such that /b/ requires inhalation
while/p/ requires exhalation.

Some teachers and learner complain about difficulties in

pronunciation since pronunciation is considered as one of the most
complicated but significant features of second language (L2) teaching and
learning. Good pronunciation can promote language learning whereas poor
pronunciation can lead to a great hindrance in L2 learning. Many learners
were thought English as a foreign language (EFL) or a second language
(ESL) seek to master native-like pronunciation, and want to speak English
accurately and fluently. However, some L2 learners have lots of problems
with pronunciation because of a wide range of affecting factors. Thes
affecting factors in pronunciation include more than just phonetic symbols
and rules, and it also involves the articulation of individuals sounds and the
distinctive features of sounds like voice and aspiration, voice setting
features (Esling & Wong, 1983) and stress, intonation and rhythm.
Pennignton and Richards (1986) argued there were a range of factors that
should be considered as a part of pronunciation, such as native language
interference, age affecting acquisition. Therefore, in order to make
pronunciation teaching and learning effective, it would be worthwhile to
rake these affecting factors into account.

Related Studies

The following articles gleaned from the different journals, thesis and
internet source are related to the study of the researchers on the
pronunciation of Grade III Pupils. Thes studies contributed to the
understanding of the study.

Local Studies

Learning how to pronounce a foreign language like native speakers is

difficult but not impossible. The better pronunciation, the better people will
understand and the easier one will find it to understand them. With one’s
ears tuned to the sounds and rhythms of the L2, one will find learning how
to pronounce the language less difficult.

Evangelista (2006) stated that speaking is the most common form of

communication. The purpose is to help the audience to understand or
appreciate what is being told. Though people may be comfortable talking
with their friends, talking to a group of people who are not all their friends
is entirely different matter. In this situation, it is therefore imperative that
the teacher gives exercise in oral presentation to develop the presentation
to develop the students’ ability to speak the target language and that they
may interpret what they wanted to tell their listeners.
 Flores and Lopez (1998) stated that some people have a voice
problems because of organic defects. It is connected with voice because
during the speaking process, the organs of speech are coordinately
integrated and involved in breathing, phonation, resonation and
articulation. Further, primary biological functions may crop as using trouble
with the speech activity. For such cases, the speaker’s problem is howto
reassert control over one’s own speech organs.

In order to improve the articulation of vowel sounds, Esgara et al.

(2005) promote the techniques in vowelizing. In the technique, the
speakers emphasizes the pronunciation of vowels qualities while
subordinating consonant qualities. They say that this an effective way to
improve the speaking voice of a person.

Carpio (1999) as cited Zapatero et al.(2010) claimed that the way persons
to speak servers as a reflection of their personality. If the respondents are
introverted who are not comfortable in speaking in front, they may
manifest nervousness during their oral speech production.

If one’s language course includes a recorded pronunciation guide and

exercises, a learner is advised to listen to them until he has internalized all
the points, but learning everything in one go is not good. One should
beware of pronunciation guides that compares the sounds of a second
language (L2) with one’s own first language (L1). This can be misleading
as the sounds, particularly the vowels, are often different.
 Alternatively or additionally one could try finding a native speakers to
help one with pronunciation. If the one spoken to could not understood,
one should ask then to speak slowly ant to enunciate each word clearly.
Then try to mimic them. Pay attention to the shapes their lips make, and
also to their posture and any gestures they make.

According to the findings of Emotin (2000) in her study about the

pronunciation Difficulty of Kamayo Students of Barobo revealed that
difficulty on pronunciation skills among Kamayo learners is evident. It was
further showed that common difficulties were on some vowel, consonant
and diphthong sounds. The results in evaluation among the three teachers
for students’ need assessments on pronunciation skills are considered
relevant and valid by taking the evaluation mean of the three teachers.
Each of the items in students’ needs assessment on pronunciation skills
was evaluated by taking weight accordingly. Items rated as “excellent” and
“satisfactory” are grouped under tolerable pronunciation skill and are
treated as one while items in fair and needs improvement are grouped
under difficult pronunciation skill and are also treated as one. The sounds
that were considered in the pronunciation difficulty were the vowel sounds
/ae/, /e/, /ey/, /u/, / /, the consonant sounds /o/, and /v/, and the
diphthongs sounds, /a/, /au/ and /i/,. These sounds were ranked as top
ten all the sounds presented.
Foreign Studies

Pennington and Ellis (2000) have shown that software can help
second language (L2) learners acquire prosodic patterns if it focuses their
attention on crucial distinction. This is a promising area that deserves
further development. Of course, other pedagogical materials should also
take into consideration research findings to provide useful instruction for
learners. A wide range of listeners factors, such as familiarity with foreign-
accented speech, willingness to communicate, and attitudes toward L2
speakers, contribute to the success of any communicative activity ( Gass &
Varonis, 1984; Macintyre, Baker, clement, & Donovan, 2003; Rubin, 1992).
These phenomena require extensive further research. Preliminary evidence
suggests that native listeners can benefit from training to improve their
skills at listening to accented speech (Derwing, Rossier, & Munro, (2002).

According to Varasarin (2007), in their in her action research of

pronunciation training, language strategies (LLS) and speaking confidence
states that outcomes indicate that both cycles ( Cycle One and Cycle Two)
showed the implications of the importance of pronunciation training in the
Thai context and the usefulness of dictionary usage to help learners
improve their competence and to have more confidence to speak English.
The control of the contents of pronunciation training with direct LLS is
crucial to the improvement of students and their confidence. The indirect
LLS which they reported they used in the training had great impact on their
improvement and confidence. Furthermore, in pronunciation training,
learners were taught how to pronounce correct English sounds phonetically
and how native speakers use a high and low voice in a sentence that is,
intonation, rhythm and pitch or in more academic sense, segmental and
supra segmental aspects. Reflective reports written by teachers and
students in both cycles showed that their pronunciation was improved after
they had been traind and it was evident that they had more confidence to
speak English.

Bennett (2005) stated that one of the most important areas where
almost every Filipino can improve is vowels. Filipino tend to pronounce like
the sound in “father”, where an in the most English words is pronounced
like the sound in “apple”. Thee vowels that require greatest attention are
evident in the words “in”, “is” and “if”. These are so common that they
need to be pronounced with great care. Otherwise, the way English words
are pronounced will be judged as weak.

Synthesis of the Reviewed Literature and Studies

The reviewed literature and studies, both local and foreign, give the
researchers knowledge, ideas and different facts regarding the
pronunciation of Grade III Pupils in their reading tasks. The knowledge,
ideas and facts gleaned from the reviewed literature are deemed relevant
to the present study’ since the objective of the study is to determine the
pronunciation of Grade III Pupils in their reading tasks.

Lund (2003) pointed out, “pronunciation is the only aspect of

language that calls for a close interaction between the cognitive and
physiological processes. In acquiring new sounds we are also dealing with
a complex reorganizing of the articulatory processes”.

Theoretical Framework

Distinctive feature theory ( Jakobson, Fant and Halle, 1956) view

sounds language on the basis of the features which manifest the contrasts
existing within the sound system (e.g. the binary feature [voice] which can
be either [+voice] (voiced) (voiceless). Leahy assesses the usefulness of a
modified version of the theory ( Blanche 1978) to the teaching of English
constant contrasts.

Conceptual Framework

The paradigm shows the relationships between the independent and

dependent variables. The independent variables include the respondents’
profile such as sex, voice quality and reading material available at home.
The independent variable is the pronunciation of Grade III pupils in their
reading tasks.
 Chapter 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design, respondents of the study

and sampling scheme, data gathering instruments, collection of data and
treatment of data.

Research Design

This study made use of the descriptive research. According to

Vizcarra (2003) as cited by quibrantos et al. (2006) descriptive research
includes all studies that purport to presents facts concerning the nature
and status of anything a group of persons, a number of objects, a set of
conditions, a class of events or any kind of phenomena one may wish to
study.

Subjects of the study and Sampling Scheme

The respondents of this study were thirteen (13) Grade III pupils of
Toboy Elementary School, Asingan, Pangasinan. These 13 respondents
comprise 20% of the total population which is sixty six (66), and were
chosen trough random sampling.

Data Gathering Instrument

The research instrument used in gathering the data was a

questionnaire checklist. The questionnaire checklist consisted of four (4)
parts. Part 1 aimed to gather data about the personal profile of the
respondents in terms of their sex, voice quality, and reading materials
available in their home. A rubric which consisted of five items along the
vowel, consonant, stress and 15 items along juncture was prepared by the
researchers.

Collection of Data

Before the administration of the questionnaire, the researchers

sought the approval of the principal and the teacher of the Grade III
pupils. With the help of the classroom teacher, the researchers
administrated and retrieved the questionnaire.

Statistical Treatment of Data

Proper statistical tools were used in the analysis of the data as:

The frequency and percentage formula was used in analysing the

pupils’ profile in terms of sex, voice quality, and reading materials available
at home; and level of pronunciation performances in the areas of vowel
sounds, consonant sounds, stress, and juncture as shown below.

𝑓
%= 100,
𝑛

Where: %-percentage equivalent of the brackets

f- number of respondents that fall in each bracket

n- total number of respondents