Republic of the Philippines

PARTIDO STATE UNIVERSITY

Camarines Sur
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SPEAKING COMPETENCIES: EXPLORING SEGMENTAL AND SUPRASEGMENTAL

DIFFICULTIES IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

ARJAY B. BORJA
Master of Arts in Education major in English

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Speaking is a very important and effective tool in using the language for communication
in school, workplace, and the society. It is the most common way which enables people to
transmit ideas and information with one another in a variety of oral communication
situations. Generating messages and delivering these with several components such as
articulation, verbal, and non-verbal signals, vocal variety, pronunciation, and others constitute
effective oral communication.

Speaking using the English language, which considered as the universal language at
present, is a very important skill which students must be able to develop in order for them to
be competent speakers of language. The Philippines, as one of the countries which uses
English as a second language, must focus and give importance to the speaking abilities of the
students using the English language for communicating orally. Language learners need to
recognize that speaking involves three areas of knowledge. These are mechanics which
involve pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary; functions which involve transaction and
interaction; and social and cultural rules and norms in speaking.

With the current focus on communicative approaches in language learning, a renewed

interest is placed upon the role of pronunciation in developing communicative competence
among learners. Pronunciation is becoming increasingly recognized as a crucial area for
language learners (Tweedy, 2012). Pronunciation, which is an integral part of second
language learning, directly affects learners’ communicative competence as well as
performance. In second language learning, it is important for learners produce the sounds,
utterances, and the words properly and correctly. Burns (2003) stressed that limited
pronunciation skills can decrease learners’ self-confidence, restrict social interactions, and
negatively affect estimations of a speaker’s credibility abilities. For this reason, intelligibility
is now one of the goals of pronunciation teaching (Levis, 2005). Therefore, it is important
that second language learners must be competent in the execution of the segmental and
suprasegmental features of the language.

In his study, Senel (2006) said that it should be noted that language learners always come
across some difficulties and problems while learning a foreign language. One of the most
remarkable difficulties seen in this process happens to be in the pronunciation of the foreign
language vocabulary. Several factors such as the native language interference, age,
motivation, prior instruction, language exposure, attitude and motivation affect the
acquisition of the English pronunciation.

In speaking, it is not only enough that a person can speak using the language. It is also
important the he involves the application of the different competencies and abilities which
should be exhibited in order to be a competent speaker. Therefore, in order to be a competent
speaker, it is important that there is the assessment of the different speaking competencies
composed of a set demonstrative abilities which should be observed and be effectively
exhibited, to further develop the speaking competence of a person.

The ability to communicate effectively is often included as a primary undergraduate

learning and second language students particularly those in developing countries who have
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received several years of formal English teaching remain deficient in the ability to use the
language and understand its use (www.memoireonline.com,August1,2014). The target
respondents of this study are products of the K-12 Curriculum and they have several English
subjects in pre-school, elementary, and junior high school. Since, the target respondents of
the study are senior high school students, it is very important that their speaking competence
be assessed because they will be exposed to many oral communication situations with
English as the medium of speaking when they enter college.

This study will provide the senior high school students of Don Teofilo H. Dilanco
Memorial High School, Libmanan, Camarines Sur with the knowledge and awareness of role
that the segmental and suprasegmental features of language play in improving their speaking
competence. They will also be able to determine what factors affect their English
pronunciation. Also, it may provide the teachers with different levels of proficiency
concerning the pronunciation of their students, with emphasis put on the execution of the
segmental and suprasegemental features of the English language. Through this study, teachers
will be able to utilize the information gathered so that they will be able to develop speaking
activities for improving the pronunciation skills of the students.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The main problem of this study is to assess the extent of the senior high school students’
execution of the segmental and suprasegmental features of the language and the factors that
affect them. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the speaking competencies level of the senior high school students along
segmental and suprasegmental features of language;

2. What are the common mistakes committed by the senior high school students in
terms of segmental and suprasegemntals features of language;

3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the senior high schoo students in terms
of the following segmental and suprasegmentals features of language; and

4. What are the different factors that affect students’ execution of the segmental and
suprasegmental features of language?

5. What particular remedial activities may be developed to correct these

pronunciation deficiencies?

ASSUMPTIONS

The researcher has the following assumptions:

1. The senior high school students are familiar with and can execute the segmental and
suprasegmental features of language.

2. There are factors that affect the speaking competence of senior high school students.
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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The following may beneficial to the following:

Language Teachers. The findings of the study may provide insights on what the teachers
should do to enhance the speaking competencies of the students.

Future Researchers. The findings of the study may give them additional data for their
related studies as they explore other variables that might affect directly or indirectly to speaking.

School Administartors. They may use the result of this study as basis for crafting or
planning programs and activities that will surely improve the students’ speaking competencies.
Also, it may serve as basis to take actions such as trainings, seminars, and workshops to English
teachers particularly in connection to speaking.

Students. The findings of the study may help them to assess their speaking
competencies through execution of the segmentals and suprasegmentals features of language.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

This research proposal will assess the speaking competency of senior high school
students of Don Teofilo H. Dilanco Memorial High School in terms of pronunciation. It will
focus on the segmental and suprasegmental features of the English language such as correct
pronunciation of vowels, consonants, and diphthongs ; and suprasegmental features such as
stress, sentence stress, and intonation. Only the senior high school students of the
aforementioned school will be tested in order to know if they are already equipped with
speaking skills once they enter college.

DEFINITION OF TERMS
For the purpose of clarification, the following terms which will be used in the proposed
study are defined operationally:

Competence. It is the ability to speak well or the quality of being skilled in speaking.

Competencies. These are set of demonstrative abilities in speaking which should be observed and
be effectively exhibited to achieve competence.

Consonants. These are sounds produced with the breath stream obstructed to produce friction
either by completely stopping or narrowing the passage for the length of time or diverting the
sound through other passages.

Diphthongs. These are combination of two vowels produced as a single sound.

Intonation. It is the rise and fall of the voice when talking.

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Proficiency. It is the quality or state of being proficient or skilful in speaking a language.

Segmentals. It is any discrete unit that can be identified, either physically or auditory , in the
stream of speech.

Sentence Stress. It is the manner in which stresses are distributed on the syllables of words
assembled into sentences

Speaking. It is the act, utterance, or discourse of a person who speaks.

Suprasegnmentals. These are pertaining to or noting features of speech, as stress, pitch, and
length, that accompany individual consonants and vowels and may extend over more than one
such as segmental element; pertaining to junctural and prosodic features.

Vowels. These are voiced sounds produced without obstruction of the oral cavity or constriction
of breath stream.

Word stress. It is the manner in which stresses are distributed on the syllables of a word.

IPA Symbols ( International Phonetic Alphabets). A set of symbols developed by several

linguists wherein important sounds of words are represented.

End Notes

Sherwin Morreale, et. al, (1998). Speaking and listening competencies for college students.
National Communication Association

Oleh Kamalfachri (2009). The real issue in speaking competence. Retrieved from:
http://kamalfachri.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/the-real-issue-in-speaking-competence/
(August 1, 2014)

Leah Tweedy (2012). Discovering factors that influence English pronunciation of

Native Vietnamese speakers. Unpublished Masters Thesis. Hamline
University, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Burns, A. (2003). Clearly speaking: pronunciation in action for teachers. National

Center for English Language Teaching and Research,
Macquaire Universaity, Sydney NSW 2109.

Levis, J. (2005, September). Changing contexts and shifting paradigms in

Pronunciation teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 39(3), 369-37

Mufit Senel (2006). Suggestions for beautifying the pronunciation of EFL learners
In Turkey. Journal of language and Linguistic Studies, Vol. 2

An evaluative study of communicative competence in conversational English

Among English language learners. Retrieved from:
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http://www.memoireonline.com/12/08/1773/An-Evaluative-Study-of-Communicative-
Competence-in-Conversational-English-among-English-Language-Lea.htm#_Toc153887105
(August 1, 2014)

Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2014, Merriam-Webster Inconperated

IPA Symbols. Retrieved from: http://macchiato.com/unicode/IPA.html (Novembember 30, 2014)

Chapter II
THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

This chapter covers related literatures and studies, either published or unpublished, that are
needed to further give wider understanding, explanation,
and support to the proposed study. This chapter will also provide the basic concept that are
fundamental to the development of the proposed study as well as the relationship that exist
between them. The theoretical and conceptual paradigms of the proposed study are also
presented in the latter part of the chapter.

Speaking and Communicative competence

Communication plays an important role in our everyday lives. It is a common activity

where we can find ourselves engaged in from time to time. However, the ability to make sense
and improve one’s communicative skills entails competence that is learned through deliberate
study and personal reflection. The ability to communicative effectively is often included as a
primary undergraduate learning goal along with other key skills like writing, critical thinking,
and problem solving. DeSantis said that the ability to use language efficiently and effectively
requires years of practice and study. However, Brumfit and Johnson states that students, and
especially those in developing countries, who have received several years of formal English
teaching, frequently remain deficient in the ability to actually use the language and to understand
its use, in normal communication, whether in the spoken or written mode
(www.memoireonline.com, August 1, 2014)

Chaney (1998) in Kayi (2006) defines speaking as a process of building and sharing
meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of context. It involves
both a command of certain skills and several different types of knowledge. Competence in
speaking, on the other hand, is not a process but rather the ability to communicate orally in clear,
coherent, and persuasive language appropriate to the purpose, occasion, and audience.
Developing competency includes acquiring poise and developing control of the language through
experience in making presentations the small groups, large groups, and the media.

During the 1970’s Bell Hymes proposed the idea of communicative competence. His
argument was the speaker can be able to produce grammatical sentences that are completely
inappropriate. Therefore, in the concept communicative competence, a speaker must not only be
able to form correct sentences but at the same time be able to use them appropriately. This idea
has been expanded considerably, and various types of competencies have been proposed . In
Richards and Renandya (2002), Canale and Swain (1980) suggest that in order to be able to
communicate meaningfully, speakers need to know the knowledge of communicative
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competence and its components. These are grammatical, discourse, sociolinguistic, and strategic
competence.

Grammatical competence is that component of communicative competence which includes

grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics. The term mechanics with regards to speaking refers to
phonology, pronunciation, intonation and stress. This particular enabls the speaker of a language
to use and understand the language structures which contributes to his fluency.

Discourse competence, the second component of communicative competence, is concerned

with the speaker’s relationship, in formal or informal occasion, and the rules of cohesion and
coherence. It deals with the mastery of how to combine grammatical forms and meanings to
achieve a unified spoken or written text in different genres.

Sociolinguistic competence includes the social and cultural rules and norms especially in
turn-taking, rate of speech, length of pauses between speakers, and the relative roles of
participants. It is the speaker’s knowledge and understanding on how to take into account of who
is speaking and to whom, in what circumstances, about what, and for what reason. This
particular competence contributes in conversations in a way that it helps the speakers know what
comments are appropriate, how to ask questions during interaction, and how to respond
according to the purpose of the talk.

Strategic competence is the component of communicative competence which is concerned on

how a speaker manipulates the language to meet the communicative goals. It compensates the
breakdowns in communications and enhances its effectiveness through the mastery of verbal and
non-verbal communication; thereby making one’s meaning clear in various ways.

Speaking Competence and Pronunciation

With the current focus on communicative approaches in language learning, a renewed

interest is placed upon the role of pronunciation in developing communicative competence
among learners. Pronunciation is becoming increasingly recognized as a crucial area for
language learners (Celce-Murcia, Briton, & Goodwin, 1996; Rossiter, Derwing, Manimtim, &
Thomson, 2010). This leads to the development of accuracy which is an important aspect of
speaking.

The way a speaker speaks immediately affects the people around him. According to Burns
(2003), pronunciation is an intergral part of foreign language learning since it directly affects
learners’ communicative competence as well as performance. Limited pronunciation skills can
decrease learners’ self-confidence, restrict social interactions, and negatively affects estimations
of a speaker’s credibility and abilities. As English increasingly becomes the language used for
international communication, it is vital that speakers of English, Whether they are native or non-
native speakers, are able to exchange meaning effectively. Moreover, he adds that there are some
more important things that speakers of English should achieve. First a speaker should be
intelligible. When a speaker produces the sounds and patterns, he makes sure that these are
recognizable as English. Also, the speaker should be comprehensible. This means that the
speaker makes the meaning of what is said clear and understandable to the listeners. Lastly, the
speaker should make the purpose of what is said clear to the listeners, thereby achieving
interpretability. If a speaker produces inaccurate sounds, stress and intonation when speaking,
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the meaning of the words or message will not be clear and therefore listeners would fail to
understand it. This would result to the listener’s inability to interpret the utterance due to the
unavailability of meaning. Burns further stresses that even when learners produce minor
inaccuracies in vocabulary and grammar, they are more likely to communicate effectively when
they have good pronunciation intonation. The production of sounds that we use to make meaning
is referred to as pronunciation. It includes the different segmental and suprasegmental features of
language.

Segmental Features of the Language

Segmental features relate to sounds at the micro level. They includes specific sound within
words. The sound system of consonants, vowels or their combinations are called phonemes.
They contributes to the meaning of a speech segmental. Phonemes are sounds that, when they
pronounced incorrectly, can change the meaning of the words (Burns, 2003). The segmental
features of language are the vowels, consonants, and diphthongs.

A.Vowels

Vowels is a speech sound produced without obstruction or friction in the mouth. According to
the position of the highest point of the tongue, vowels can be classified into front vowels, cental
vowels, and back vowels. Vowels are usually described in terms length which may be affected
by stress, the position in the mouth in which they are made, and the degree to which the lips are
rounded, spread and neutral. Vowels are also often described as either laxor tense.

Errors in Pronouncing Vowels Sounds

These are several pronunciation errors that a Filipino speaker commits when speaking in
English (Mata, 1998).

1./i/-/I/

The Filipino student finds it difficult to distinguish between the /i/ and /I/ in his speech, since the
vernacular have only one sound.

In the case of /i/

a. The sound is not long enough

Sometimes /eı/ as BAIT is substituted

In the case of /I/

a. The sound is not short enough

b. Sometimes /ε/ as in BET is substituted. The students must take care not the lower the
arch of the tongue nor separate the jaw too much.

The /I/ is frequently used in unaccented syllables or words. The Filipino student must be careful
to avoid saying /eı/ as in saying BAIT instead of /I/ in words of BARGAIN and SURFACES
saying BARGEIN instead of BARGIN is incorrect.
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Occasionally some words may be used both as verbs and as nouns or adjectives. In This
case, there is a choice between /I/ as in PIT or /eı/ as in BAIT. When used as a noun or adjective,
the word is pronounced with /I/.

Example:

Adjective: We live in separate houses. (separ /l/te)

Verb: Do not separate a verb from its subject. (separ /eı/ te)

2./I/-/ε/

a. Vernacular /I/ is substituted so that the word SET sounds like SIT

b. The tongue arch is too low. The result is a somewhat flat sounding /ε/

almost like the /æ/ in BAT.

There is a certain group of /ε/ words which the Filipino, including the fairly good speakers,
mispronounces. These words are generally mispronounced substituting the diphthong /eı/ as in
BAIT for the single /ε/. The word ANY for example is pronounced /eı/ and /I/ instead of the
correct /ε/ and /I/.

3. /eı/ - /ε/

a. The second element /I/ is omitted so that the word CAKE sounds like KEK

b. The first element /I/ is omitted so that the word CAKE sounds like KIK.

c. Sometimes the sound /æ/ as in BAT, / /, or more commonly vernacular A, is

substituted. Often times this is because that particular word is spelled with the letter A.
The word CAPABLE, for example which should be pronounced as /k eı p bl/ is
pronounced /k æ p bl/
d. Sometimes instead of /i/ , many students say /eı/ for the word
EVENING, instead of the correct sounds

Since many of the words containing the / εэ / diphthong are spelled with AI, the Filipino often
substitutes the diphthong /eı/ incorrectly.

4. /æ/ - /ε/

The Filipino often:

a. Substitutes the vernacular A (HAT → HOT)

b. Substitutes the /ε/ in BET (SAT → SET)
c. Substitutes the /eı/ found in BAIT
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5. /u/ - /Ω /

The following errors are committed by the Filipino:

In case of /u/

a. The sounds is not long enough

b. Sometimes the vernacular O is substituted

In case of / Ω/

a. The sounds is not short enough

b. Sometimes the vernacular O is substituted

The Filipino often has a difficulty deciding which words should be pronounced /u/ and which
needs the /j/ sound with the /u/.

B. Consonants

Consonants are made by causing a blockage or partial blockage in the mouth, and these are
usually described in terms of the place of articulation,

Manner of articulation, and whether it is voice or voiceless. A voiced consonants is a sound

produced when the vocal cords are vibrating. On the other hands, voiceless consonants is a sound
made with no vibration of the vocal cords.

Errors in Pronouncing Consonant Sounds

Most of the native Malayo-polynesian languages of the Philippines do not contain the /f/
phoneme. Thus, some Filipinos substitutes /p/ for /f/ when they pronounced English words
containing /f/. The /v/ sound is also virtually non-existent in most major native languages of the
Philippines. Partly because modern Spanish does not distinguish between /b/ and /v/, some of the
older generation of Filipinos would pronounce the letter /v/ in all English.

A phenomenon among the older generation of Filipinos is their pronunciation of all the
English words starting with s + consonant such as:

star, spade, stampede, slide, stigma, statue, sky, stable, strict, and stew

These words are pronounced by some of them as:

“istar/estar” ,”istampede/stampede”,”istigma/estigma”,”istatue/estatue”,”istable/estable”,

“istrict/estrict” and “istew/estew” because these older people were exposed to the Spanish
language and were used to the Spanish system wherein there are no words starting with s +
consonant, but instead es + consonant.
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Thus, estrella (star), estampida (stampede), stigma (stigma), estatua (statue) estable
(stable), estricto (strict) and estofaldo (stew).

c. Diphthongs

Diphthong is when the sound is made by gliding from one vowel position to another.
It is represented phonetically by sequences of two letters, the first showing the
starting point and the second indicating the direction of movement. It is an
independent vowel-glide not containing within itself either a ‘peak’ or ‘trough’ of
prominence. What is meant by vowels glide is that speech-organs start in the position
of one vowel and move in the direction of another vowel.

These are three diphthongs in the English language. These are / / eye, site, and
price; / / in choice, oil, and toy; and / / in south, mouth, and plow.

Suprasegmental Features of the Language

Suprasegmental features relate to sounds at the macro level. These refer to such features as
stress, intonation, linking, and other features that always accompany the production of
segmental. They invariably accompany speech and lend the additional which is more
immediately and directly understood.

These features convey the speaker’s identity, attitudes, emotional states and his/her evaluation on
how he/she is being received.

stress refers to the prominence given to certain syllables within words, ant to certain
syllables or words within utterances. It is signaled by volume, force, pitch change and
syllable length, and is often the place where we notice hand movements and other
gestures when we are watching someone talking. Stress is important in three different
levels: (1) word level where multisyllabic words have one or more syllables that are
stressed, (2) sentence level where the most important words tent to be stressed, and (3)
contrastive stress where the most important words carry greater stress.

1. Word stress

word stress refers to the stress placed on syllables within words. Mistake in word stress
are common cause of misunderstanding in English. One of the most common mistakes in
word stress is using stress on the wrong syllable. For example, the students says hó-tel
instead of ho-tél. This type of mistake may lead to misunderstanding, and the speaker’s
meaning or intention may not be at all clear. An added application is that there are plenty
of words that have a different meaning when they are stressed differently. This is case of
ré-bel and re-bél or desert and dessert.

2. Sentence stress
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The stress placed on words within sentences is called sentence stress. One mistake
committed by most people is that the stress is put on the wrong word. Just like placing
the stress on the wrong syllable within a word, placing stress on the wrong word in a
sentence may lead to confusion or speaker’s inability to convey exactly what he/she
means. For example, a sentence like, “John got a new job” can be stressed in different
ways (stress can be placed on John, new or job), all of which convey different meanings.
If students are asked “Who got a new job?” they should respond placing the stress on
John (John got a new job). If they are asked “What did John get? “ they should place the
stress on job ( John got a new job).

B. Intonation

Intonation may also be called the melody of the speech. It is the way the voice goes up and
down according to the context and meaning of the communication. The proper use of intonation
is very important since it makes speech more lively and interesting to the hearer. Intonation is
divided into at least two kinds namely: rising intonation and falling intonation.

The following are some of the common mistakes in intonation:

1 .No rising pitch

Yes/No question typically have a rising pitch towards the end and most students end their
sentences flat so they do not sound like questions at all. For example, the question “Do you like
chocolate?” is read as “Do you like chocolate” Instead of sounding like a question, it sounds like
a statement. Students often have more trouble imitating the rising than the falling intonation.

2. Use of wrong pitch

Students often do not use the right pitch to convey feelings. A single word like really can
express completely different feelings: “Really” said with falling intonation expresses disbelief,
while “Really?” with a rising pitch expresses surprise.

Factors Affecting Pronunciation

Aside from the errors in executing the segmental and suprasegmental features of the
language, there are also several factors which affect the pronunciation of non-native speakers of
a language. The following are some of the factors which affect pronunciation.

Age

Avery and Erhlich (1998) assert that the acquisition of the sound system of language is
affected by the age of the speakers. In his study, Senel (2006) cited Krashen (1988) mentioning
that acquirers who are exposed to a second language beginning in childhood generally achieve
higher second language proficiency than those beginning as adults. There is also a claim that
there is a strong connection between language learning and lateralization. That is, after a learner
goes through puberty, lateralization or the assigning of linguistic functions to specific brain
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hemispheres of the brain occurs. Lateralization then result in learners’ difficulty in acquiring and
being able to produce new sounds to the extent possible by a child.

Other researchers argue that various sensitive periods for language learning exist and
that “adults need to re-adjust existing neural networks to accommodate new sounds”
(Cunningham Florez, 1998). Furthermore, Brown (1987) claims that there is such a biological
timetable in language acquisition and this can be referred to as the “critical age hypothesis”.
Language is learned differently by children and adults, and that this is a direct result of the
motivation of the brain. Generally speaking, it coincides with the period when lateralization is
taking place and ends when it is complete.

As cited by Velasco (2007), Krashen, Long and Sarcella’s (1979) study on the comparison
of the rate of second language acquisition in children and adults suggests that although children
may have an advantage in achieving native-like fluency in the long run, adults actually learn
languages more quickly than children in the early stages.

Velasco (2007) also cited the study conducted by Snow and Hoefnagel-Hohle (1982)
relating to age and second language acquisition. The results of their study gave strong evidence
against the critical period hypothesis. They mentioned that the 3 to 5 years old scored
consistently worse than the other older groups on all the tests and that the 12 to 15 years old
showed the most rapid acquisition of all the skills tested. Their findings reject to notion that
younger learners are better learners in second language acquisition.

Native Language

Learning the English pronunciation may be difficult for non-native speakers depending on
the difference of their native language from English. According to Avery and Erlich (1998) there
is what can be called as “foreign accent” and the nature of which is determined to a large extend
by a learner’s native language. Foreign accent is a form of mother tongue interference. This is
inevitable in the pronunciation since language is part of the culture of the people using it.
Therefore, the way we speak is part of our identity.

Also, foreign accent carries the sound characteristic of the learners’ native language. This
phenomenon is called negative transfer, or interference where in the feature of the first language
are carried into the second language. Cunningham Florez (1998) in tweedy (2012) said that with
differences between the two languages, negative transfer can lead to erroneous production of
aspiration, rhythm, and intonation in the new language. Furthermore, Meng, Tseng, Kondo,
Harrison, and Viscelgia (2009), adds that language transfer occurs at both the segmental and
suprasegmental levels, and these interference effects can become fossilized with age, creating
challenges for adults second language learners.

Avery and Erlich (1998) assert that the stronger the second language culture, the more
likely the second language learners are to sound like members of that culture. If it is very
important for second language learners to preserve their own cultural identity, they may
hold on to their own foreign accent as a marker of this identity.

Language Exposure
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Singer (2006) in tweedy (2012) said that similarly to amount and type of prior instruction, a
learner’s exposure to the language is also a salient component. Languages are acquired by
receiving large amounts of comprehensible input. In Singer’s (2006) case study of factors
influencing English pronunciation of native Somali speakers, the most definite factor
determining accurate pronunciation was the learners’ daily exposure to English. In another study,
Senel (2006) said that aside from the classroom, learners also learn a language through
environment. If the learners are living in an English speaking environment, or one where English
is the second language, then the learners will have many opportunities to listen to and to use the
target language. Hence, they will be surrounded by the target language. However, if the learners
have been living in a non-English speaking environment, they will have no chance or
opportunity to use the target language in a real environment. If learners are not able to use the
language for real communication situations, they will not be able to learn the language. Speaking
opportunities in the classroom must also be provided so that learners will get to use the language
through authentic communication situations. Briefly, Kenworthy (1987) mentions that exposure
can be a contributory factors, but it cannot be a whole and necessary factor for the development
of pronunciation. Also, the amount exposure is crucial and it must make the students creative and
active, not passive and dull. Therefore, the dose of exposure must be adjusted with caution.

Attitude

Cunningham Florez, (1998) in Tweedy (2012) said that personal identity issues and
motivation for learning also can support or impede pronunciation. Avery and Erhlich (1998)
assert that personality factors affect one’s acquisition of the sound systems of language. Learners
who are outgoing, confident, and willing to take risks probably have more opportunities to
practice their pronunciation of the second language. In this case, learners are more often involved
in interactions with native speakers.

Elliott (1995) conducted a study measuring the students’ attitude toward acquiring near-
native-like pronunciation using the Pronunciation Attitude Inventory (PAI). The result showed
that a student’s motivation toward achieving the target language’s pronunciation was the
principal variable In their accuracy of actual pronunciation output.

Moreover, in a study of factors affecting pronunciation, Senel (2006) said that the
negative attitudes of learners towards the target language affect their pronunciation. If the learner
has good attitudes for the target culture, he can easily develop more accurate, native-like accents.
If the learners have some prejudices on the target language and its society, this event will
influence his approach to the language. Thus, personal features and attitudes of the learners are
also decisive in the learning of pronunciation.

Motivation

In her study, Tweedy (2012) said that while a number of students might take English in
college to reach their academic and future professional goals, others might be feeling forced to
learn English. In addition, some might feel conflicted about learning a new language if they feel
it will result in the eventual loss of their first language.
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According to Senel (2006), if the learners are highly motivated to have a better
pronunciation, they can develop a concern for pronunciation, and become more eager to take part
in the activities and pay more attention to discriminate the sounds of the target language, and
they try to produce better utterances. Motivation can be the key to learn the target language, and
try to produce better sounds. Here it must be pointed out what the motivation is and how the
learners will be motivated. According to Brown (1997) the motivation is thought of as an inner
drive, impulse, emotion, or desire that moves one to a particular action. He also started that
learning a foreign language requires some of all three levels of motivation which can be global,
situational, or task oriented.

Motivation can be either integrative or instrumental. Instrumental motivation refers to

instruments or materials which aids in motivation such as reading materials, video clips and
other. On the other hand, an integrative motivation is the one which is employed when the
learners want themselves to be in the culture of the second language group, to identify
themselves with and become part of the society.

Instruction

When a learner achieved a high level of proficiency in the new language, he may also have
developed systematic speech errors that are now complicated to unclear (Cunningham Florez,
1998; Celce-Murcia et al. , 1996 in Tweedy, 2012). Ideally, quality pronunciation practice would
coincide with the start of learning the new language, but when this isn’t addressed, habits can be
formed and fossilization occurs. This fossilization could also occur due to the first language, a
lack of intervention early on when learning the language as mentioned above, or a combination
of the two, and can be a considerable hindrance to attaining pronunciation goals.

As the communicative approach gained popularity, the emphasis shifted off of preciseness
of output (Levis, 2005). Many teachers today, trained in a communicative-based teaching
method, do little in the way of teaching pronunciation, and might also know little about
suprasegmental. Both empirical and anecdotal evidence exist that show a threshold level of
pronunciation for non-native speakers of English (Morley, 1991). Even with a strong knowledge
of grammar and vocabulary, if non-native speakers fall below this threshold, they will have
difficulties being understood while speaking (Celce-Murcia et al. , 1996) Otlowski (1998) points
out that some research suggests little difference can be made by pronunciation training; yet
contrasting research indicates that id certain criteria are met, such as suprasegmental training,
noticeable differences are possible from pronunciation training (Derwing & Munro, 1997). Yet
Celce-Murcia et al. (1996) found that giving priority to suprasegmentals leads to improvements
in comprehension and creates an environment that is less frustrating for students because
students are better able to make significant results in a short period of time.

Assessing Speaking

Assessment of speaking can either be in the form of direct or indirect testing. Indirect
testing test a particular underlying skill or ability that is deemed important in producing the
necessary skill. For example, grammar test can also be an assessment for speaking since one
aspect of speaking is grammar. Indirect testing can make us of the paper-and-pencil tests which
are reliable for the objectivity since there is only one answer for each item. Direct testing can
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also be used to assess the speaking abilities of students. In this type of test, students are asked to
perform the particular skill that is to be assessed. However, in using direct testing for assessing
speaking, there are many factors the influence the rater’s impression on how well someone can
speak a language. That is, in order for raters to make an accurate assessment, they need to soend
much time in consulting the records of previous speaking performance.

There are two ways to assess the speaking performance of students; holistic and analytic
scoring. Holistic scoring uses a single score as the basic of an overall impression. By using the
holistic way of scoring, the assessment can be done quickly and is suitable for informal
assessment of speaking. On the other hand, analytic scoring uses a separate score for different
aspects of the task. By contrast, analytic scoring takes longer since it requires the teacher or rater
to take a variety of factors into account and is probably fairer and more reliable. Specific
weakness and strengths of the students are also provided by the information gathered during the
assessment. However, the score may be distracted by all categories and lose sight of the overall
situation performed. Therefore, four or five categories seem to be the maximum that can be
handled at a time.

A rating scale is also important in assessing the speaking ability. It can determine exactly
how the criteria will be applied to the performance. Scales describe what each score means. The
development and use of the speaking test is a cyclic process in which it begins with a need for
speaking scores and ends with the use of the scores. Speaking assessment includes two
interactive processes. The firs is the test administration or test performance process where the
participants (students) interact with the examiner or with the students to show a sample of their
speaking skills. The second process is rating or evaluation in which the rater applies the rating to
test the performance that produces scores. The scores should satisfy the need that has been
identified when the test development first started.

Synthesis of State-of-the-Art

The studies of Tweedy (2012), Senek (2006), and Velasco (2007) all dealt with the factors
which affects the pronunciation of second language learners. The present study is similar with
the studies mentioned for it will also identify the factors which affect the pronunciation of the
senior laboratory high school students of Bicol State College of Applied Science and
Technology Naga City S/Y 2014-2015. The present will also determine the errors of the target
respondents in the suprasegmental features of the language similar to study of Cutler.

The uniqueness of the present study is that, while other studies dealt with different factors
affecting pronunciation, it will only focus on age, motivation, instruction, language exposure,
attitude, and native language. The present study will not include aptitude, phonetic ability, native
vs. non native input, and sense of identity as factors which affect pronunciation.

In addition, while the study of Velasco (2007) dealt with oral language proficiency in
general, the present study will only deal with pronunciation, specifically the segmental and
suorasegmental features of the English language.

Moreover, aside from identifying the levels of proficiency of the target respondents in
pronunciation and the factors affecting their pronunciation, the present study will identify the
strengths and weaknesses of the target respondents in pronunciation.
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Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on Searle and Austin’s Speech Acts Theory, Dell Hymes’
Theory of Communicative Competence and Language as Discourse Theory.

Speech Acts Theory is proposed by John Searle and JL Austin. This theory assumes that
language exists for people and that people make things possible through language. How the
speakers mean the way they do and how hearers understand or fail to understand what is
communicated through language is the focus of the said theory. Furthermore, this theory states
that there are three actual involved in speech. Firstly, there is the locutionary act. This pertains to
the actual utterance of the speaker. Secondly, there is the illocutionary act in speech. It is the
force of the utterance or the meaning of what is said. Lastly, there is the perlocutionary act. This
refers to the action done by the hearer due to the effect or meaning of the actual utterance.

Meanwhile, Discourse Theory is concerned with human expression, often in the form
of language. Discourse is defined as anything written or said or communicated using signs. It
focuses on the text, either written or spoken, and the interaction which takes place through this.
Norman Fairclough offers a multidimensional view of language as discourse. First, language is a
text. This means that language is something that is uttered and so there is a need to describe it.
Second, language is a discursive practice. It occurs within social institutions like the family, the
school, and the media. Third, language is a social practice. Language is then considered as a part
of the social affairs of the people and social practices need to be evaluated. Thus, the text,
discursive practice, and social practice are simultaneous properties of language.

The theory of Communicative Competence is proposed by Dell Hymes. He argued that a

person may produce grammatically correct sentences but are inappropriate for the
communication situation. A speaker, therefore, must have the ability to use language
appropriately, receptively and productively, in real situations. In speaking, the speaker must be
able to use correct grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics (phonology, pronunciation, intonation
and stress). He must also have a mastery of how to combine grammatical forms and meanings to
achieve a unified spoken or written text in different genres. It is also important that a speaker has
the knowledge and understanding on how to take into account of who is speaking and to whom,
in what circumstances, about what, and for what reason. Lastly, a speaker must be able to
manipulate the language and make his meaning clear through a variety of ways, including the use
of verbal and non-verbal communication.

Speaking competence is also affected by several factors which are age, instruction,
language exposure, native language, motivation, and attitudes.

Anchored on the three theories mentioned above, a speaker, in order to develop speaking
competence, must develop one component under communicative competence that is grammatical
competence which involves pronunciation and its segmental suprasegmental features. Another is
that, since the locutionary act refers to the actual utterance that gives way for the illocutionary
and perlocutionary acts to happen, a speaker must be able to produce utterance with sounds
recognizable in the spoken language. This will make the utterance intelligible and so, listeners
may be able to get the correct meaning of the utterance. He must also be able to apply the
suprasegmental features of the language such as stress and intonation to make his meaning more
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understandable for the listeners since these features affect the meaning of the utterance. The
segmental and suprasegmental features of the language influence one another in communication
situations. Hence, it is important that students execute these features for them to communicate
effectively and competently. Lastly, anchored on the Discourse Theory, language is part of the
social affairs and it happens inside the family, school, and community at large. Therefore, the
speaker must be able to achieve competence in speaking, particularly in pronunciation to produce
intelligible sounds which are recognized to be English in order to give utterances that can be
interpreted to the listeners. Through this, the speaker will be able to use English to communicate
with other people in the society. One must also be acquainted with the factors that affect
pronunciation so that he or she will be able to determine what factors affect his or her
pronunciation the most.

COMMUNICATIVE
COMPETENCE
1. Grammatical
Competence
2. Discourse Competence
3. Sociolinguistic
Competence
4. Strategic Competence

AGE
JLANGUAGE
MMOTIVATION EXPOSURE

h
SPEAKING
COMPETENCE
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Conceptual Framework

The conceptual paradigm shown in the figure below with guide the researchers in
answering the specific problems of the proposed study. The researchers are guided with the input
from the specific problem, concepts and information in the related literature and studies coming
from different sources and the theories presented in the theoretical framework of the study. With
these inputs, the researchers will now proceed with the different processes involving the survey
on factors affecting pronunciation and the conduct of written and oral test on the segmental and
suprasegmental features of the language to the target respondent. These processes will provide
the strengths and weaknesses of the respondent in both segmental and suprasegmental features of
the language and the factors which affects their pronunciation.

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

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jSurvey on factors jStrengths and

Statement of affecting weaknesses of
pronunciation students in
the problem
segmental sounds
hConduct of
written test on the jStrengths and
hRelated
segmental and weaknesses of
literature and students in
suprasegmental
studies from suprasegmental
feature of
different language sounds
jFactors affecting
sources student’s execution
Theoretical jConduct of oral of segmental and
test on the suprasegmental
framework
segmental and features of the
Senior High suprasegmental language
School Students features of
Remedial or
language
‘ Pronunciation Enrichment Activities
Skills
r

jFigure 2. Conceptual paradigm of the study

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End Notes

An evaluative study of communicative competence in conversational English among English

language learners. Retrieved from

https://www.memoireonline.com/12/08/1773/An-Evaluative-Study-of-Communicative
-Competence-in-Conversational-English-among-English-Language-Lea.htm#_Toc153887105
(August 1,2014)

Hariye Kayi (2006). Teaching speaking: Activities to promote speaking in a second language.
The Internet TESL Journal. Retrieved from

http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kayi-TeachingSpeaking.html (August 10, 2014)

Communication competence. Retrieved from

http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/a-primer-on-communication-studies/s01-04-
communication-competence.html (August 1, 2014)

The communicative approach to testing. Retrieved from

http://iteslj.org/Articles/Kitao-testing.html (August 1, 2014)

Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D., & Goodwin, J. (1996). Teaching pronunciation: Reference for
teachers of English to speakers of other languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Rossiter, M. J., Derwing, T . M., Manimtim, L. G., & Thomson, R. I. (2010). Oral fluency: The
neglected component in the communicative classroom. The Canadian Modern Language Review,
66(4), 583-606.

Abbas Pourhosein Gilakjani (2012). A Study of Factors Affecting EFL Leaners’ English
Pronunciation Learning and the Strategies for Instruction. International Journal of Humanities
and Social Science, Vol. 2 No. 3, Retrieved from

https://www.google.com.ph/?
gfe_rd=cr&ei=fCHnU8vdDeSJ8QekITHwCw#q=pronunciation+errors+related+to+segmentals+
and+suprasegmentals&start=10 (August 10, 2014)

https://www.google.com.ph/?
gfe_rd=cr&ei=fCHnU8vdDeSJ8QekITHwCw#q=pronunciation+errors+related+to+segmentals+
and+suprasegmentals&start=10 (August 10, 2014)

Segmental and suprasegmental sound. Retrieved from

http://beddebahhaterulez.blogspot.com/2012/08/segmental-and-suprasegmental-sound.html
(August 10, 2014)

Lourdes Mata (1998). English pronunciation for the Filipino College Student (3rd Ed.). Quezon
City: KEN publishing, Inc.

Philippine English. Retrieved from http://www.wikipedia.org (September 14, 2014)

Anne Cutler (1980). Errors of stress and Intonation. Research Study. Laboratory of Experimental
Psychology. University of Sussex. Brighton, England: Academic Press, Inc.
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Jaime Guiterrez-Ang (2009). Oral Communication: A Content-Based and Learning-Centered

Text-Manual in Effective Speech Communication. Quezon Avenue, Katha Publishing Co., Inc.

Cunningham-Florez, M. (1998). Improving adult ESL learners’ pronunciation skills. National

Center for ESL Literacy Education. Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA).

Brown, D. H. (1997). Principles of language learning and teaching. (3rd ed.) New Jersey:
Prentice Hall Regents.

Shajanni Velasco (2007). Oral Language Proficiency of College Learners. Unpublished Masters
Thesis. Ateneo de Naga University, Naga City

Meng, H., Tseng, C.-Y., Kondo, M., Harrison, A., &Viscelgia, T. (2009). Studying L2
suprasegmental features in Asian Englishes: A position paper.

Jill Singer (2006). Uncovering Factors that Influence English Pronunciation of Native Somali
Speakers. Unpublished Masters Thesis. Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Leah Tweedy (2012). Discovering Factors that Influence English Pronunciation of Native
Vietnamese Speakers. Unpublished Masters Thesis. Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Mufit Senel (2006). Suggestions for Beautifying the Pronunciation of EFL Learners in Turkey.
Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, Vol. 2, No. 1.

Kenworthy, J. 1987. Teaching English Pronunciation. London: Longman.

Elliot, A. R. (1995). Foreign Language Phonology: Field independence, attitude, and the success
of formal instruction in Spanish pronunciation. The Modern Language Journal, 79(iv), 530-542.

Levis, J. (2005). Changing context and shifting paradigms in pronunciation teaching. TESOL
Quarterly, 39(3), 369-377.

Morley, J. (1991). The pronunciation component in teaching English to speakers of other

languages. TESOL Quarterly, 25(3), 481-520.

Otlowski, M. (1998, January). Pronunciation: What are the expectations. The Internet TESL
Journal, IV(10.

Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J. (1997). Accent, intelligibility and comprehensibility: evidence
from four L1s. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 1, 1-16.

7 factors that may affect your students’ pronunciation. Retrieved from

http://busyteacher.org/14849-esl-student-pronunciation-7-little-known-factors.html (August 28,

2014)

Ruanni Tupas. Second Language Teaching. UP Open University

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter is a discussion of how the proposed study will be conducted. It presents the
research design, respondents, research instrument, data gathering procedure , and the statistical
treatment of data.

Research Design

A descriptive type of research will be used in the study to obtain the needed data to
answer the main and specific problems. The main goal of this type of research is to describe the
data and characteristics about what is being studied. The researcher of the study will need to
come up of a precise description and analysis of the target respondents’ speaking competencies.
Also, the respondents’ strengths and weaknesses in pronunciation and the factors affecting their
pronunciation will be determined.

To come up with the description of the description of the speaking competencies, the
strengths and weaknesses of the respondents in speaking, and the factors that affects the
respondents’ pronunciation, the researcher will conduct written and performance tests focusing
on the aforementioned features of language and a survey.

The Respondents

The Grade 11 and 12 senior high school students of Don Teofilo H. Dilanco Memorial
High School, Libmanan, Camarines Sur for S/Y 2020-2021 will be the target respondents of the
proposed study. These include the 11-GAS and TVL and 12-GAS and TVL. Respondents for
the study will be chosen randomly.

Research Instrument

To assess the level of proficiency of the students in pronunciation, the researcher will use
of direct and indirect testing. For the indirect testing, the researcher will make use of written test
in order to obtain objective needed for the proposed study. Test include items on vowels,
consonants, diphthongs , stress, and intonation. For the direct testing, the students will be asked
to perform the drills on pronunciation which will be recorded using a sound recorder. Separate
rubrics for the segmental and suprasegmental features of language will be utilized to assess the
speaking competency of the respondents in terms of executing the features mentioned. The levels
of proficiency and the underlying indicators for each level will be specified in the rubrics so that
after the assessment, the strengths and weaknesses of the respondents in pronunciation will be
determined. In order to identify the factors which affect students’ pronunciation, a questionnaire
will be used. Through this, the researcher will be able to determine which factor affects the
respondents the most in execution of the segmental and suprasegmental features of the language.
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DATA GATHERING PROCEDURE

In order to conduct the study, the researcher first will prepare a letter addressed to the
school principal requesting permission to conduct the study to all senior high school students.
After the principal have given consent to the researcher, they will cooperate with the English
Teachers of the target respondents and will orient them about the purpose of the study. The
researcher then collaborates with the teachers in order to conduct first the written test. After this,
each respondent will be directly tested and the researcher will make use of rubrics in assessing
the demonstrative abilities under the target sub-competencies of speaking. The researcher will
also record the speaking assessment which will be conducted to the students. With the use of the
assessment tools mentioned, the researcher will tally the scores obtained from the indirect and
direct tests to determine the level of proficiency as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the
target respondents in speaking. The researcher has the students rate several factors which affect
their pronunciation with the help of questionnaire.

STATISTICAL TREATMENT OF DATA

The study will make use of arithmetic mean to determine the level of proficiency of the
target respondents in speaking.

Mean is the arithmetic average which can be calculated by adding all of the scores in a
distribution and dividing the sum by the number of scores. This will be used to determine the
average level of proficiency of the senior high school students of Don Teofilo H. Dilanco
Memorial High School .

The formula for getting the mean is :

x=∑ x

END NOTES

Bluman, Allan G. , (2009) . Elementary Statistics ( A step by step approach). New York City