International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to Improve English Pronunciation of Sixth-Level EFL Learners in the Language Center at UNAE.

Abstract

Although proficient communication skills are essential to master in the language learning process, pronunciation instruction is slightly addressed in current English education, and students cannot develop it; as a result, it causes their inability to communicate and express themselves adequately. This research project aimed to analyze how implementing IPA-based phonics classes influences the pronunciation improvement of 28 sixth-level EFL students of the Language Center at Universidad Nacional de Educación. A quasi-experiment was conducted to verify the research hypothesis. The instruments used for this research were surveys, a pre-test, and a post-test to evaluate the improvement in students' English pronunciation. The pre-test was applied before the intervention, and its results evidenced the students' poor pronunciation. Subsequently, the treatment consisted of applying phonetic lessons based on the IPA, in which the students had the opportunity to learn 44 phonemes divided into consonant vowels and diphthongs. The most common errors were identified and minimized as the students associated the IPA symbols and their sounds with the words. When applying the post-test, the results demonstrated the effectiveness of the IPA-based phonetic lessons, as they reflected a remarkable reduction of pronunciation errors to almost half of the total.