I am a professor of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in the Linguistics Department at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. My specialties in TESOL are teaching methods (especially pronunciation), materials development, and research methods. Address: Provo, Utah, United States
Pronunciation problems can be a major obstacle for new learners of English. "Pronunciation M... more Pronunciation problems can be a major obstacle for new learners of English. "Pronunciation Matters" has been written for the many who are engaged in this struggle. Using a story-based approach, "Pronunciation Matters" provides ESL/EFL learners with nearly two hundred communicative and motivating practices leading to mastery of a variety of sound contrasts in North American English that are problematic for speakers of other languages. Units address the many areas that experienced ESL/EFL teachers have noted as troublesome for learners of English--not only vowels and consonants but also stress and intonation, for example. Contexts have been carefully engineered to focus on important sound contrasts in North American English. Chalkboard-style pictures illustrate each context and make practice more meaningful and interesting. Learners work with these units after identifying their individual pronunciation difficulties with diagnostic materials provided. Some instructi...
A Qualitative Analysis of the English Language Teaching Practices of Latter-day Saint Missionarie... more A Qualitative Analysis of the English Language Teaching Practices of Latter-day Saint Missionaries Rachel Tui Smith Department of Linguistics, BYU Master of Arts This study explores the teaching practices of recently returned Latter-day Saint (LDS) missionaries who voluntarily taught the English language on their full-time missions—serving for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout various parts of the world. The analyses performed in this research offer an insider’s perspective by looking at a large selection of qualitative data gathered directly from these missionaries to provide evidential insight into what those practices are, including the most effective and the most ineffective teaching practices as principally perceived by the missionaries themselves. Thus far, there has been no research reported or data gathered on this topic on the same global scale, and to the same academic level. However, such a study is extremely necessary and beneficial towards refin...
A Longitudinal Analysis of Adult ESL Speakers’ Oral Fluency Gains Kostiantyn Fesenko Department o... more A Longitudinal Analysis of Adult ESL Speakers’ Oral Fluency Gains Kostiantyn Fesenko Department of Linguistics and English Language, BYU Master of Arts While a number of studies have sought to investigate ESL speakers’ fluency gains over the course of one 15-week semester, few if any studies have investigated these changes over a longer developmental period. A critical factor in researching longitudinal change is that students do not often remain in an intensive English program (IEP) for more than two semesters before moving to a new school, applying to an American university, or returning to their home country. Longitudinal research, therefore, is necessary as program administrators, teachers, and learners all seek to understand points where change in oral fluency actually occurs. For this study data were collected from students in a large intensive English program over a 45-week period. For 39 ESL learners audio files from speaking tasks that were part of placement and end-of-seme...
The Effectiveness of Using Written Feedback to Improve Adult ESL Learners' Spontaneous Pronun... more The Effectiveness of Using Written Feedback to Improve Adult ESL Learners' Spontaneous Pronunciation of English Suprasegmentals Chirstin Stephens Department of Linguistics and English Language, BYU Master of Arts This report describes a systematic procedure designed to give students pronunciation feedback on suprasegmental features of English in spontaneous production (rather than students' pronunciation during a read-aloud task). The procedure was developed to find out if written feedback (given frequently enough) could impact students' spontaneous production of suprasegmentals. Pronunciation feedback was given to the treatment group by marking transcripts of spontaneous speech with written symbols. Both the treatment group and the control group received form-focused pronunciation instruction. After 14 weeks, there was no significant difference between the groups, but there was a statistically significant improvement in students' comprehensibility overall (regardles...
A Longitudinal Analysis of Adult ESL Speakers' Oral Fluency Gains Kostiantyn Fesenko Departme... more A Longitudinal Analysis of Adult ESL Speakers' Oral Fluency Gains Kostiantyn Fesenko Department of Linguistics and English Language, BYU Master of Arts While a number of studies have sought to investigate ESL speakers' fluency gains over the course of one 15-week semester, few if any studies have investigated these changes over a longer developmental period. A critical factor in researching longitudinal change is that students do not often remain in an intensive English program (IEP) for more than two semesters before moving to a new school, applying to an American university, or returning to their home country. Longitudinal research, therefore, is necessary as program administrators, teachers, and learners all seek to understand points where change in oral fluency actually occurs. For this study data were collected from students in a large intensive English program over a 45-week period. For 39 ESL learners audio files from speaking tasks that were part of placement and end...
A Qualitative Analysis of the English Language Teaching Practices of Latter-day Saint Missionarie... more A Qualitative Analysis of the English Language Teaching Practices of Latter-day Saint Missionaries Rachel Tui Smith Department of Linguistics, BYU Master of Arts This study explores the teaching practices of recently returned Latter-day Saint (LDS) missionaries who voluntarily taught the English language on their full-time missions-serving for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout various parts of the world. The analyses performed in this research offer an insider's perspective by looking at a large selection of qualitative data gathered directly from these missionaries to provide evidential insight into what those practices are, including the most effective and the most ineffective teaching practices as principally perceived by the missionaries themselves. Thus far, there has been no research reported or data gathered on this topic on the same global scale, and to the same academic level. However, such a study is extremely necessary and beneficial towards r...
The Role of Pronunciation in Speaking Test Ratings Rui Ma Department of Linguistics and English L... more The Role of Pronunciation in Speaking Test Ratings Rui Ma Department of Linguistics and English Language, BYU Master of Arts This study explores the weight of pronunciation in a speaking proficiency test at an English as a Second Language (ESL) Intensive English Program (IEP) in America. As an integral part of speaking, beliefs, practices, and research of pronunciation teaching have experienced shifts over the decades (Morley, 1991). Most studies concerning speaking have focused on intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness of speaking, with attempting to address the role of pronunciation in oral communication. However, the degree to which pronunciation is weighed in determining speaking proficiency levels is unclear (Higgs & Clifford, 1982, Kang, 2013). In an effort to contribute to the understanding of this issue, the current study investigates the relationship between pronunciation and speaking proficiency ratings. The speaking proficiency ratings and pronunciation rati...
Analyzing the Methodologies and Ideologies Underlying English as a Foreign Language Textbooks in ... more Analyzing the Methodologies and Ideologies Underlying English as a Foreign Language Textbooks in China and Evaluating Their Alignment with Assessments and National Standards The current study is a collection of three publishable articles addressing a similar theme. Each article is an examination into the role textbooks play in Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms and, specifically, a look at textbooks as an element in the classroom environment, their relationship to pressures from high-stakes exams, and an exploration into any paradigms about the nature of EFL learning they may be explicitly or implicitly promoting through their content and methodologies. The first article, a grounded theory look at underlying methodologies and ideologies in common Chinese textbooks, reveals that there may be competing paradigms promoted by different texts that could be sending conflicting messages about the nature of EFL study. The second article, a critical discourse analysis of ...
Anyone who teaches ESL to adults will sooner or later note that their students exhibit a variety ... more Anyone who teaches ESL to adults will sooner or later note that their students exhibit a variety of responses to interaction within the classroom. Many seem eager to answer questions and participate in discourse, some to the degree that they can even become disruptive. On the other hand, others seem to hang back and rarely speak up. They typically sit and observe, exhibiting to varying degrees a timid, reserved, or withdrawn attitude. They rarely volunteer to answer a question and during group activities they often seem more inhibited and reserved than their fellow learners. In other words, "despite the efforts of...teachers to create the right conditions [for positive communicative interaction], some learners have a strong tendency to withdraw from opportunities for oral exchange" (Baran-Lucarz, 2014, p. 446).Reticent behavior poses particular problems when it comes to language learning. Many experts emphasize that...Speech is not only a product of acquisition but also a ...
... Viewing digital video clips of other ESL/EFL teachers in classroom situations related to the ... more ... Viewing digital video clips of other ESL/EFL teachers in classroom situations related to the focus of each unit also helps participants envision ... Understanding, respecting, and appreciating adultESL learners ... Using songs and chants to increase participation, recall, and enjoyment ...
Pronunciation problems can be a major obstacle for new learners of English. "Pronunciation M... more Pronunciation problems can be a major obstacle for new learners of English. "Pronunciation Matters" has been written for the many who are engaged in this struggle. Using a story-based approach, "Pronunciation Matters" provides ESL/EFL learners with nearly two hundred communicative and motivating practices leading to mastery of a variety of sound contrasts in North American English that are problematic for speakers of other languages. Units address the many areas that experienced ESL/EFL teachers have noted as troublesome for learners of English--not only vowels and consonants but also stress and intonation, for example. Contexts have been carefully engineered to focus on important sound contrasts in North American English. Chalkboard-style pictures illustrate each context and make practice more meaningful and interesting. Learners work with these units after identifying their individual pronunciation difficulties with diagnostic materials provided. Some instructi...
A Qualitative Analysis of the English Language Teaching Practices of Latter-day Saint Missionarie... more A Qualitative Analysis of the English Language Teaching Practices of Latter-day Saint Missionaries Rachel Tui Smith Department of Linguistics, BYU Master of Arts This study explores the teaching practices of recently returned Latter-day Saint (LDS) missionaries who voluntarily taught the English language on their full-time missions—serving for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout various parts of the world. The analyses performed in this research offer an insider’s perspective by looking at a large selection of qualitative data gathered directly from these missionaries to provide evidential insight into what those practices are, including the most effective and the most ineffective teaching practices as principally perceived by the missionaries themselves. Thus far, there has been no research reported or data gathered on this topic on the same global scale, and to the same academic level. However, such a study is extremely necessary and beneficial towards refin...
A Longitudinal Analysis of Adult ESL Speakers’ Oral Fluency Gains Kostiantyn Fesenko Department o... more A Longitudinal Analysis of Adult ESL Speakers’ Oral Fluency Gains Kostiantyn Fesenko Department of Linguistics and English Language, BYU Master of Arts While a number of studies have sought to investigate ESL speakers’ fluency gains over the course of one 15-week semester, few if any studies have investigated these changes over a longer developmental period. A critical factor in researching longitudinal change is that students do not often remain in an intensive English program (IEP) for more than two semesters before moving to a new school, applying to an American university, or returning to their home country. Longitudinal research, therefore, is necessary as program administrators, teachers, and learners all seek to understand points where change in oral fluency actually occurs. For this study data were collected from students in a large intensive English program over a 45-week period. For 39 ESL learners audio files from speaking tasks that were part of placement and end-of-seme...
The Effectiveness of Using Written Feedback to Improve Adult ESL Learners' Spontaneous Pronun... more The Effectiveness of Using Written Feedback to Improve Adult ESL Learners' Spontaneous Pronunciation of English Suprasegmentals Chirstin Stephens Department of Linguistics and English Language, BYU Master of Arts This report describes a systematic procedure designed to give students pronunciation feedback on suprasegmental features of English in spontaneous production (rather than students' pronunciation during a read-aloud task). The procedure was developed to find out if written feedback (given frequently enough) could impact students' spontaneous production of suprasegmentals. Pronunciation feedback was given to the treatment group by marking transcripts of spontaneous speech with written symbols. Both the treatment group and the control group received form-focused pronunciation instruction. After 14 weeks, there was no significant difference between the groups, but there was a statistically significant improvement in students' comprehensibility overall (regardles...
A Longitudinal Analysis of Adult ESL Speakers' Oral Fluency Gains Kostiantyn Fesenko Departme... more A Longitudinal Analysis of Adult ESL Speakers' Oral Fluency Gains Kostiantyn Fesenko Department of Linguistics and English Language, BYU Master of Arts While a number of studies have sought to investigate ESL speakers' fluency gains over the course of one 15-week semester, few if any studies have investigated these changes over a longer developmental period. A critical factor in researching longitudinal change is that students do not often remain in an intensive English program (IEP) for more than two semesters before moving to a new school, applying to an American university, or returning to their home country. Longitudinal research, therefore, is necessary as program administrators, teachers, and learners all seek to understand points where change in oral fluency actually occurs. For this study data were collected from students in a large intensive English program over a 45-week period. For 39 ESL learners audio files from speaking tasks that were part of placement and end...
A Qualitative Analysis of the English Language Teaching Practices of Latter-day Saint Missionarie... more A Qualitative Analysis of the English Language Teaching Practices of Latter-day Saint Missionaries Rachel Tui Smith Department of Linguistics, BYU Master of Arts This study explores the teaching practices of recently returned Latter-day Saint (LDS) missionaries who voluntarily taught the English language on their full-time missions-serving for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout various parts of the world. The analyses performed in this research offer an insider's perspective by looking at a large selection of qualitative data gathered directly from these missionaries to provide evidential insight into what those practices are, including the most effective and the most ineffective teaching practices as principally perceived by the missionaries themselves. Thus far, there has been no research reported or data gathered on this topic on the same global scale, and to the same academic level. However, such a study is extremely necessary and beneficial towards r...
The Role of Pronunciation in Speaking Test Ratings Rui Ma Department of Linguistics and English L... more The Role of Pronunciation in Speaking Test Ratings Rui Ma Department of Linguistics and English Language, BYU Master of Arts This study explores the weight of pronunciation in a speaking proficiency test at an English as a Second Language (ESL) Intensive English Program (IEP) in America. As an integral part of speaking, beliefs, practices, and research of pronunciation teaching have experienced shifts over the decades (Morley, 1991). Most studies concerning speaking have focused on intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness of speaking, with attempting to address the role of pronunciation in oral communication. However, the degree to which pronunciation is weighed in determining speaking proficiency levels is unclear (Higgs & Clifford, 1982, Kang, 2013). In an effort to contribute to the understanding of this issue, the current study investigates the relationship between pronunciation and speaking proficiency ratings. The speaking proficiency ratings and pronunciation rati...
Analyzing the Methodologies and Ideologies Underlying English as a Foreign Language Textbooks in ... more Analyzing the Methodologies and Ideologies Underlying English as a Foreign Language Textbooks in China and Evaluating Their Alignment with Assessments and National Standards The current study is a collection of three publishable articles addressing a similar theme. Each article is an examination into the role textbooks play in Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms and, specifically, a look at textbooks as an element in the classroom environment, their relationship to pressures from high-stakes exams, and an exploration into any paradigms about the nature of EFL learning they may be explicitly or implicitly promoting through their content and methodologies. The first article, a grounded theory look at underlying methodologies and ideologies in common Chinese textbooks, reveals that there may be competing paradigms promoted by different texts that could be sending conflicting messages about the nature of EFL study. The second article, a critical discourse analysis of ...
Anyone who teaches ESL to adults will sooner or later note that their students exhibit a variety ... more Anyone who teaches ESL to adults will sooner or later note that their students exhibit a variety of responses to interaction within the classroom. Many seem eager to answer questions and participate in discourse, some to the degree that they can even become disruptive. On the other hand, others seem to hang back and rarely speak up. They typically sit and observe, exhibiting to varying degrees a timid, reserved, or withdrawn attitude. They rarely volunteer to answer a question and during group activities they often seem more inhibited and reserved than their fellow learners. In other words, "despite the efforts of...teachers to create the right conditions [for positive communicative interaction], some learners have a strong tendency to withdraw from opportunities for oral exchange" (Baran-Lucarz, 2014, p. 446).Reticent behavior poses particular problems when it comes to language learning. Many experts emphasize that...Speech is not only a product of acquisition but also a ...
... Viewing digital video clips of other ESL/EFL teachers in classroom situations related to the ... more ... Viewing digital video clips of other ESL/EFL teachers in classroom situations related to the focus of each unit also helps participants envision ... Understanding, respecting, and appreciating adultESL learners ... Using songs and chants to increase participation, recall, and enjoyment ...
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