Improving American Learners' Pronunciation of Arabic Pharyngeals: Traditional vs. TBI Method

Mastering the phonological aspects of a second language (L2) poses significant challenges for adult learners, often affecting their intelligibility in acquiring that language (Derwing, Munro, & Wiebe, 1998). McAllister (1997) has highlighted L2 learners' struggles in perceiving and producing novel segmental features, which is corroborated by The Perceptual Assimilation Model of L2 speech learning (PAM-L2) proposed by Best & Tyler (2007), which posits that the perception of L2 phonetics is a critical precursor to their accurate production. Against this backdrop, the present study aims to improve the intelligibility of Arabic pharyngeals (/[arabic symbol ommitted]/ and /h/) among English-speaking learners studying Arabic as a second language (ASL). Research by Hussein (2020) has shown that learners with English as their first language (L1) struggle to discern and articulate Arabic pharyngeals (/[arabic symbol ommitted]/ and /h/). This study employs a pre-and post-test design, with five treatment sessions in between focused on enhancing Arabic pharyngeal pronunciation, on assessing the effectiveness of two distinct pedagogical approaches: traditional pronunciation instruction and task-based instruction (TBI). Before the intervention, participants underwent an initial session ('session zero') to receive explicit instruction, laying the groundwork for subsequent lessons (Schmidt, 2010). Subsequent treatment sessions followed either the traditional or task-based instructional methodology. The efficacy of these instructional methods was assessed through a mixed-method analysis, leveraging both quantitative and qualitative data to address the research questions. Quantitatively, participants' pronunciation was rated before and after the instructional intervention, revealing a median rating increase from 2 to 6, signifying a marked improvement in pronunciation intelligibility of Arabic pharyngeals. A mixed regression analysis further indicated the superiority of task-based instruction (TBI) over traditional methods. TBI was associated with an increase in pronunciation rating of approximately 1.11 units (SE = 0.26), with a statistically significant t-value of 4.181 (p < 0.001).Qualitative insights were gleaned from post-intervention interviews, which provided a deeper understanding of the participants' perceptions of Arabic pronunciation and the effectiveness of the treatment sessions. The interviews yielded rich data on the acquisition and learning process of Arabic pharyngeals. Overall, the study not only underscores the challenges inherent in L2 phonological acquisition but also contributes to the field by comparing the impact of two instructional strategies on the acquisition of Arabic pharyngeals by English-speaking learners. The findings incorporate the TBI method, endorsing its effectiveness in enhancing L2 phonological skills and offering implications for pronunciation pedagogy in the context of ASL learning. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]