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SECONDARY SCHOOL ESL TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND
PRACTICES IN THE TEACHING OF PRONUNCIATION

SHANINA SHARATOL AHMAD SHAH

FACULTY OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA
KUALA LUMPUR

2014
SECONDARY SCHOOL ESL TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND
PRACTICES IN THE TEACHING OF PRONUNCIATION

SHANINA SHARATOL AHMAD SHAH

Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education, University of
Malaya in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

2014
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UNIVERSITI MALAYA
ORIGINAL LITERARY WORK DECLARATION

Name of Candidate : SHANINA BT. SHARATOL AHMAD SHAH
(NO.I.C750302-14-5110)

Registration/Matric No : PHA 070015
Name of Degree : DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Title of Project Paper/Research Report/Dissertation/Thesis (“this Work”):

SECONDARY SCHOOL ESL TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND PRACTICES IN
THE TEACHING OF PRONUNCIATION

Field of Study: TESL
I do solemnly and sincerely declare that:

(1) I am the sole author/writer of this Work;
(2) This Work is original;
(3) Any use of any work in which copyright exists was done by way of fair dealing
and for permitted purposes and any excerpt or extract from, or reference to or
reproduction of any copyright work has been disclosed expressly and
sufficiently and the title of the Work and its authorship have been acknowledged
in this Work;
(4) I do not have any actual knowledge nor do I ought reasonably to know that the
making of this work constitutes an infringement of any copyright work;
(5) I hereby assign all and every rights in the copyright to this Work to the
University of
Malaya (“UM”), who henceforth shall be owner of the copyright in this Work
and that any reproduction or use in any form or by any means whatsoever is
prohibited without the written consent of UM having been first had and
obtained;
(6) I am fully aware that if in the course of making this Work I have infringed any
copyright whether intentionally or otherwise, I may be subject to legal action or
any other action as may be determined by UM.

Candidate’s Signature Date: 11 July 2014

Subscribed and solemnly declared before,

Witness’s Signature Date: 11 July 2014

Name: Associate Professor Dr. Juliana Othman

Designation: Associate Professor
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ABSTRACT

Despite the emphasis on the role of pronunciation in obtaining proficiency in the
English Language and the rightful place it has been given in the Malaysian Secondary
School English Language syllabus, pronunciation still struggles to gain the attention it
deserves in the ESL classrooms. Thus, it is the purpose of this study to investigate the
beliefs of selected ESL teachers that have led to their decisions on their classroom
practices in pronunciation instruction. This study focuses on three aspects of the
teachers’ beliefs; firstly, the beliefs of their roles in learning and teaching pronunciation.
Secondly, the beliefs they hold about the focus areas in pronunciation instruction and
finally, their beliefs of approaches in the teaching of pronunciation. This study also
investigates the ESL teachers’ strategies in incorporating the instruction of
pronunciation features in their teaching of other language skills and contents. Then, the
congruence of the teachers’ beliefs about pronunciation instruction and their classroom
instructional practices are looked at to understand the process that happens between
them. The study utilizes a multiple case study approach which allows an in-depth
investigation that captures the actual beliefs and practices of five selected secondary
school ESL teachers in pronunciation instruction. A multiple case study was employed
as it could help to unravel the complexity of beliefs in a curricular area which is often
left out from the ESL lessons. The teachers were purposively selected to have an array
of different educational background as well as professional experience. The data was
collected from in-depth interviews with the participants and selected students taught by
these participants. Besides interviews, data was also collected from observations of their
selected ESL lessons to observe the practices of the integration of pronunciation into the
ESL lessons. The data was then analysed manually to get the feel of the data. The
triangulation of this study is enhanced through the cross case analysis of the data and
the various methods of data collection. The study has found that the five teachers had
vague and negative beliefs about pronunciation instruction. Most of the beliefs on
pronunciation instruction they had were the reflections of their unsupportive experience
during their schooling and professional experience. The ESL teachers’ current teaching
situations with the examination requirements and packed schools’ agendas that limited
their time to include the teaching of pronunciation contributed to their negative beliefs
about pronunciation instruction. This is evident in their practices of pronunciation in the
ESL classrooms observed. The contextual factors that bound the teachers and their
teaching practices have a large impact on their decisions of whether to regard or
disregard pronunciation in their ESL lessons. This study has concluded that conflicts
occur between the English Language curriculum and the implementation of
pronunciation instruction. As a result, teaching pronunciation appears to be challenging
to the ESL teachers. This is supported by the trivialization of the pronunciation
component by many parties including the participants themselves. The negative
congruence between the teachers’ beliefs about pronunciation instruction and their
practices would indicate serious implications in the future of ESL instructions.
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KEPERCAYAAN DAN AMALAN PENGAJARAN SEBUTAN DI KALANGAN
GURU BAHASA INGGERIS DI SEKOLAH MENENGAH

ABSTRAK

Walaupun sebutan dalam Bahasa Inggeris telah diberikan peranan yang penting dalam
penguasaan Bahasa Inggeris dan diberikan ruang yang sepatutnya di dalam sukatan
pelajaran Bahasa Inggeris untuk Sekolah Menengah di Malaysia, komponen sebutan
masih lagi berjuang untuk mendapatkan perhatian yang sewajarnya di dalam kelas ESL
(Bahasa Inggeris sebagai Bahasa kedua). Oleh itu, tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk
menyiasat kepercayaan guru ESL yang terpilih di mana kepercayaan yang mereka telah
mempengaruhi keputusan mereka tentang bentuk amalan bilik darjah mereka di dalam
arahan sebutan. Kepercayaan guru terhadap pengajaran sebutan ini dikaji pertamanya
dari aspek kepercayaan mereka tentang peranan mereka di dalam pembelajaran dan
pengajaran sebutan. Keduanya, kepercayaan mereka tentang bidang tumpuan dalam
pengajaran sebutan disiasat dan akhir sekali kepercayaan mereka tentang pendekatan
dalam pengajaran sebutan juga diambil kira. Kajian ini juga menyiasat strategi yang
digunakan oleh para guru ESL ini dalam menggabungkan pengajaran ciri-ciri sebutan
di dalam pengajaran kemahiran yang lain untuk bahasa. Kemudian satu penyiasatan
yang mendalam telah dijalankan bagi melihat sama ada kepercayaan terhadap sebutan
dan amalan pengajaran mereka di kelas adalah selari semasa pengajaran untuk
memahami proses yang berlaku di antaranya. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan
kajian kes pelbagai yang membolehkan penyiasatan yang mendalam yang dapat
merangkul kepercayaan sebenar lima orang guru ESL yang terpilih untuk mengkaji
tentang pengajaran sebutan mereka. Bentuk kajian seperti ini dapat membantu
membongkar isu-isu yang rumit berkaitan dengan kepercayaan dalam bidang sebutan
yang sering disisihkan dari pengajaran ESL. Guru-guru ESL di dalam kajian ini telah
dipilih secara persampelan terpilih di mana mereka dipilih dari latar belakang
pendidikan serta pengalaman profesional yang tertentu. Sekolah menengah di mana
lima orang guru ESL ini mengajar, mengikuti silibus Kurikulum Standad Sekolah bagi
Sukatan Bahasa Inggeris di mana komponen sebutan telah dimasukkan dan perlu diajar
secara integrasi dengan kemahiran dan kandungan bahasa yang lain. Data yang
dikumpulkan untuk kajian ini adalah dari temu bual mendalam dengan peserta kajian
dan beberapa orang pelajar yang diajar oleh peserta kajian ini. Selain dari temu bual,
data juga dikumpulkan daripada pemerhatian pelajaran ESL yang dipilih. Data
kemudiannya dianalisis secara manual. Kajian mendapati bahawa kelima-lima orang
guru tersebut masih tidak jelas tentang kepercayaan mereka dan mempunyai
kepercayaan yang negatif tentang arahan sebutan. Kebanyakan kepercayaan mereka
tentang pengajaran sebutan adalah refleksi dari pengalaman yang tidak menyokong
pengajaran dan pembelajaran sebutan semasa mereka berada di alam persekolahan dan
juga sewaktu pengalaman profesional mereka. Situasi yang dapat dilihat dari kajian ini
adalah dipengaruhi oleh keperluan peperiksaan dan agenda padat sekolah di mana ianya
telah menghadkan masa mereka untuk mengintegrasikan pengajaran sebutan dan
seterusnya menyumbang kepada kepercayaan negatif mereka tentang pengajaran
sebutan. Ini terbukti dalam pemerhatian yang dijalankan terhadap amalan pengajaran
sebutan mereka di dalam kelas ESL. Faktor-faktor kontekstual mempengaruhi
kepercayaan dan amalan pengajaran sebutan di mana ianya telah menentukan keputusan
mereka samada mengintegrasi atau mengabaikan sebutan dalam pengajaran ESL.
Kesimpulan dari kajian ini adalah, wujud konflik antara kurikulum dan pelaksanaan
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pengajaran sebutan. Oleh sebab itu, sebutan dianggap mencabar bagi guru-guru ESL. Ini
ditambah pula dengan amalan memperkecil-kecilkan komponen sebutan yang dilakukan
oleh banyak pihak termasuk peserta kajian itu sendiri. Kongruen negatif antara
kepercayaan guru tentang arahan sebutan dan amalan mereka telah mewujudkan satu
implikasi serius terhadap pengajaran ESL.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The doctoral journey I undertook would not have been a meaningful one without
the blessing from Allah the Almighty. In this challenging journey I was tested in so
many ways and I’m grateful for the strength that Allah has given me to complete this
thesis. I was fortunate to be given an understanding and supportive husband, Azri, who
always believed that I could complete this journey and was indeed very patient with my
prolonged journey. Thank you also to my children, Emirul, Edli, Emil and Emery, I love
you boys for trying to understand whenever Mummy is not around and for trying to
keep away when Mummy is busy with the thesis. I also owe special thanks to my father
and mother for their everlasting love, prayers and such strong faith in me that I could
complete this journey as well as always feeling very proud at my little achievements.
Special thanks go to my supervisor Associate Professor Dr. Juliana Othman for
her guidance and willingness as well as patience to cope with the many challenges I
faced in completing this journey, not to mention the extremely useful advice and
encouragement.
My heartfelt thanks to my best friend Afni for always being so positive that I
could complete my thesis. You are a friend in happiness and sadness. Thanks also to
my PhD friends in the PhD room, Ambika, Fatemeh, Hilda, Cheng, Amina, Norainee,
Shariza, Nazariyah for helping so much in making my work possible. I learn a lot from
you guys. You are my support system.
My gracious gratitude goes to all the five participants who have sincerely
welcomed me into their classrooms and shared their stories with me. Thanks also to
Puan Hamidah, Puan Kasma Murni and En. Hasyim.

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Finally my utmost gratitude to the University of Malaya and the Ministry of
Higher Education for their fellowship programme whose financial support made this
journey possible.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT iii
ABSTRAK iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS viii
LIST OF TABLES xiv
LIST OF FIGURES xv
LIST OF APPENDICES xvi

CHAPTER 1 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 Background of the Study 1
1.2 The Malaysian Context: The Pronunciation Component in the KBSM English
Language Syllabus 7
1.3 Statement of the Problem 10
1.4 Theoretical Framework 14
1.5 Conceptual Framework 20
1.6 Research Questions 24
1.7 Significance of the Study 25
1.8 Limitations of the Study 26
1.9 Definition of Terms 27
1.10 Conclusion 29

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CHAPTER 2 31
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 31
2.0 Introduction 31
2.1 The Nature of Teacher’s Beliefs 31
2.1 Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices of Pronunciation 33
2.2 The Growth of Teacher Cognition 37
2.3 Borg’s Elements and Processes in Language Teacher Cognition 42
2.4 Pronunciation Teaching Practices 44
2.5 Integrating Pronunciation 48
2.6 A Strategic Pedagogic Model Incorporating Pronunciation into Integrated
Skills 49
2.7 Theories of Second Language Pronunciation 51
2.7.1 Can Pronunciation be Taught? 52
2.7.2 Phonology and Behaviourism 53
2.7.3 Phonology and Communication 55
2.7.4 Psychological and Sociological Factors 56
2.8 The Content of Pronunciation Component 57
2.9 The Spoken Model of English used in Malaysian Schools 58
2.10 Internationally Intelligible English 59
2.11 Simplification of the Pronunciation Model for Intelligibility 62
2.12 The New Core Features 63
2.12.1 Omission and Substitution of Consonants 64
2.12.2 The Choice of Sounds from the Standard Varieties 65
2.12.3 The Length of the Vowels 66
2.13 The Teaching of Pronunciation 67
2.13.1 Pronunciation as Part of the Listening and Speaking Components 68

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