Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
Home> Volumes> Volume CHR Vol.85> Article
Research Article

The Effects of Teachers' Feedback on Chinese EFL Learners’ Pronunciation of /θ/-/s/ and /ð/-/z/

Hanlu XuZhejiang Normal University*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

Pronunciation accuracy is essential for communicative competence, yet Mandarin-speaking learners struggle with English interdental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/, which are absent in their L1. Drawing on interactionist and corrective feedback (CF) frameworks, this study examines the effects of explicit and implicit CF on young Chinese EFL learners’ pronunciation. Sixty children (ages 9–12) will be randomly assigned to explicit CF, implicit CF, or control groups, and will complete word and sentence reading, minimal pair identification, and picture description tasks across pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test sessions. Proficiency will be measured using the Cambridge Flyers Test. It is hypothesized that both CF groups will outperform the control group, with explicit CF yielding stronger and more sustained improvements, moderated by proficiency level. Findings aim to provide pedagogical implications for pronunciation instruction in EFL contexts.

Keywords: corrective feedback; pronunciation; interdental fricatives; young EFL learners; proficiency
Published: October 2, 2025
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2025.HT27769
Volume: CHR Vol.85
pp. 159-165
Download PDF

References

  1. Munro, M. J., and Derwing, T. M., 1995. Foreign accent, comprehensibility, and intelligibility in the speech of second language learners. Language Learning, 45(1), 73-97.
  2. Fox, R. A., Flege, J. E., and Munro, M. J., 1995. The perception of English and Spanish vowels by native English and Spanish listeners: A multidimensional scaling analysis. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 97(4), 2540–2550.
  3. Ehsani, F., & Knodt, E. (1998). Speech technology in computer-aided learning: Strengths and limitations of a new CALL paradigm. Language Learning and Technology, 2, 45-60.
  4. Li, Y. (2015). Audio-visual training effect on L2 perception and production of English/0/-/s/and/d/-/z/by Mandarin speakers (Doctoral dissertation, Newcastle University).
  5. Doughty, C. (1994). Fine tuning of feedback by competent speakers to language learners. In J. Alatis (Ed.), Strategic interaction and language acquisition: Theory, practice, and research (pp. 96-108). Washington: Georgetown University Press.
  6. Lenneberg, E. H., 1967. Biological Foundations of Language. New York: Wiley and Sons.
  7. CAZDEN, C B.Classroom discourse: the language of teaching and learning [M]. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1988: 54-71.
  8. White, L. (1989). Universal Grammar and second language acquisition. Amsterdam: Benjamins. http: //dx.doi.org/10.1075/lald.1
  9. White, L. (1987). Against comprehensible input: The input hypothesis and the development of L2 competence. Applied Linguistics, 8, 95-110. http: //dx.doi.org/10.1093/applin/8.2.95
  10. Allwright, D., & Bailey, K. (1991). Focus on the language classroom. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  11. Chaudron, C. (1988). Second Language Classrooms. New York: Cambridge University Press. http: //dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524469
  12. DeKeyser, R. (1993). The effect of error correction on L2 grammar knowledge and oral proficiency. Modern Language Journal, 77, 501-514. http: //dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1993.tb01999.x
  13. Lyster, R., & Izquierdo, J. (2009). Prompts versus recasts in dyadic interaction. Language Learning, 59(2), 453-498. http: //dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2009.00512.x
  14. Suzuki, M. (2002). Corrective feedback and learner uptake in adult ESL classrooms. Applied Linguistics, 4(2), 1-21.
  15. Ammar, A., & Spada, N. (2006). One size fits all? Recasts, prompts, and L2 learning. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 28, 543-574. http: //dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0272263106060268
  16. Sheen, Y., (2007). The effects of corrective feedback, language aptitude, and learner attitudes on the acquisition of English articles. A. Mackey (Ed.). Conversational Interaction in second language acquisition: A collection of empirical studies (301-322). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  17. Saito, K., & Lyster, R. (2012). Effects of form-focused instruction and corrective feedback on L2 pronunciation development of/r/by Japanese learners of English. Language Learning, 62, 595e683. https: //doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2011.00639.x
  18. Lyster, R., & Ranta, L. (1997). Corrective feedback and learner uptake: Negotiation of form in communicative classroom. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 37-66. http: //dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0272263197001034
  19. Gooch, R., Saito, K., & Lyster, R. (2016). Effects of recasts and prompts on L2 pronunciation development: Teaching English/r/to Korean adult EFL learners. System, 60, 117e127. https: //doi.org/10.1016/jsystem.2016.06.07.
  20. Pisoni, D., & Lively, S. (1995). Variability and invariance in speech perception: A new look at some old problems in perceptual learning. In W. Strange (Ed.), Speech perception and linguistic experience: Issues in cross language research (pp. 434e459). Timonium, MD: York Press.
  21. Kennedy, S., Blanchet, J., & Trofimovich, P. (2014). Learner pronunciation, awareness, and instruction in French as a second language. Foreign Language Annals, 47(1), 79e96. https: //doi.org/10.1111/flan.12066
  22. Couper, G. (2011). What makes pronunciation teaching work? Testing for the effect of two variables: Socially constructed metalanguage and critical listening. Language Awareness, 20(3), 159e182. https: //doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2011.570347.
  23. Huang, X., & Jia, X. O. (2016). Corrective feedback on pronunciation: Students’ and teachers’ perceptions. International Journal of English Linguistics, 6, 245.
  24. Ladefoged, P., 2006. A course in phonetics (5th edition). Boston: Thomson Wadsworth.
  25. Hazan, V., Sennema, A., Iba, M., and Faulkner, A., 2005. Effect of audiovisual perceptual training on the perception and production of consonants by Japanese learners of English. Speech communication, 47(3), 360-378.
  26. Logan, J. S., Lively, S. E., and Pisoni, D. B., 1991. Training Japanese listeners to identify English /r/ and /1/. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 89(2), 874-886.