The Effect of Phonetic Training on Serbian EFL Learners’ Perception and Production Accuracy

Abstract

The growing interest in SLA research has raised important questions regarding interlanguage phonology and pronunciation instruction in general. Different teaching approaches had divergent views on the importance of pronunciation. The effect of phonetic training on students’ perception and production of target language sounds has also been a subject of numerous studies. The present paper aims at determining the effects of phonetic training on perception and production accuracy of English interdental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/. To accomplish the previously stated aim of the study, we conducted the research involving a longitudinal study in 2010/2011 academic year with intermediate level students in a secondary school in Jagodina. After a specifically structured phonetic training, the total of 30 students participating in the study underwent the same procedure including a pre-test and post-test with equal perception and production tasks. The results show positive and beneficial effects of phonetic training on learners’ perception and production of English interdental fricatives.