A Study on Transferred Teachers’ English Pronunciation英语专业毕业论文

SOUTH CHINA NORMAL UNIVERSITYSCHOOL OF FOREIGN STUDIESA STUDY ON TRANSFERRED TEACHERS ENGLISH PRONUNCIATIONA Case in Guangdongby Supervised by A senior thesis submitted to School of Foreign Studies,South China Normal University in partial fulfillmentof the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of ArtsJUNE, 2014Declaration of AuthorshipIABSTRACTQuality of teachers has always been paid great attention to, especially that of primary school teachers, who play the most influential role in students elementary learning. In 2001, as the new National English Curriculum requires that English should be taught from Grade 3 in primary schools, a new type of primary school English teachers named “transferred teachers” came into being. Transferred teachers are those non-English-major primary school teachers who shift to teach English after graduation from a training program called “In-service Training for Transferred Teachers”. By far, these teachers have been teaching English for over four years, but there have been few follow-up researches on their pronunciation up till now. The present study investigates on the pronunciation of transferred teachers concerning consonants and vowels. The goal is to find out whether these teachers, who have received only 3-week compulsory residential training and a year long optional school-based training, are making progress and competent for elementary English teaching. As time was limited, six transferred teachers were chosen as our subjects. The study was carried out on the basis of the analysis of the errors on the recorded material of the English utterance borne out by these transferred teachers. II中文摘要教师素质一直都备受关注，特别是小学教师的素质更是如此，因为小学教师在学生初级阶段的学习起着举足轻重的作用。于 2001 年，应新英语课程标准的要求，英语要从小学三年级教起，因此，一种被称为“转岗教师”的小学英语教师产生了。 “转岗教师”是指从在职转岗培训毕业后从事小学英语教学的非英语专业教师。至今为止，这些老师已经从事小学英语教育有四年多了，但很少关于这些转岗老师语音的后续调查。本研究基于转岗教师的语音情况，求证这些只受过三周英语专业培训和一年的在职培训的转岗教师是否有所进步且能胜任于小学英语教学。由于时间有限，在 1102 名转岗教师中，6 名被选为本研究的受试。本研究是通过给六位老师的英语口头表达录音，并对录音进行其错误分析。 IIITable of ContentsABSTRACT.I中文摘要中文摘要 .IIChapter One Introduction .11.1 Background .11.2 Significance of the Empirical Study.11.3 Purpose of the Present Study.11.4 Structure of the Present Study.2Chapter Two Literature Review.32.1 Definition of Teachers Beliefs.32.2 Teachers Beliefs and Teaching Behavior.32.3 The Expected Teachers Beliefs of the New Curriculum.4Chapter Three Method.53.1 The Participants.53.2 Procedures.5Chapter Four Results and Discussion.84.1 Status Quo of the Teachers Beliefs.84.2 The Relationship between Teachers Beliefs and Their Teaching Behavior.104.3 Teachers Most Concern in Course Planning .13Chapter Five Conclusion and Research Implications .155.1 The Importance of Teacher Training .155.2 Modification of the Assessment System.175.3 Offering Adequate Teaching Facilities .17References.20Appendix I.18Appendix II.19ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .211Chapter One Introduction1.1 BackgroundThe recent societal trends outline new educational aims designed to create the highly skilled teachers necessary for the 21st century. In such a new phase of education, fruitful teaching outcome is based largely on new teaching skills, which come from frequent teaching reflection and belief renewal. As a matter of fact, teachers beliefs tend to affect everything they do in the classroom, no matter implicit or explicit. Furthermore, teachers articulated beliefs is one thing, and how they apply them in actual teaching is another thing.1.2 Significance of the Empirical StudyAs education promotion is inevitable in the new phase of education, the best way to promote teaching outcome is to get feedback from teachers and learners and refine teachers beliefs and teaching behavior. Judd (1981) and Wade (2002) put forward applicable methodology for education improvement based on substantial surveys. Pate et al (1997) consider establishing an integrated, coherent curriculum as their ultimate aim of researches.Many other experts have also endowed great significance to these sorts of research (Floden & Klinzing 1990; Pajares 1992). And Breen et al (2001) suggests that these researches could be seen as a means to exploring language teaching. In fact, these empirical studies can help to refine teacher beliefs and teaching behavior as well. Mann (2005) addresses that teachers develop by collecting data and reflecting.1.3 Purpose of the Present StudyTeachers beliefs and teaching behavior have been studied widely in the last decade (Pajares 1992; Smith 1997; Breen et al 2001; Nunan 2001; Wade 2002; Burns 2005). However, only a few qualitative studies about teachers beliefs have been carried out throughout China, let alone in Guangdong Province. Therefore, there is a gap in this body of qualitative research on teachers beliefs in different areas of GD since the implementation of the New Curriculum. The present study is attempting to help fill that gap. Furthermore, many of the prior researches were carried out on relatively small samples, Woods (1996) made a study of 8 teachers, Wang (2002) targeted at 3 teachers, Zheng & Jiang (2005) also carried out a study upon 3 teachers. Hence, another motivation for this study was to make a survey in considerable width and breadth.The present study tries to find out the relationship between teachers beliefs and their practical teaching behavior in the New Curriculum context, and in the meantime, to find out significant proposals for teacher training and provide educators with 2valuable perspectives on teaching and curriculum development.1.4 Structure of the Present StudyStarting from definition, the author first of all found out some experts definition of “teachers beliefs”, and then summed it up to be a much plain one. Then the author proceeded to make analysis of the questionnaires, aiming at finding out the status quo of teachers beliefs in GD Province. After that, the author made further analysis on the classroom observation log, trying to find out whether the teachers teaching behavior was consistent with their articulated beliefs. Finally, face-to-face interviews were conducted to find out how teachers beliefs guide their behavior, and what teachers usually take into account in their course planning. 3Chapter Two Literature Review2.1 Definition of Teachers BeliefsDefinition of beliefs may vary according to different experts. Sigel (1985) defines beliefs as mental construction of experience, which guides behavior. Nespor (1987) and William & Burden (1997) define it as values and attitudes of the world and is also predictor of behavior. To be brief, beliefs tell behavior.In 1992, Pajares made a definition of “teachers beliefs” as teachers attitudes about education, about schooling, teaching, learning, and students (Pajares 1992). Nespor (1987), Woods (1996) and William & Burden (1997) found teachers beliefs is far more influential than knowledge in determining classroom work. Breen et al (2002) also infers that teachers beliefs and experiences strongly influenced classroom work. From all the above definitions, the author summed up “teachers beliefs” to be teachers attitudes about teaching and learning, which will affect everything they do in the classroom teaching.2.2 Teachers Beliefs and Teaching BehaviorThe western countries had gone through 3 decades in the research of the relationship between teachers beliefs and teaching behavior. Freeman (2002) subdivides the period into 3 broad time frames: work leading up to 1975, the decade of change (1980-1990), and the decade of consolidation (1990-2000).Since the 80s, an array of empirical studies of teachers beliefs and teaching behavior have been carried out. Freeman (2002) probed the impact of teachers mental lives, prior knowledge, social and institutional context, etc. on teaching behavior, and found teachers beliefs to have a powerful influence on their behavior. Actually, how teachers beliefs shape their behavior in classroom teaching has been studied in various ways (Meighan 1990; Woods 1996; Smith 1997; Breen et al 2001; Borg 2003; Burns 2005).Chinese researchers have begun to set about studying teachers beliefs and teaching behavior in recent years (Wang 2002; Xia 2002; Sun 2005; Lou & Liao 2005).All these studies collectively show that classroom activities are highly influenced by teachers beliefs. However, some researchers found their subjects to behave the other way round. Argyris & Schn (1974, 1987) argue that there is almost always a discrepancy between teachers beliefs and the ways teachers act (William & Burden 1997). Sun (2005) addresses that the most prominent problem in English classroom teaching to be 4the gap between the newly acquired teaching beliefs and the educational practice. Wang (2002) and Lou & Liao (2005) also found such a discrepancy between their subject teachers behavior and beliefs. If there really exists such a discrepancy, the teaching may be inefficient or even confusing, which may bring about a series of problems in teaching and learning.2.3 The Expected Teachers Beliefs of the New CurriculumChances are that given better teaching, learners will learn more. The new era of education calls for improved teaching beliefs and behavior as instruments to facilitate and improve student learning. The newly implemented curriculum put forward five teachers beliefs as follows:Focusing on common foundation, preparing for further development;Offering various options, catering for personal needs;Optimizing the learning model, enhancing self-directed learning competence;Concerning with students emotion, enhancing cultural awareness;Promoting the assessment system, encouraging continuous development. （cited from Senior English Curriculum 2003:2-3）As a matter of fact, such beliefs were raised to meet the new demands of our society, to meet the new learning needs of our students. On condition that teachers beliefs and teaching were consistent with the New Curriculum, fruitful teaching outcome would be yielded. However, the questions are: Whats the status quo of teachers beliefs? Do they behave in accordance with their articulated beliefs? And what do the teachers usually take into account in teaching? To find out all the corresponding answers, the author carried out a survey of teachers beliefs and teaching behavior in GD Province.5Chapter Three MethodThe survey consisted of 3 instruments: a teacher questionnaire developed by the author (consisted of three sections: Section One-personal data and experience, etc; Section Two-a 25 item teacher belief section based on the 5 guidelines of the New Curriculum in senior high published by the Ministry of Education (Item 15 on Belief 1, Item 6-10 on Belief 2, and the rest may be deduced by analogy); Section Three-2 open questions about teachers beliefs and teacher concern) (See Appendix 1); an observation log (comprising general information and a 10-period classroom observation log (See Appendix 2); an interview outline (See Appendix 3).A pilot study was conducted in one Type B school from Guangzhou in early September 2005. Based on the feedback from the pilot study, the author made revisions in the survey instruments. 3.1 The Participants10 schools from 5 of the cities in GD Province participated in this study. The participants were carefully chosen: the capital city of GD-Guangzhou (广州), two peripheral cities-Foshan (佛山) and Nanhai (南海), two relatively remote cities-Puning (普宁) and Shantou (汕头), respectively. 10 researchers divided the 10 schools among them during their teaching practices. However, only 8 schools data were intact and possible for analysis. Altogether, there were 27 teachers from these 8 schools.Table 1 summarizes the characteristics of all the subject teachers. 18 worked in Grade One, and 9 worked in Grade Two. There were 17 female and 10 male teachers. The teachers had varying degrees of general teaching experience ranging from 1 to 43 years. The average teaching experience across the sample was 12.7 years. Among them, 26 teachers had received the New Curriculum training. Table 1. The Teachers CharacteristicsGenderGradeCurriculum TrainingMaleFemaleOneTwoReceivedNot YetAverage Teaching Experience (year)No.101718926112.7For the sake of being as objective as possible, School 7 and School 8 also excluded in the following discussions, because only one subject teacher was available from each of these two schools. Consequently, the following results and discussions were based on 6 schools.63.2 Procedures3.2.1 The Teacher Questionnaire SurveyFirstly, the researchers invited the teachers to fill in the Teacher Questionnaire (TQ) and fixed a time with the teachers for classroom observation. Teachers filled in the general information and indicated the level of endorsement of each of the 25 items using a 5-point Likert-type scale comprising the categories “strongly disagree,” “disagree,” “somewhat disagree, somewhat agree,” “agree,” and “strongly agree,” scored as 1 through 5, respectively; then they responded to the 2 open questions concerning with teachers opinions and suggestions of the New Curriculum (see Table 2). Table 2. The 2 Open Questions in the Teacher QuestionnairePlease write down your opinions and suggestions of the New Curriculum1. The most obvious changes 2. The most urgent problems to be solved As is shown in Table 2, Question 1 tells whether teachers have noticed the most obvious changes of the curriculum. And Question 2 enables the author to perceive the teachers most concern, which would serve as a basis to find out whether teachers adopted particular teaching strategies to enhance their students weak point, since they have noticed where the problems lied.3.2.2 Classroom Observation As there may exist a discrepancy between teachers beliefs and behavior, and apart from this, teachers may overstate or understate the beliefs underlying their actual practice. Therefore, whether teachers teach in accordance with their beliefs can only be revealed from the observation of practical teaching. Hence, the second data collection method was based upon a substantial classroom observation log. The researchers recorded 10 periods of English classes of every subject school. The 10 English classes were not specifically chosen, but observed at random, generating a thorough and objective data. The observation focused on 7classroom activities, multimedia applied, textbook dealt, assessment forms, and optional courses, etc.3.2.3 The InterviewIn order to comprehend more about how teachers beliefs guide their behavior, and what teachers usually take into account in their teaching, face-to-face interviews were added, and the interview with teachers was semi-structured. Table 3 shows the outline of the interview.Table 3. Outline of the Semi-structure InterviewInterview Subject: Senior High English Teachers in Guangzhou How do you usually design a lesson? And what about activities? How do you like the present textbook? And how do you apply it? Do you think it is necessary for students to enhance their cultural awareness? How do you help your students enlarge their scope of background knowledge? The author arranged interviews with 12 Senior One English teachers from 6 schools (Comprising Type A, Type B and Type C schools) in GZ, 2 teachers from every subject school participated in the interview. The interviews were recorded implicitly by mp3, and were transcribed into written language later.3.2.4 Data AnalysisAll data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS)，release 10.0 and Microsoft Excel, release 2003.Mean and standard deviation of the TQ were analyzed by using Descriptives; histograms were generated by using Excel to illustrate the results more plainly. And within-group differences of 25 teachers beliefs of the 6 subject schools were analyzed by using One-way ANOVA.8Chapter Four Results and DiscussionAfter all the data were collected, the author began to arrange the data and analyze them. Firstly, the author sorted out all the received questionnaires. And found out the valid percent of the TQ was 100%. Table 4 indicates the general information of the questionnaires obtained from the 6 schools. Table 4. Information of the Received TQ QuestionnaireReceivedValidInvalidValid PercentNumber25250100%4.1 Status Quo of the Teachers Beliefs4.1.1 Mean and Std. Deviation of the TQStarting from data analysis, the author carried out Descriptive Statistics analysis to analyze the TQ, showing that all the means of the 5 beliefs are within the range of “3.5 to 4.4”, therefore, conclusion can be drawn that all the subject teachers “Agree” with every belief advocated in the New Curriculum. Then the author put the data from Figure 1 into the Microsoft Excel, generating a histogram as follows:Figure 1. Mean of Every Belief BeliefsNMeanS.D.B 1254.0560.4917B 2253.9920.6843B 3254.3600.5132B 4254.3440.5050B 5253.9040.5200 As is illustrated above, the histogram indicates that the means of Belief 2 (Offering various options, catering for personal needs) and Belief 5 (Promoting the assessment system, encouraging continuous development) score the lowest among the five beliefs. The causes of this result maybe: optional class and formative evaluation, etc. are newly advocated, compared with the other beliefs; and it takes time to get thorough endorsement from all the teachers. Whereas, those of Belief 3 (Optimizing learning model, enhancing self-directed learning competence) and Belief 4 (Concerning with students emotion, enhancing cultural awareness) score relatively high, because learner-centered and background knowledge have been heard of long before.After that, the author made another Descriptive Statistics analysis to find out the 3.63.844.24.4B 1B 2B 3B 4B 5Mean of Every BeliefMean9mean and standard deviation of the teachers beliefs in every subject school. Figure 2 illustrates the results of the Descriptive Statistics analysis. Mean of 4 of the subject schools is also within the range of “3.5 to 4.4”, a same conclusion can be drawn that these schools “Agree” with the New Curriculum; and School 2 and School 3 got a mean higher than “4.4”, what more, mean of School 2 is within “4.5 to 5”, which indicates that teachers from school 2 “Strongly agree” with the New Curriculum.Figure 2. Mean of Every Subject School SchoolsNMeanS. D.S 153.7280.4502S 244.5300.3523S 344.4100.3965S 434.0933.3717S 533.7867.2344S 664.2067.4236Total254.1312.4607 Figure 1 and Figure 2 reveal that teachers from every subject school “ Agree” or “ Strongly agree” with every teacher s belief put forward in the New Curriculum. Figure 2 also indicates that teachers beliefs differ in different schools. The histogram displays impressive differences among the subject schools plainly, and school 1 & 5 bear a great distance from School 2 &3 in the endorsement of the New Curriculum. To confirm this hypothesis, a One-way ANOVA analysis was conducted.4.1.2 A Comparison of Teachers Beliefs in Every Subject SchoolWhen means of the beliefs were compared, the One-way ANOVA results indicated that teachers beliefs in different schools differed significantly, sig. = .047, P0.05 (illustrated in Figure 3). Since 26 out of the 27 teachers have got the New Curriculum training. The possible causes of such difference may be due to teachers different interpretation of the New Curriculum, restraint of their students level or confinement of the particular teaching context in every subject school. Figure 3. One-way ANOVA of Teachers BeliefsSum of SquaresdfMean SquareFSig.Between Groups2.1555.4312.786.047Within Groups2.93819.155Total5.093243.63.844.24.44.6S 1S 2S 3S 4S 5S 6Mean of Every Subject SchoolMean10To make a classification of all the subject schools, Homogeneous Subsets analysis was directed. Figure 4 demonstrated that teachers beliefs in School 1 and School 5 were significantly different from those in School 3 and School 2, for they are not in the same column. School 4, 6, 3 and 2 are identical in terms of endorsement of the New Curriculum, because they are in the same column.Figure 4. Homogene