Socio-psychological Metaphonological Awareness Model (SPAWN) for the teaching and learning of selected aspects of suprasegmental features of English sounds / John Francis Noyan

The primary aim of this study is to build and implement an instructional approach for pronunciation teaching and learning that is theoretically grounded in major theories, and the secondary aim of the study is to qualitatively evaluate the impact of implementing the approach empirically in actual pedagogic context. It explores the process of implementing the Socio-psychological Metaphonetic-Awareness Model and evaluates the facilitative effects of SPAWN Model on promoting learners’ phonetic awareness in phonological acquisition process. The study assesses part of the model in terms of its facilitative effects in assisting the teacher as well as in assisting the student to learn selected aspects of suprasegmental features of English sounds. The study employed an ethnographic design, specifically using a qualitative case study method, which involves a small number, that is, five (5) of participants (undergraduates) at a public university in Sarawak to participate in the study. The research process involves several stages; firstly, it deals with consulting major theoretical sources for building the theoretical framework of the proposed model. Secondly, the SPAWN Model was qualitatively evaluated in a contextualized pedagogic setting involving the teaching and learning of selected aspects of suprasegmental features of English sounds. It was found that firstly the SPAWN model did assist both the teacher and the learners in coaching and learning pronunciation respectively. The process of micro-scaffolding yielded varied scaffolding characteristics that contribute toward supporting its empirical framework further. The model was also found to be positive in enhancing the students’ psychological aspects towards English pronunciation in terms of awareness, selfconfidence, motivation and self-concept.