Exploring the different factors involved in pronunciation at an English private institution in Mexico

Abstract

This research project is intended to provide with a thorough exploration of the different factors that revolve around pronunciation and how they are addressed in a private English institution in Jalisco, Mexico. The subjects of this study were students‘ and teachers‘ that belong to only one of the many sites of the institution that are spread around the metropolitan area of Guadalajara. A mixture of qualitative and quantitative approaches is used to gather pertinent information about the students‘ and teachers‘ beliefs and approaches to pronunciation specified by the syllabus used in the institution.

Two different questionnaires were distributed at different times and with different purposes in the teacher community of the site to obtain data about their practices as teachers and their beliefs and postures regarding pronunciation matters. On the side of the students, only one survey was carried out to gather data about their beliefs about pronunciation. Along with the surveys, a thorough description of the institution in question and their internal practices hopes to give insight to the reader in terms of what happens within this renowned English school.

In conclusion, this project argues that the different factors that affect the students‘ beliefs about pronunciation are mainly teachers‘ practices, the quantity of exams and the importance the institution deposits in applying them; and that no matter how prepared a teacher can be in the pronunciation field, the lack of continuance between the same teacher and learner is never enough in the institution.