A Pedagogical Choice for Improving the Perception of English Intonation

One of the learning difficulties for Korean learners of English is the intonation of English focused yes/no questions. Focused words in English yes/no questions are realized as low pitch accents which contrast with high pitch accents in Korean counterparts. In order to improve Korean students' intonation, direct and metalinguistic explanations on the intonation of English focused yes/no questions were given to Korean learners of English. In pre-tests and post-tests, students' perceptions on the target items were measured. The study results showed that phonetic explanation using intonation contour enhanced students' perception on English intonation. With respect to the position of focused words, sentence initial and medial focused questions were more difficult than sentence final focused questions. The perception was most improved in sentence initial focused questions. The study showed the immediate effects of the explicit instruction on perceptions of English intonation.