Students smarter than teachers? Gen Z EFL student perceptions of English pronunciation learning and teaching
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21283/2376905X.1.12.2.3423Parole chiave:
insegnamento della pronuncia, inglese extramurale, apprendimento informale delle lingue, insegnanti di inglese non madrelingua,, gen z, accentoAbstract
È verosimile che i membri della Generazione Z, grazie all’esposizione costante all’inglese attraverso contenuti audiovisivi fin dall’infanzia, si sentano più a loro agio nella pronuncia dell’inglese L2 rispetto ai loro docenti millennial o appartenenti alla generazione X. Questo articolo esplora come gli apprendenti L2 della generazione Z dell’Europa nord-orientale usino l’inglese in contesti extrascolastici, come valutino la propria pronuncia e quella dei loro insegnanti, e se aspirino o meno a una pronuncia simil-nativa. I dati per questo studio sono stati raccolti tramite questionari e interviste a 140 studenti universitari del primo anno. I principali risultati mostrano, in primo luogo, che gli studenti della generazione Z considerano il livello della propria pronuncia piuttosto avanzato, grazie più all’inglese extramurale che all’input dei loro insegnanti. In secondo luogo, percepiscono la pronuncia dei loro insegnanti non nativi come meno simile a quella nativa rispetto alla propria, pur considerandoli generalmente modelli accettabili di pronuncia inglese. Di conseguenza, questo articolo propone che gli studenti della generazione Z possano trarre beneficio da un modo diverso di insegnare la pronuncia.
Riferimenti bibliografici
Aiello, Jacqueline, & Mongibello, Anna (2019). Supporting EFL learners with a virtual environment: A focus on L2 pronunciation. Journal of E-Learning and Knowledge Society, 15(1).
Banzina, Elina (2024). Exploring phonetic cues to persuasive oral presentation: A study with British English speakers and English L2 learners. Language Teaching Research, 28(5), 1777-1796.
Bernat, Eva (2008). Towards a pedagogy of empowerment: The case of ‘impostor syndrome’ among pre-service non-native speaker teachers in TESOL. English Language Teacher Education and Development, 11(1), 1-8.
Bongaerts, Teo, van Summeren, Chantal, Planken, Brigitte, & Schils, Erik (1997). Age and ultimate attainment in the pronunciation of a foreign language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19(4), 447-465.
Brauchli, Valérie, Sticca, Fabio, Edelsbrunner, Peter, von Wyl, Agnes, & Lannen, Patricia (2024). Are screen media the new pacifiers? The role of parenting stress and parental attitudes for children's screen time in early childhood. Computers in Human Behavior, 152, 108057.
Braun, Virginia, & Clarke, Victoria (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
Chik, Alice. (2014). Digital gaming and language learning: Autonomy and community. Language Learning & Technology. 18. 85 - 100. 10.64152/10125/44371.
De Riso, Camilla (2025). Informal Learning of English at University: A cross-sectional and longitudinal perspective.
De Wilde, Vanessa & Eyckmans, June (2017). Game on! Young learners’ incidental language learning of English prior to instruction. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 7(4), 673-694.
De Wilde, Vanessa, Brysbaert, Marc, & Eyckmans, June. (2020). Learning English through out-of-school exposure. Which levels of language proficiency are attained and which types of input are important? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 23(1), 171-185.
Duryagin, Peter, & Dal Maso, Elena (2022). Students’ attitudes towards foreign accents: General motivation, the attainability of native-like pronunciation, and identity issues. In D. Newbold, & P. Paschke (Eds.), Accents and pronunciation. Venice University Press.
El Ouastani, Soufiane (2020). Foreign language teaching anxiety: The perspective of non-native foreign language teachers. In Language Education and Emotions (pp. 111-133). Routledge.
Esling, John H., & Wong, Rita F. (1983). Voice quality settings and the teaching of pronunciation. TESOL Quarterly, 17(1), 89-95.
Flege, James Emil., Aoyama, Katsura, & Bohn, Ocke-Schwen (2021). The revised speech learning model (SLM-r) applied. Second language speech learning: Theoretical and empirical progress, 84-118.
Funk, Jeanne B., Brouwer, Jason, Curtiss, Kathleen, & McBroom, Evan (2009). Parents of preschoolers: Expert media recommendations and ratings knowledge, media-effects beliefs, and monitoring practices. Pediatrics, 123(3), 981-988.
Ghanem, Romy, & Kang, Okim (2021). ESL students’ reverse linguistic stereotyping of English teachers. ELT Journal, 75(3), 330-340.
Hannibal Jensen, Signe, & Lauridsen, Jørgen T. (2023). Extramural English for early language learning: A blessing or a curse? Language Teaching for Young Learners, 5(1), 85-109.
Hendriks, Berna, & van Meurs, Frank (2022). Dutch students’ evaluations of EMI and L1MOI lectures: The role of non-native pronunciation. System, 108, 102849.
Jenkins, Jennifer (2000). The phonology of English as an international language. Oxford University Press.
Jensen, Signe H. (2017). Gaming as an English language learning resource among young children in Denmark. CALICO Journal, 34(1), 1-19.
Jiang, Xiaoming, & Pell, Marc D. (2017). The sound of confidence and doubt. Speech Communication, 88, 106-126.
Jóhannsdóttir, Asrun (2017). English exposure and vocabulary proficiency at the onset of English instruction. In Language development across the life span: The impact of English on education and work in Iceland (pp. 57-78). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Johnson, Jacqueline S., & Newport, Elissa L. (1989). Critical period effects in second language learning: The influence of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language. Cognitive psychology, 21(1), 60-99.
Kelch, Ken, & Santana-Williamson, Eliana (2002). ESL students’ attitudes toward native-and nonnative-speaking instructors’ accents. The CATESOL Journal, 14(1).
Klofstad, Casey A. (2016). Candidate voice pitch influences election outcomes. Political Psychology, 37(5), 725-738.
Kralova, Zdena, & Tirpakova, Anna (2019). Nonnative EFL teachers’ speaking anxiety: Post-communist country context. Sage Open, 9(2), 2158244019846698.
Krüger, Maleika (2023). Media-Related Out-of-School Contact with English in Germany and Switzerland: Frequency, Forms and the Effect on Language Learning (p. 214). Springer Nature.
Kuppens, An H. (2010). Incidental foreign language acquisition from media exposure. Learning, Media and Technology, 35(1), 65-85.
Lefever, Samúel (2010). English skills of young learners in Iceland: “I started talking English when I was 4 years old. It just bang… just fall into me.” Presented at the Menntakvika Conference, Reijkjavik, Iceland.
Lenneberg, Eric H. (1967). Biological foundations of language. Wiley.
Lindgren, Eva, & Muñoz, Carmen (2013). The influence of exposure, parents, and linguistic distance on young European learners' foreign language comprehension. International Journal of Multilingualism, 10(1), 105-129.
Luttrell, Regina, & McGrath, Karen (2021). Gen Z: The superhero generation. Rowman & Littlefield.
Mahboob, Ahmar (Ed.). (2010). The NNEST lens: Non native English speakers in TESOL. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Muñoz, Carmen (2014). Contrasting effects of starting age and input on the oral performance of foreign language learners. Applied Linguistics, 35(4), 463-482.
Muñoz, Carmen (2020). Boys like games and girls like movies. Age and gender differences in out-of-school contact with English. Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada 33(1): 172-202.
Muñoz, Carmen, Cadierno, Teresa, & Casas, Isabel (2018). Different starting points for early foreign language learning: A comparative study with Danish and Spanish young learners of English. Language Learning 68(4).
Muñoz, Carmen, & Singleton, David (2011). A critical review of age-related research on L2 ultimate attainment. Language teaching, 44(1), 1-35.
Nelson, Katherine, & Fivush, Robyn (2004). The emergence of autobiographical memory: a social cultural developmental theory. Psychological Review, 111(2), 486.
Newbold, David (2022). ELF ‘Awareness’: Student attitudes towards accents in a context of English as an International Language. In D. Newbold, & P. Paschke (Eds.), Accents and pronunciation. Venice: Venice University Press.
Ojima, Shiro, Matsuba-Kurita, Hiroko, Nakamura, Naoko, Hoshino, Takahiro, & Hagiwara, Hiroko (2011). Age and amount of exposure to a foreign language during childhood: Behavioral and ERP data on the semantic comprehension of spoken English by Japanese children. Neuroscience Research, 70(2), 197-205.
Pavesi, Maria, & Ghia, Elisa (2020). Informal contact with English: A case study of Italian postgraduate students. Pisa: ETS.
Peters, Elke (2018). The effect of out-of-class exposure to English language media on learners’ vocabulary knowledge. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 169(1), 142-168.
Peters, Elke, Noreillie, Ann-Sophie, Heylen, Kris, Bulté, Bram, & Desmet, Piet (2019). The impact of instruction and out‐of‐school exposure to foreign language input on learners’ vocabulary knowledge in two languages. Language Learning, 69(3), 747-782.
Pew Research Center. (2020, May 14). On the cusp of adulthood and facing an uncertain future: what we know about Gen Z so far.” [Report]. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/05/14/on-the-cusp-of-adulthood-and-facing-an-uncertain-future-what-we-know-about-gen-z-so-far/
Puimège, Eva, & Peters, Elke (2019). Learners’ English vocabulary knowledge prior to formal instruction: The role of learner‐related and word‐related variables. Language Learning, 69(4), 943-977.
Radesky, Jenny S., & Christakis, Dimitri A. (2016). Increased screen time: implications for early childhood development and behavior. Pediatric Clinics, 63(5), 827-839.
Reinhardt, Jonathon (2018). Gameful second and foreign language teaching and learning: Theory, research, and practice. Springer.
Rideout, Victoria, & Robb, Michael B. (2020). The Common Sense census: Media use by kids age zero to eight, 2020. Common Sense Media.
Rindal, Ulrikke, & Piercy, Caroline (2013). Being ‘neutral’? English pronunciation among Norwegian learners. World Englishes, 32(2), 211-229.
Rubin, Donald L., & Smith, Kim A. (1990). Effects of accent, ethnicity, and lecture topic on undergraduates' perceptions of nonnative English-speaking teaching assistants. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 14(3), 337-353.
Scheffler, Paweł & Baranowska, Karolina (2023). Learning pronunciation through television series. Language Learning and Technology, 27(1), 1–16.
Sockett, Geoffrey, & Kusyk, Meryl (2015). Online informal learning of English: Frequency effects in the uptake of chunks of language from participation in web-based activities. Usage-based perspectives on second language learning, 153-177.
Sundqvist, Pia (2009). Extramural English matters: Out-of-school English and its impact on Swedish ninth graders' oral proficiency and vocabulary (Doctoral dissertation, Karlstad University).
Sundqvist, Pia, & Sylvén, Liss Kerstin (2016). Extramural English in Teaching and Learning. From Theory and Research to Practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sundqvist, Pia, & Wikström, Peter (2015). Out-of-school digital gameplay and in-school L2 English vocabulary outcomes. System, 51, 65-76.
Sylvén, Liss Kerstin, & Sundqvist, Pia (2012). Gaming as extramural English L2 learning and L2 proficiency among young learners. ReCALL, 24(3), 302-321.
Tang, Cecilia (1997). The identity of the nonnative ESL teacher. Tesol Quarterly, 31(3), 577-580.
Timmis, Ivor (2002). Native‐speaker norms and International English: A classroom view. ELT Journal, 56 (3), 240-249.
Toffoli, Denyze, Sockett, Geoffrey, & Kusyk, Meryl (Eds.). (2023). Language learning and leisure: Informal language learning in the digital age (Vol. 66). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.
Whitehead, George E., & Ryu, Young Mok (2023). “I am not a native speaker…”: Exploring the perceived pronunciation teaching difficulties faced by Korean public elementary school English teachers. System, 115, 103056.
Wisniewska, Natalia, & Mora, Joan C. (2020). Can captioned video benefit second language pronunciation? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 42(3), 599–624.
World Population Review (2025). Top YouTubers by Country 2025.
Yibokou, Kossi Seto (2023). Influence of television series on pronunciation. In D. Toffoli, G. Sockett, & M. Kusyk (Eds.), Language learning and leisure: Informal language learning in the digital age. De Gruyter Mouton, 121-140.
Downloads
Pubblicato
Come citare
Fascicolo
Sezione
Categorie
Licenza
Copyright (c) 2025 Elina Banzina
Questo lavoro è fornito con la licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione 4.0 Internazionale.
