Analysis on effects of prosodic features in the oral reading performance of IEP Students

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effects of prosodic features such as word stress, intonation, and pausing on the oral reading performance of Intensive English Program (IEP) students at Thanarat Wittaya School. Specifically, the study sought to determine the level of prosodic accuracy in terms of word stress, intonation, and pausing, the level of oral reading performance of the students, and the significant relationship between prosodic features and oral reading performance. The study utilized a quantitative descriptive-correlational research design with 23 IEP students as respondents. Data were gathered through one-on-one oral reading activities using selected words, phrases, and sentences taken from the students’ English books. The oral reading performances were recorded and evaluated using a rubric focusing on word stress, intonation, and pausing. Statistical tools such as frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and Pearson r were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that the respondents demonstrated high accuracy in word stress and very high competence in pausing, while intonation appeared to be the most challenging prosodic feature among the students. The overall prosodic scores showed that majority of the respondents had very high prosodic accuracy. In terms of oral reading performance, most of the respondents demonstrated an advanced level of oral reading ability. However, the correlation analysis revealed that there was no significant relationship between prosodic features and oral reading performance (r = .236, p = .278). The findings suggest that although prosodic features contribute to oral reading fluency and pronunciation, other factors may also influence the oral reading performance of IEP students.