A Comparative Study of Public Sector Tenth Grade Learners' Ability in the Placement of Word Stress in Pronunciation

Abstract

This study investigated the ability of public sector tenth-grade learners to place word stress accurately in English pronunciation and examined the effectiveness of different teaching methods in improving this skill. A quasi-experimental design was employed with 120 students divided into four groups: a control group taught through the traditional method and three experimental groups taught through the Grammar-Translation Method (GTM), Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), and the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM). Pre-tests and post-tests were administered to assess learners’ performance in stress in pronunciation, sentence stress placement, and stress in context. The pre-test results indicated no significant differences among the groups, showing that they were homogeneous before the treatment. However, the post-test results revealed significant differences among the groups. The Audio-Lingual Method group achieved the highest improvement in all areas of word stress placement, followed by the CLT and GTM groups, while the control group showed the least improvement. The findings suggest that teaching methods emphasizing listening, repetition, and oral practice are more effective in improving learners’ pronunciation skills. Therefore, it is recommended that the Audio-Lingual Method be adopted or integrated into pronunciation instruction to enhance learners’ ability to place word stress correctly.