Term

Spring 4-30-2016

Capstone

Thesis

Degree Name

MAESL

Primary Advisor/Dissertation Chair

Betsy Parrish

Secondary Advisor/Reader One

Anne DeMuth

Peer-Reviewer/Reader Two

Phillip Docherty

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of English movie scripts and movie dubbing activities can help native Chinese speakers improve their awareness of prosodic features in English, specifically, sentence stress. The literature review explores Chinese and English prosody, movie dubbing and ideal pronunciation standards. The qualitative research paradigm was implemented to explore the hypothesis that hearing and mimicking the natural speech patterns of native speakers can help native Chinese speakers improve their awareness of sentence stress in English. After three cycles of language instruction and language discrimination activities, seven students were chosen for a case study. Data collected from their responses to activities and questionnaires were analyzed. The results indicate that these students’ actual ability to hear sentence stress is greater than their theoretical awareness of sentence stress rules. The author concludes with recommendations for adapting movie dubbing activities and suggestions for future research.

Research Methodology

Case Study, Survey

Keywords

ESL/ ELLs, pronunciation, prosody, EFL

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