Adopting Quiz-Demonstration-Practice-Revision (QDPR) Learning Model to Improve Iraqi College Students’ Pronunciation in English Vowels and Consonant Clusters

Abstract

The present study focuses on implementing the Quiz – Demonstration – Practice - Revision (QDPR) learning model to improve English pronunciation of Iraqi college students. The researchers investigate three questions: 1) To what extent can QDPR learning model be effective in improving Iraqi college students’ English pronunciation?  2) Does the performance of the students on the written pre- and post-test differ significantly? And 3) Does the performance of the students on the oral pre- and post-tests differ significantly?

To achieve the aims of the study, the researchers conducted pre-and post- written tests which consisted of two questions: the first question focused on the recognition of pure English vowels and diphthongs, and the second one on consonant clusters in words.

Thirty students were taken randomly from the first stage students of the English Department at Bilad Al-Rafidain University College. The sample was given pre-written and oral tests, and the results revealed that the students' mean scores on the written pre-test (7.83) and spoken pre-test (2.3) were obtained prior to the training. After applying the QDPR learning model, the post written and oral tests were conducted.  The written post-test mean was 12.85, while the oral post-test mean was 7.76. It's evident that the pre- and post-test results differ significantly from one another. It can be clearly noticed that there is a significant difference between the pre and posttests. This indicates that the training programme was effective in improving the students’ pronunciation regarding English vowels and consonant clusters in words