Do Native Speakers in Youtube Videos Benefit EFL Students’ Phonological Appropriation?

Abstract

This classroom action research investigates how YouTube videos containing
pronunciation drills exposed by English native speakers develop the EFL students’
phonological appropriation. This activity also relates to developing classroom-based
materials via accessing various relevant resources inside and outside the classroom as
they are available in the information, communication and technology (ICT) era now.
The study was based on the problems that the students got difficulties in English
Phonology class pertaining to the segmental, supra-segmental phonemes and
phonological contrast. It is all about the phonology complex rules that students have to
understand and drill in a very short meeting hour (2 credits course- 2x45 minutes per
meeting). The participants of the study were the fourth semester students (class F) of
English Education Department of Faculty of Education, Lancang Kuning University in
Riau. The study was conducted from March to May 2014 only in one cycle consisting of
seven meetings. The study reveals that using such YouTube videos could improve
students’ phonological appropriation and assist them in understanding the complex rules
of English phonology class since they had been experienced with English nativespeakers
as the models for their pronunciation learning and practices as they could
access them in YouTube.