The effects of metaphonological awareness protocol training on English word stress by Chinese EFL learners

Previous studies have pointed out that word stress is complex and challenging for English learners to acquire. This study investigated the effects of metaphonological awareness protocol training (MAPT) on English word stress by 40 Chinese EFL learners of two proficiency levels, high (H) and low (L), and how they perform differently in the complexity levels of metaphonological awareness on English word stress. Participants’ accuracy rate in English word stress improved significantly for both groups. L-level group participants’ improvement rate from the pre-test to the post-test was significantly higher than that of H-level group. L-level participants self-repaired more errors that they made in the pre-test than H-level participants. H-level group participants reported more high-level awareness than did L-level group participants. Participants also reported that their English word stress acquisition received less influence from their first language (L1), and cognitive strategies were most commonly used in Chinese EFL English pronunciation learning. The application of metaphonological awareness protocols in English word stress training has great pedagogical value and could be applied in language classrooms. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s) under exclusive licence to National Taiwan Normal University.