Enhancing English Phonetic Competence through Digital Micro-teaching Strategies in Nigerian Secondary Schools

Abstract

This quasi-experimental experiment looked at the efficiency of digital micro-teaching methods in developing the phonetic skills of secondary school learners in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria. Contemplating the contentious problems of slow pronunciation development in the context of resource-limited education, the paper examined the opportunities of digital technologies to facilitate a more efficient process of phonetic training. Sixty Senior Secondary I students were chosen to the experimental (n = 30) and the control group (n = 30) using intact classes. During a twelve-week intervention process, the experimental group was provided with phonetic instruction using an integrated digital micro-teaching, which included interactive phonetics software, voice recognition applications, virtual reality, and gamified learning platforms, whereas the control group was instructed applying traditional instruction methods. The pre-test-post-test design was adopted, and the standardized measurements of phonetic accuracy, pronunciation fluency, and student engagement were used. Paired samples and independent-samples t-tests, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and repeated-measures ANOVA were used to analyze quantitative data, and qualitative data (teacher interviews and focus group discussions by the students) was analyzed through qualitative techniques. The results showed statistically significant result improvement in all outcome measures between the experimental group and the control group. It is noteworthy that there was a substantial improvement in phonetic accuracy, as well as the significant improvement in pronunciation fluency and interest in the learner. The ANCOVA outcomes with ANOVA adjusted for the differences in the pre-test indicated that the significant effects of the treatments were confirmed, and the repeated-measures ANOVA indicated that the time-by-group interaction was significant on all measures. The findings of the qualitative research also supported the results of the quantitative one, as the respondents who were exposed to digital micro-teaching demonstrated high rates of learner acceptance, motivation, and enhanced pronunciation confidence. Individualized feedback, more chances to practice, and more learner autonomy were indicated as the primary benefits of instruction, and the challenges associated with infrastructure and time management were also mentioned. On the whole, the research proves that digital micro-teaching is a viable and pedagogically effective teaching method that can enhance phonetic teaching in Nigerian secondary schools. The results have significant implications on curriculum design, teacher professional development and educational technology policy, and pose a question of future research on scalability, long-term implementation, and retention impacts.