Abstract:

Accurate English pronunciation is a cornerstone of effective communication and pedagogical credibility for future educators. Yet, Slovak student teachers face persistent challenges due to systemic phonetic differences between Slovak and English. This study addresses a critical gap by evaluating whether targeted academic intervention can significantly improve phonic competence. Using a quasi-experimental design, 50 first-year English teacher trainees completed two specialized courses (Phonetics and Phonology 1 & 2). Their progress was assessed through 100 biographical audio recordings (pre- and post-intervention), perceptual evaluations by native and non-native speakers, and error analysis across 29 segmental and suprasegmental categories. Quantitative findings reveal that the total error count decreased only marginally (1,370 in the pre-test to 1,363 in the post-test), with statistical tests (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p = 0.809) confirming no significant improvement. The most frequent errors – [ð] phoneme substitution (491 cases) and incorrect word stress (386 cases) – persisted post-intervention. Despite the intervention, perceptual evaluations remained largely unchanged, with average grades of 2.1 (non-native evaluator) and 1.6 (native evaluator) across both phases. However, perceptual evaluation strongly correlated with error frequency (Spearman coefficient = 0.7851, p < 0.01), and regression analysis demonstrated that grading explained up to 53.85% of error variability, underscoring the predictive value of perceptual assessment. These results challenge assumptions about short-term interventions and highlight the need for extended, multi-modal strategies, including stress-reduction techniques and technology-enhanced learning. By systematically documenting error patterns and validating correlations between perceptual grading and objective error counts, this research provides actionable insights for curriculum designers and teacher educators. It advocates for a paradigm shift toward longitudinal interventions and innovative pedagogical models to ensure future teachers achieve pronunciation proficiency essential for their professional role.

Keywords:

Phonic competence, English pronunciation, teacher training, error analysis, intervention effectiveness.