Abstract
<p>It is the aim for most EFL learners to have a clear pronunciation in English; however, pronunciation training has always been a challenge for EFL teachers and learners alike. The advent of Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) seems to be the solution to this problem. This longitudinal study adopted a latent growth curve to describe 30 EFL learner’s (N = 30) development of imitated pronunciation in English as well as their satisfaction regarding CAPT. These 30 participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group (N = 18) and control group (N = 12). There were no significant differences among the participants in their pronunciation of English or attitudes toward CAPT at the beginning of this study. After 16 months of training, the growth curve analysis showed that participants in the CAPT group made significantly greater development in English pronunciation, and they were more satisfied with the CAPT. The large effect size indicated that the grouping was the major effect that led to a significant difference in satisfaction. Moreover, the qualitative data derived from focus-group interviews confirmed the benefits of CAPT in participant’s pronunciation training. These findings suggest that EFL learner’s opportunities to conduct elicited imitation with the help of ASR-CAPT will be helpful for their development of imitated pronunciation in English and increase their satisfaction of it, which is a key aspect in the effectiveness of pronunciation training. </p>
Highlights
Pronunciation is a crucial element of successful communication (Tsai, 2006); a clear pronunciation seems advantageous to effective communication (Celce-Murcia, Brinton, & Goodwin, 2010; Gilakjani, 2012; Hismanoglu & Hismanoglu, 2010; Jenkins, 2002)
It is the aim for most EFL learners to have a clear pronunciation in English; pronunciation training has always been a challenge for EFL teachers and learners alike
These findings suggest that EFL learner’s opportunities to conduct elicited imitation with the help of ASR-Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) will be helpful for their development of imitated pronunciation in English and increase their satisfaction of it, which is a key aspect in the effectiveness of pronunciation training
Summary
Pronunciation is a crucial element of successful communication (Tsai, 2006); a clear pronunciation seems advantageous to effective communication (Celce-Murcia, Brinton, & Goodwin, 2010; Gilakjani, 2012; Hismanoglu & Hismanoglu, 2010; Jenkins, 2002). One possible reason pointed out by Breitkreutz, Derwing, and Rossiter (2002) was that many of EFL teachers did not receive pertinent training on pronunciation instruction. They explicitly stated that formal instruction in pronunciation had a long-term and positive effect on one’s pronunciation. EFL learners who have limited access to English or to their teachers can benefit from the additional assistance provided by the system. Three research questions are to be answered in the current study: 1) What is the longitudinal trajectory of the pronunciation of English of EFL learners who practice elicited imitation (EI) with CAPT?
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