Pronunciation assessment of learners, by learners, and for learners: Effects, validity and reliability, and learners’ perception

Abstract

Studies have reported comparable effectiveness of teacher assessment and learner assessment in promoting second-language (L2) writing skills (Vuogan & Li, 2022; Yu & Lee, 2016). However, whether learner assessment is equally helpful in enhancing L2 pronunciation learning remains underexplored. Addressing this gap, this pretest–posttest quasi-experimental study examined the effects, validity and reliability, and learners’ perception of peer assessment and self-assessment in L2 English pronunciation. The participants, 183 English majors at a university in China, were divided into three groups, each receiving one type of assessment for the segmental and suprasegmental modules of a pronunciation course. The participants’ performances were examined by pre- and post-intervention reading tasks and assessment forms, and their perceptions by a questionnaire survey. Repeated-measures ANOVA tests of the reading task results revealed similar performances by the three groups on segmentals and suprasegmentals. Cronbach’s alpha tests of scores in the assessment forms across the weeks showed high validity and reliability for peer assessment but marginal validity and acceptable reliability for self-assessment. Repeated-measures one-way ANOVA tests and a paired-samples t-test of the questionnaire survey results revealed high confidence in evaluating others’ and own pronunciation but a general preference for teacher assessment, which was perceived to be more effective than the other two types. These findings suggest that L2 English learners can be more self-reliant in pronunciation learning and should be encouraged and guided to be so.