Resumen de Integrating information technology in the teaching/learning of english pronunciation in the classroom: designing and implementing an online course to teach word and sentence stress to tertiary level students
Abstract This study investigates the potential of using technology in the teaching and learning of pronunciation. It explores students’ progress in English pronunciation with regard to word and sentence stress. An original web-based pronunciation course was specifically created for the participants of this study, bearing in mind the typical mistakes Spanish/Catalan L1 speakers make as a result of first language interference. The study was carried out on two groups of 24 first-year university students, in both control and experimental groups — the control group received instruction on English stress by conventional means whereas the experimental group made use of an online tool for learning pronunciation. The study used a pre-test, intervention, and post-test design.
To evaluate the data, three different approaches were adopted. The reading tasks were evaluated by means of acoustic analysis. In addition, the timed picture-description task was assessed by means of native English ratings, who evaluated the recordings in terms of comprehensibility, accentedness, and fluency. With regard to the qualitative questionnaire, participants used a 5-point Likert scale to give their opinions and feedback on the pronunciation course in general.
The acoustic results reveal that, while both the control and experimental groups showed improvement in their pronunciation of word and sentence stress, this improvement was more significant in the experimental group, even though there was a great deal of variability depending on the specific word or phrase. With regard to the results of the judges’ ratings, even though there was some improvement in the three areas measured, statistical significance in both groups was only observed for the fluency rating.
The results therefore provide evidence of the usefulness of information technologies in the learning of English pronunciation in the classroom.
1. Introduction Pronunciation has often been neglected as an area of teaching English as a second or foreign language (Rubin, 1992; Scovel, 1969), with the majority of teachers justifying the little time devoted to teaching pronunciation due to its difficulty (Macdonald, 2002; Henderson et al., 2012). As a consequence, neglecting to teach this important aspect of language learning leads many learners to communication breakdown, principally with native speakers (Jenkins, 2000). Furthermore, most textbooks and syllabi that deal with pronunciation mainly focus on segmental features and hardly ever deal with suprasegmental features, unless specific manuals are used. According to many researchers, however, the misuse of suprasegmentals may lead to misunderstandings between native and non-native English speakers. For instance, Benrabah (1997) blames communication failure between native and non-native English speakers on the misplacement of stress in words. Conversely, many advanced English learners are now sensitive to the importance of acquiring, if not native pronunciation, at least a correct and appropriate level of pronunciation that will enable them to communicate effectively in the target language(Cenoz & Lecumberri, 1999; Levis, 2015; Zielinski & Yates, 2014). Most of them have already had frustrating experiences in which they failed to make their meaning understood because of their English pronunciation. Unfortunately, in many cases, teachers place a low priority on pronunciation, even if students are willing to work hard to improve it. On the other hand, information technology is increasingly being utilised in the classroom by teachers and learners alike (Celce-Murcia, Brinton, Goodwin, & Grinner, 2011; Neri, Cucchiarini, Strik, & Boves, 2002; Pennington, 1999; Shirer, 2005).
Following on from the previous discussion, this study investigates the potential of using technology in the teaching of pronunciation in the classroom by creating online activities to help students improve their pronunciation skills in regard to word and sentence stress.
2. Research questions and hypotheses This dissertation investigates the impact of the use of technology as a tool to improve students’ perceptions and production skills of word and sentence stress. Accordingly, if tertiary-level students use Computer-Assisted Pronunciation Teaching, it is hypothesised that they will develop their pronunciation skills through the recordings in relation to awareness, self-evaluation, and self-correction. In addition, if they are exposed to explicit instruction on word and sentence stress, then it is hoped that they will improve their production skills with regard to intelligibility, fluency, and accentedness. In this regard, with short-term classroom instruction, will improvements occur in: Research Question 1: The participants’ discrimination between stressed and unstressed syllables within words, phrases, and sentences? Research Question 2: The participants’ production skills in regard to intelligibility, accentedness, and fluency? Research Question 3: The participants’ perspectives towards the teaching/learning of pronunciation and the use of technology as a tool for its enhancement? In light of the issues dealt with in the literature review and the aims of this study, a thorough outline of this study’s research methods will be provided in the following chapter.
3. Methodology In order to test the hypothesis that using computer-assisted learning (CAL) and new technologies in the classroom while teaching/learning pronunciation will benefit students in improving their pronunciation, an experiment was conducted that included two groups of participants: experimental and control groups. Before they commenced the treatment, participants carried out an English level test, and a pre-speaking test. After the training, they answered a qualitative questionnaire and carried out a post-speaking test. Learning Pronunciation Skills was the name given to the training course. It was integrated in their usual course of English. The course was not graded though, as the aim was to train and instruct the participants rather than to test them. After collecting the data, two different approaches were carried out—quantitative and qualitative.
3.1 The participants Thirty-four first year university students participated in this study. They were enrolled in either a Catalan or Spanish language literature degree at Rovira i Virgili University, in Tarragona, Spain. Almost all the participants were bilingual, Spanish and Catalan speakers. They were aged between 19 and 21 years old. At the beginning of the course there were 34 participants, 4 males and 30 females, but due to external factors, only 24 students completed the study, they were 3 males and 21 females.
3.2 The level test The level test student took was the official free online one used by Cambridge University Press to test students’ level of the language (See Appendix A). As it was expected, the level of the language of both groups was quite heterogeneous and all mixed
