CALL BASED PRONUNCIATION EXERCISES AND THEIR EFFECTIVENESS FOR BEGINNING ESL LEARNERS

Transcription

1 Proceedings of CLaSIC 2004 CALL BASED PRONUNCIATION EXERCISES AND THEIR EFFECTIVENESS FOR BEGINNING ESL LEARNERS Alan G. Harper Assistant Lecturer, Centre for Modern Languages and Communications Multimedia University, Cyberjaya Malaysia, Abstract The use of a computer assisted language learning (CALL) to facilitate ESL has a history dating back to the 1950 s. With advances in technology CALL based curriculums have become more accessible to educators in the ESL field. CALL based programs are being used to improve reading, comprehension, writing skills and pronunciation skills of students engaged in ESL studies. The focus of this paper will be to gage the effectiveness of CALL based pronunciation exercises with respect to beginner level ESL students. The presentation will analyze the results of CALL based pronunciation exercises conducted with beginner level ESL students at Multimedia University. The presentation will also make some recommendations for the future use of pronunciation exercises for beginner ESL students based on results of the Multimedia University study. 1 Introduction There are four main macro-skills taught in the ESL classroom, reading, writing, listening and speaking. Various methods exist for teaching these four macro-skills. All of the four macroskills can be considered important components of ESL teaching but speaking is the one most used in the classroom. Whether the class focus is on reading, writing, listening comprehension, or conversation, the macro- skill of speaking is used in all areas to convey thoughts and ideas from the teacher to the student or vice versa. Therefore, teaching pronunciation skills, especially to beginner level students, should be considered an important component of their language program. Beginning learners usually have the most difficulty with phonetics because of the difficulties associated with learning a new sound system. Since the acquisition of proper pronunciation skills at the beginner levels teaching helps students with future communicative activities, there have long been approaches to including them in instructional practice. Studies as early as Abercrombie (1956) and more recently, for example Stevens (1991), suggest that all facets of second language teaching involve the teaching of pronunciation. In a classroom situation the teacher will constantly face questions of pronunciation whether engaged in teaching reading, writing, speaking or listening (Morely, 1994). If an institution decides to teach pronunciation as an individual component of their language curriculum, decisions need to be made about an effective instructional method to select. This paper will consider the efficacy of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) based pronunciation exercises for lower level ESL students. A brief overview of goals and a rationale for the study are provided at the outset, prior to results from an assessment of CALL based pronunciation exercises used by beginner students at Multimedia 948

2 Current Perspectives and Future Directions in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning University in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. Consideration of the findings, limitations of the study, and their implication on future educational practice completes the paper. 2 Background Learners often place more importance on learning pronunciation skills than second language educators (Culhane & Ito, 2003). There are numerous reasons for not teaching pronunciation skills explicitly in the ESL classroom: they may be seen to be counter-productive to developing communicative confidence; pronunciation skills develop gradually over prolonged interaction with more advanced L2 speakers, thus, they may be considered ill-suited to a learner only context; it may be felt to be wrong to impose an accent norm on students, who should be allowed to express themselves in their natural accents; and finally, it may be simply due to a realization that learners are unlikely to reproduce native-speaker like pronunciation (Fraser, 1999). Second language educators may acknowledge teaching pronunciation skills as explicitly important, yet still not give them much attention in their methodologies. They may be willing to teach pronunciation skills, but not realize the best methods for helping students achieve adequate pronunciation skills (Culhane & Ito, 2003). One reason for this may be a relative lack of training in teacher preparation courses and degree programs in instructional methods for teaching pronunciation (Culhane & Ito, 2003; Fraser, 1999). Educators could also be uncomfortable due to lack of training or awareness in specific areas of phonetics or phonology. (Culhane & Ito, 2003). Irrespective of all of the possible reasons for not teaching pronunciation, if students can benefit from them, and feel they should be part of their instructional program, the question becomes rather, not whether to teach pronunciation but how to teach it (Fraser, 1999). What is an effective method of learning and teaching pronunciation skills? The main goal of this study is to suggest possible benefits for beginning English learners realized from effective CALL based teaching techniques for pronunciations skills when combined within a communicative instructional environment. In order to put this study into perspective it is useful to review previous CALL based studies, which focus on the improvement of pronunciation skills of ESL students. 3 Review of Previous CALL Based Studies There have been three significant studies conducted recently on the improvement of pronunciation skills of ESL students using CALL, Culhane & Ito, 2003; Eskenzai, 1999; Masatake, Yasushi and Tatsuya, Weaknesses in the English pronunciation skills of Japanese-speaking ESL students is due to their tendency to reproduce pronunciation based one of three Japanese syllabries, katakana, to correct and improve the pronunciation skills of Japanese-speaking ESL students a system, known as sound spellings, was developed (Culhane & Ito, 2003) This method was based on techniques used by radio and television journalists which breakdown words into easily pronounced units. (Culhane & Ito, 2003) For example the phrase universal rights may be difficult for Japanese-speaking students to pronounce because it contains r and l sounds, traditionally difficult sounds for Japanese and most Asians to pronounce. Sound spelling methodology would break down the phrase to yu nee vur sal raye ts allowing for a more accurate pronunciation. (Culhane 2003, p. 4) CALL sound spellings are useful to the SL educator because they are easily created in short periods of time reducing the time a SL educator might have to spend teaching phonetic 949

3 Proceedings of CLaSIC 2004 systems and phonological rules (Culhane & Ito, 2003). Culhane & Ito (2003) used two groups of lower level students for CALL sound spelling exercises and two groups using traditional pronunciation exercises, their findings suggest that all groups benefited from the pronunciation study whether administered through CALL based sound spellings or traditional methods. However, it is noted that students who participated in CALL sound spelling classes scored significantly higher than students who participated in traditional methods classes. (Culhane & Ito, 2003) Other studies, Eskenzai, (1999); Masatake, Yasushi and Tatsuya (2004), focus on various CALL based technologies that give immediate feedback on the pronunciation skills of ESL students. Both studies acknowledge that teaching pronunciation properly in large classroom situations can be time consuming for the SL instructor. Consequently ESL students may miss out on valuable feedback on pronunciation skills from the SL instructor. It is acknowledged that in recent years the cost of computer based language learning programs has become feasible for most language programmes due to the declining cost and increasing availability of computer technology (Ezkenzai, 1999). State of the art automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology can play a significant role may in correcting the pronunciation of ESL students in a classroom situation (Ezkenzai, 1999). CALL can provide the ESL student with individual practice and feedback on pronunciation skills and provide the results to the SL instructor in a relatively short period of time (Wyatt 1988 in Eskenzai 1999). CALL can be developed in response to the lack of traditional pronunciation exercises conducted in the ESL classroom. (Masatake, Yasushi and Tatsuaya, 2004) Even if most SL instructors want to teach pronunciation explicitly in their classes they are faced with a time consuming prospect. Pronunciation is most effective in a one-on-one situation where ESL students can receive immediate corrective feedback from the SL instructor; a virtual impossibility to implement effectively in a large classroom situation (Masatake, Yasushi and Tatsuaya, 2004). CALL systems have been developed focusing on speech recognition technologies allowing for instruction and providing feedback for the user. In Japan CD ROM technology is used to create situations which allow Japanese ESL students to improve their English skills, particularly with respect to writing and speaking, by explaining a variety of topics about Japanese history and culture to foreign English speaking visitors, findings are positive with respect to pronunciation error detection and intelligibility among Japanese ESL students (Masatake, Yasushi and Tatsuaya, 2004) The three studies covered here represent a portion of a wide range of studies on CALL and the improvement of speech and pronunciation skills of ESL students. This study will be based on the Culhane & Ito (2003) study using sound spelling methodology as a basis for the improvement of pronunciations skills of beginner level ESL students. 4 Methodology Two groups of students were selected from the beginner level Intensive English Language Program (IELP) at the Centre For Modern Languages and Communications (CMLC) at Multimedia University (MMU) in Cyberjaya Malaysia. The first group was selected near the end of the first trimester therefore there was not sufficient time to do a complete analysis of the improvement of pronunciation skills. Some information regarding the use of the CALL sound spelling system was gained from the first group and will be presented in the findings section of this paper. The second group was selected at the beginning of the second trimester and a more comprehensive analysis of pronunciation skills is expected. The class size was 9 950

4 Current Perspectives and Future Directions in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning students and the student s ages ranged from years old in both study groups. Students in the first group were asked to write down four of five words they have trouble pronouncing and a list was compiled. ancient groom hygienic delicacies unlucky relationship anxious mistakes advantages understanding geometry perfection infection method graduation supporting sharp Table 1: Sound Spelling Words Trimester 1 students (T1) were asked to pronounce the words in the classroom before proceeding to the computer lab. The students then proceeded to the computer lab and were shown how to access the website containing the sound spelling exercises. The students were then instructed on how to use the sound spelling exercises in the CALL format. The methodology for trimester 2 students (T2) will take a similar approach. The instructor will spend more time discussing the words with students, answering questions regarding functional use and meaning etc. In addition more time will be spent on pronouncing the words in class before using the sound spelling exercises in the computer lab. Following work in the computer lab the students will be asked to use the words in sentences as they might in everyday conversation. It is acknowledged that putting words into a communicative format allows for the development of efficient pronunciation skills. (Fraser, 1999) 5 Findings The findings regarding pronunciation progress for trimester 1(T1) students are limited due to time constraints; however, some information regarding the access and use of the sound spelling exercises can be briefly discussed. The T1 students were asked to pronounce the words from the list (see table 1) after they were written on the board. The T1 students pronounced most words with few problems. Four words, anxious, delicacies, advantages and geometry seemed to cause the most difficulty. T1 students were then taken to the computer lab for the first session. Time was needed to instruct the students on how to use the computer. It was assumed that most students were familiar with using a computer in their L1, however, when presented with computers using English most students were at a loss. The students were taught the log in procedure, given time to explore the website and then shown the sound spelling exercises. There were a few problems, most students seemed confused with the procedure and many of the computers lacked the proper software to run the sound spelling exercises. Overall most students had a favorable initial reaction to the exercise. The second session in the computer lab was conducted the following week, and also had favorable results. There were still some problems with the computers but the students had fewer problems accessing the website. The students showed some signs of improvement in their pronunciation skills but the progress was minimal due to time constraints. Students did seem to have an easier time pronouncing the words when they were broken down into segments. Some students doubled up on one computer and this seemed to be helpful with the improvement of their pronunciation skills. The students practiced the sound spellings in the CALL format as well as with each other. In this respect the students were exposed to interactive pronunciation exercises on two levels; computer based and a more traditionally based. Overall I would say 951

5 Proceedings of CLaSIC 2004 the sound spellings had a positive effect on the T1 students. They seemed to enjoy the procedure and showed some signs of improvement in the short time available for the study. The findings for the T2 students are preliminary at this point. It is expected with a slight shift in methodology the findings for T2 students may differ from those of TI students. The first major difference in methodology will be time; there will be more time to conduct the sound spelling exercises. There will be more time to explain log on a procedures to the students which may cut down on any technical problems encountered with the computers themselves. In general there should be more time to mark and analyze progress with pronunciation skills among the students. An added feature of the study for T2 students will be the opportunity to use the words from the sound spelling exercise in a functional and communicative format. It is hoped that the students will gain some knowledge of word function along with an improvement in pronunciation skills. At the time this paper was printed the sound spelling exercises with the T2 students had been conducted for two weeks, initial findings can be discussed briefly but further analysis is pending. Initially the T2 students had an easier time pronouncing the words from the word list (see table 1) than the T1 students, the only word that was problematic was geometry. This may be attributed to the slightly higher English language proficiency rate among the T2 students compared to T1 students. Some T2 students had similar problems with accessing the website as the T1 students which could be attributed to English language proficiency rates or lack of computer knowledge. There were also technical glitches with the computers themselves contributing to further delays in the sound spelling exercises. As mentioned previously the findings for the T2 students are in the early stages at this time, further sessions will be conducted and an analysis of the improvement of pronunciation as well as comprehension skills will be discussed in an additional paper as well as the presentation at PAC CALL Discussion There are several implications of CALL designed for the improvement of pronunciation skills. First, CALL can teach pronunciation skills without consuming too much of the SL instructor s time (Masatake, Kawahara & Tsubota, 2004). Second, it allows students in large class situations to receive important feedback immediately (Eskenazi,1999).Third, and possibly most important, CALL can reduce stress and anxiety often associated with learning and producing more accurate pronunciation skills (Culhane & Ito, 2003). CALL can be interactive thus making the learning experience more enjoyable for both the SL instructor and the ESL student. Teaching pronunciation through CALL can be beneficial for ESL students especially students at the beginner levels who need more attention when acquiring accurate pronunciation skills. In the future it may be plausible to recommend CALL such as the one used in the sound spelling exercises to be utilized in the Intensive English Language Program at Multimedia University. The sound spelling exercise could be used at the beginner level as introductory material and at the higher levels as supplementary materials for reading, vocabulary and communication skill classes. CALL does have a future in the ESL classroom. References Culhane, S.F., & Ito, H. (2003) Sound Spellings: Online Pronunciation 952

6 Current Perspectives and Future Directions in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning Enhancement in a Computer Assisted Language Learning Environment, Department of English Education Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University pp Eskenazi, M. (1999) Using a Computer in Foreign Language Pronunciatio Training: What Advantages? Calico Journal Vol. 16 Number 3. pp Fraser, H. (1999) ESL pronunciation teaching: Could it be more effective? Australian Language Matters, 7(4) p Masatake, D., Kawahara, T., & Tsubota, Y. (2004) An English pronunciation learning system for Japanese students based on diagnosis of critical pronunciation errors Academic Centre for Computing and Media Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto Japan. Cambridge University Press. pp Morely J. (1994) A multidimensional curriculum for speech-pronunciation instruction. In J. Morely (Ed.) Pronunciation pedagogy and theory: New views, new directions (pp Virginia: TEOSL Inc. 953