Text-to-Speech Software for Promoting EFL Freshman Students' Decoding Skills and Pronunciation Accuracy

Autor/in	Al-Jarf, Reima
Titel	Text-to-Speech Software for Promoting EFL Freshman Students' Decoding Skills and Pronunciation Accuracy
Quelle	4 (2022) 2, S.19-30 (12 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Al-Jarf, Reima)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2709-104X
Schlagwörter	Audio Equipment; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Pronunciation Instruction; Teaching Methods; Vocabulary Development; Reading Instruction; Reading Tests; Oral Reading; Word Recognition; Language Tests; Phonemes; Difficulty Level; Phonology; Phoneme Grapheme Correspondence; Computer Software; Textbooks; Listening; Independent Study; Comparative Analysis; Student Improvement; Accuracy; Correlation; Lesson Plans; Reading Fluency; Language Proficiency; Scores; Decoding (Reading); Student Attitudes; Positive Attitudes; Translation; Foreign Countries; College Freshmen; Saudi Arabia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Audio-CD; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Ausspracheübung; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Wortschatzarbeit; Leseunterricht; Lesetest; Oral work; Reading; Mündliche Übung; Leseprozess; Lesen; Worterkennung; Language test; Sprachtest; Fonem; Schwierigkeitsgrad; Fonologie; Textbook; Text book; Schulbuch; Lehrbuch; Hörvorgang; Zuhören; Selbststudium; Korrelation; Lesson planning; Unterrichtsplanung; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; Dekodierung; Schülerverhalten; Ausland; Studienanfänger; Saudi-Arabien
Abstract	Two groups of freshman students, enrolled in a Vocabulary I and Reading I courses, participated in the study. Before instruction, both groups took a recognition (vocabulary) and a production (oral reading) pre-test. Comparisons of the pre-test scores showed no significant differences between the experimental and control group in decoding skills and pronunciation proficiency. Then, both groups were exposed to the same in-class vocabulary and reading instruction. They covered the same lessons, skills, exercises, and tests. Since freshman students have problems in producing phonemes, consonant clusters, word stress and lack skill in associating written graphemes with their corresponding phonemes, read word by word and lack oral reading fluency, the experimental group used a text-to-speech (TTS) software called NaturalReader. Every week the students typed or copied and paste the lessons they took in class from the textbook into NaturalReader and practiced listening to the lessons read by the software. They could listen to the text as many times as they needed in the language lab or at home and could adjust the software reading speed. Every 4 weeks, experimental students took an oral reading and a vocabulary test and at the end of the semester (after 12 weeks), both groups took a recognition (vocabulary) and a production (oral reading) posttest. Results showed significant differences between the experimental and control groups as a result of using the NaruralReader. Improvement was noted in the decoding skill enhancement, reading fluency and pronunciation accuracy but not in vocabulary knowledge. Results showed slow but gradual improvement. Significant improvement was noted after 8 and 12 weeks. There was a positive correlation between the number of lessons and texts practiced and weekly practice time and decoding and pronunciation proficiency posttest scores. The students reported positive attitudes towards practicing decoding and pronunciation via NaturalReader. Procedures, results and recommendations are given in detail. (As Provided).
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01