Technology has paved the way for new modalities in language learning, teaching, and assessment. However, there is still a great deal of work to be done to develop such tools for oral communication, specifically tools that address suprasegmental features in pronunciation instruction. Therefore, this critical literature review examines how…

Computer-assisted pronunciation teaching (CAPT) software has been developed to improve learners' pronunciation. CAPT software helps learners to study independently, selecting what function to use and how often they utilize it. CAPT systems are regarded as a useful tool for pronunciation training for learners, specifically those who feel…

The present project is a research-based and practice-tested online synchronous curriculum for English language learners with the Russian language mother tongue. The curriculum's theoretical component is grounded in Vygotsky's, Leont'ev', and Engestrom's "Cultural Historical Activity Theory" as well as in scholarly papers on the influence…

Owing to the plethora of user-friendly audio/video creation and editing applications as well as free full-featured hosting platforms, videoing and sharing has become a lifestyle of today's students. Utilizing these spontaneous practices, the current study examined the effects of digital media assignments (DMAs) and accompanying asynchronous…

Pronunciation is an important yet often neglected subfield in Second Language Acquisition, both in pedagogy and research. One significant, under-researched area is the role peer assessment/review can play in shaping English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) students' pronunciation proficiency. Whereas there have been many studies demonstrating the…

This paper addresses the process of transcribing and annotating spontaneous non-native speech with the aim of compiling a training corpus for the development of Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) applications, enhanced with Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology. To better adapt ASR technology to CAPT tools, the recognition…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of computer assisted pronunciation instruction in English pronunciation for students in vocational colleges and universities in Taiwan. The participants were fifty-one first-year undergraduate students from a technological university located in central Taiwan. The participants received an…

Widespread use of English in the academia and in business is leading an increasing number of people to learn it as a second or a foreign language. Computer aided pronunciation training (CAPT) systems are used by non-native English speakers for improving their English pronunciation. A typical CAPT tool records the speech of a learner, detects and…

Computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) software provides language learners with an individualized free environment where they can have access to unlimited input and repetitive practice pronunciation at their own pace. This study explores the impact of CAPT on 90 Taiwanese college students' pronunciation learning and examines if other…

With the widespread use of mobile phones and portable devices it is inevitable to think of Mobile Assisted Language Learning as a means of independent learning in Higher Education. Nowadays many learners are keen to explore the wide variety of applications available in their portable and always readily available mobile phones and tablets. The fact…

This work reports on the construction of a rated database of spontaneous speech produced by second language (L2) learners of English. Spontaneous speech was collected from 28 L2 speakers representing six language backgrounds and five different proficiency levels. Speech was elicited using formats similar to that of the TOEFL iBT and the Speaking…

The 23rd EUROCALL conference was held in Cyprus from the 24th to the 27th of August 2016. The theme of the conference this year was "CALL Communities and Culture." It offered a unique opportunity to hear from real-world CALL practitioners on how they practice CALL in their communities, and how the CALL culture has developed in local and…

The IBM SpeechViewer was used in tutorial sessions within a program of training for international teaching assistants (ITAs) to examine the value of computer-based displays of speech in the teaching of pronunciation. ITAs did not improve significantly with SpeechViewer, but both ITAs and instructors indicated great enthusiasm for it as a teaching…

The acquisition of new vowel sounds is one of the most challenging tasks for the adult learner of a second language. It is also an aspect which requires a great deal of time and individual attention. Learners of English are particularly hampered by the irregular orthographic representation of vowel sounds. This paper reports on research in…

A draft of the Seminole Community College (Florida) school-to-work curriculum developed by the department of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) is presented. The curriculum emphasizes use of computers and computer-assisted instruction for learning English and is designed to help students develop practical, employment-related skills and…