Phonetics and Technology in the Classroom: A Practical Approach to Using Speech Analysis Software in Second-language Pronunciation Instruction

Abstract

While speech analysis technology has become an integral part of phonetic research, and to some degree is used in language instruction at the most advanced levels, it appears to be mostly absent from the beginning levels of language instruction. In part, the lack of incorporation into the language classroom can be attributed to both the lack of practical pedagogical methods for implementation, as well as objections to the complex design of the software itself. The present study first seeks to create a brief picture of phonetic instruction at lower levels of language instruction. The second, and main aim, is to address the dearth of practical implementations by presenting one possible pedagogical application of speech analysis software called Praat with attention given to key considerations to facilitate student self-analysis. Lastly, to assess the previous objections to such software, this study provides empirical, student-driven pilot data for the usability of speech analysis software in the classroom. In addition to confirming that speech-analysis software is largely absent at the lowest levels of language instruction, the findings demonstrate that, with a carefully designed approach to self-analysis, students indicate that the program is both beneficial and highly usable.

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