NON-SPECIALIZED STUDENTS’ BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES IN USING ELSA SPEAK APPLICATION FOR PRONUNCIATION LEARNING

The noteworthy proliferation of English language applications, exemplified by advancements such as the Elsa Speak Application, specifically designed for the pedagogical aspects of English instruction, underscores this trend. This study seeks to scrutinize the benefits and difficulties that non-specialized students in the High-quality program at Can Tho University (CTU) have when they learn English pronunciation through the Elsa Speak Application. To conduct this examination, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 10 participants. The findings reveal that these participants encountered specific advantages and challenges in effectively navigating and utilizing the application. In response to these identified challenges, a set of recommendations has been proffered to enhance the effectiveness of the Elsa Speak Application, with the overarching goal of optimizing English language learning outcomes for students enrolled in the High-quality program at CTU. This research contributes valuable insights into the nuanced experiences and challenges associated with the integration of AI-driven language learning tools within the educational landscape of Industry 4.0.  Article visualizations

DIGITAL TOOLS AND STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL

Teaching speaking to EFL learners is tremendouslychallenging. Having learned English for years at school andacquired sufficient vocabulary and grammatical features,students remain struggling to speak English effortlessly. Forthat matter, employing digital tools in teaching speaking canbe regarded as a prospective solution since some of which areparticularly designed for English language learning. Thesetools equip teachers with unlimited and up-to-date resourcesas well as facilitate students to be a lot more involved in thelearning activities and are expected to better perform theirspeaking ability. Accordingly, researcher utilized some digitaltools to teach students speaking skill to figure out the impacton their learning growth. This research employed quantitativeapproach to portray in detail the statistic descriptive ofstudents’ scores which reflects students’ speaking proficiencyprogress and their perspective and attitude regarding theelectronic devices use. From this data, further, it could beconsidered the benefits, disadvantages and follow up steps toescalate the potential application of such tools in teachingspeaking

Distributed Communicative Language Training Platform Using Automatic Speech Recognition Technology for Smart University

The purpose of this research is to achieve the following objectives: 1) Synthesize documents and international research on the characteristics of a smart university. 2) Synthesize the processes of distributed communicative language training (DCLT). 3) Design the system architecture of a DCLT platform that utilizes automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology for a smart university. 4) Evaluate the appropriateness of a DCLT platform that utilizes ASR technology for a smart university. Nine experts were selected for this research. They were required to have more than five years of relevant experience in the field, including expertise in system architecture, distributed enterprise, language teaching, and ASR. The research instruments included a suitable assessment form for evaluating the system architecture of a DCLT platform that utilizes ASR technology for a smart university. The results of this research indicate that the DCLT platform, which utilizes ASR technology, was considered suitable for a smart university

A Review of the Effects of Cellphone-Assisted Language Learning on Learners’ Motivation

This review examined the effects of cellphones as a teaching or learning tool on students’ motivation, with a particular focus on the research designs, measurements, and key findings. Keller’s (1984) motivation model was adopted as the analytic lens to evaluate papers and to analyze learners’ motivation. The findings about motivation were mostly positive, but the research designs were overwhelmingly quantitative and were not described in detail. In most of the articles, learners’ motivation increased after cellphone interventions, or students showed positive progress toward using cellphones as a learning tool because of real-context learning opportunities, interactive environments, gaming features. Most studies used either mixed-methods or quantitative approaches, with surveys and questionnaires as the dominant data collection method to measure motivation. However, only one article employed a specific measurement tool to examine learning motivation. Future research can focus on longitudinal research to control for the effects of initial exposure to cellphone learning with rigorous quantitative measures. Qualitative research is needed to investigate individuals’ perceptions. There is also a need for research on language learners in English speaking countries, such as international students

Asr-dictation on smartphones for vowel pronunciation practice

This study aims to explore mobile-assisted Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) dictation systems for vowel pronunciation practice by examining whether ARS can be useful for pronunciation improvement and speech recognition accuracy. Additionally, learners’ attitudes towards using these systems were explored. Twenty-one Macedonian EFL learners practiced pronouncing 26 words with the following minimal pairs: /i/, /ɪ/; /æ/, /ɛ/; /u/, /ʊ/; /ɑ/, /ʌ/. The participants were divided into an experimental group (n=11) and a control group (n=10). This study used a mixed methods approach including qualitative and quantitative analysis. Results demonstrated that while the control group did not show any improvement, the experimental group improved their accuracy. ASR written output and human judgment was also found to be within an acceptable agreement for most vowels. Furthermore, while occasional inaccurate feedback sometimes caused frustration, ASR training was generally enjoyed and considered as a practical and safe environment for practice. The findings provide some support for the use of ASR in EFL classrooms with careful planning and direction from the teacher. Using ASR as a tool for controlled and structured practice with individual words is particularly applicable when the focus is to raise learners’ phonological awareness and perception of English vowel sounds

Comparative Efficacy of Elsa and English Speaking Practice: A Quasi-Experimental Study on EFL Learning Outcomes

In an era where digital learning tools are reshaping the educational landscape, selecting the right language learning application becomes paramount, especially for institutions aiming to enhance their students' English proficiency. While numerous language applications exist, only a few are accessible without cost. This study zeroes in on two such free applications: ELSA and English Speaking Practice. The choice of these apps aimed to discern the instructional differences and their subsequent impact on learners. Conducted at SMK Negeri 17 Samarinda, the research involved two experimental classes: X Pharmacy 4 (33 students) and X Medical Laboratory Technology 1 (34 students). Using a Quasi-Experimental design, the study employed quantitative methods, including pre-test and post-test evaluations, to gauge the comparative effectiveness of the apps. The results were illuminating: the class utilizing ELSA witnessed a proficiency uptick of 15.21%, whereas the English Speaking Practice class observed a 13% increase. With a p-value of 0.000 <0.05, the data conclusively shows significant disparities in the efficacy of the two applications. This research underscores the importance of judiciously selecting digital tools in EFL contexts, ensuring optimal learning outcomes

Evaluating intelligent personal assistants for L2 listening and speaking development

While the use of intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) has exploded in recent years, little is known about their use to promote English as a foreign language (EFL) development. Thus, this study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the in-class use of the IPA, Alexa, among second language (L2) English students to support improvements in listening comprehension and speaking proficiency. The study utilized a quasi-experimental design with an experimental group (n = 13) which took part in a 10-week treatment of student-IPA interaction and a control group (n = 15) which did not. Results from the Mann-Whitney U test found that the experimental group was able to make more significant gains in L2 speaking proficiency. However, a significant difference was not found when comparing improvements in L2 listening comprehension. These findings suggest that IPAs may be a useful tool to promote L2 speaking skills and underscore the necessity for additional research on the emerging technology for language learning

Causes of and solutions to decrease speaking anxiety in EFL learners

Esta síntesis de investigación tuvo como objetivo analizar las causas y las soluciones para disminuir la ansiedad al hablar de los estudiantes de inglés como lengua extranjera. Con el fin de recolectar los datos respectivos para esta investigación bibliográfica descriptiva, se analizaron minuciosamente veintidós artículos empíricos. Los objetivos de este artículo son identificar los principales factores que provocan ansiedad al hablar en los estudiantes de inglés como lengua extranjera, reconocer las mejores estrategias y métodos adecuados para ayudar a los estudiantes a aliviar este trastorno y comprender las perspectivas de los estudiantes sobre las estrategias y métodos utilizados por los profesores para reducir la ansiedad al hablar. Los resultados revelaron que las principales causas de la ansiedad al hablar son la aprensión a la comunicación, el miedo a la evaluación negativa, y la ansiedad ante los exámenes. Además, hay otros factores que aumentan esta condición en los estudiantes de inglés: falta de vocabulario y confianza, pronunciación inapropiada, poca participación en actividades de habla en las escuelas, poca atención del maestro a la ansiedad de hablar en el aula y retroalimentación negativa. También los resultados demostraron que los métodos y estrategias para disminuir la ansiedad al hablar son las tecnológicas y no tecnológicas. Las estrategias tecnológicas son sitios web equipados con Reconocimiento Automático de Voz (ASR por sus siglas en inglés), modelo integrado con smartphone, y aplicaciones móviles: WhatsApp. Las estrategias no tecnológicas son crear un ambiente de aula adecuado y empatía de los docentes hacia los estudiantes, técnica de dramatización, actividades grupales orales y una forma adecuada de proporcionar retroalimentación. Además, los hallazgos mostraron que los estudiantes tienen una perspectiva positiva hacia las estrategias y metodologías tecnológicas y no tecnológicas porque ayudan a los estudiantes a reducir significativamente sus altos niveles de ansiedad si los docentes los implementan correctamente. Finalmente, sería interesante desarrollar más investigaciones sobre las causas y soluciones para disminuir la ansiedad al hablar de los estudiantes en Ecuador debido a que la mayoría de los estudios se realizaron en AsiaThis research synthesis aimed to analyze the causes of and solutions to decrease EFL learners’ speaking anxiety. In order to collect the respective data for this descriptive bibliographic research, twenty-two empirical articles were meticulously analyzed. The objectives of this paper are to identify the main factors that provoke speaking anxiety in EFL learners, to recognize the best suitable strategies and methods to aid students to alleviate this disorder, and to understand positive students’ perspectives toward strategies and methods used by teachers to reduce language anxiety. The results revealed that the main causes of speaking anxiety are communication apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, and test anxiety. Additionally, there are other factors that raise this condition in EFL learners. They are lack of vocabulary and confidence, inappropriate pronunciation, poor participation in speaking activities at schools, teacher’s poor attention to speaking anxiety in the classroom, and negative feedback. Besides, the results demonstrated that the strategies and methods to decrease speaking anxiety are technological and non-technological. The technological strategies are websites equipped with Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), SmartphoneIntegrated model, and Mobile Apps: WhatsApp. The non-technological ones are the creation of an adequate classroom atmosphere and teachers’ empathy toward students, use of drama techniques as well as oral group activities, and appropriate way of providing feedback. In addition, the findings showed that students have a positive perspective toward the technological and non-technological strategies and methods because they help students significantly to reduce their high levels of anxiety if teachers implement them correctly. Finally, it would be interesting to develop more research about causes of and solutions to decrease EFL students’ speaking anxiety in Ecuador because most of the research studies were performed in AsiaLicenciado en Pedagogía del Idioma InglesCuenc

Perceptions about Self-recording Videos to Develop EFL Speaking Skills in Two Ecuadorian Universities

The present study explores the perceptions of EFL students from two Ecuadorian universities on the use of Self-Recording Videos (SRV) to develop speaking skills.  As students do not have the opportunity to talk in the target language outside their classes, the authors of the present study analyzed the participants’ viewpoints regarding SRV to improve their conversational abilities.  There is still limited research on the use of SRV for English speaking practice in a foreign country, so the researchers' purpose is to fill this gap in the literature to contribute to further studies on the topic.  The authors consider essential to acknowledge the positive aspects of using this technique from the learners’ perspectives.  For this purpose, participants were required to self-record a video related to the content of the class during the week and submit it to the Moodle platform

THE USE OF MOBILE-ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING APPLICATION IN PRONUNCIATION TRAINING

Pronunciation is one of the most important things to master when it comes to Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Nowadays, mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) applications have been emerging. Learners can practice at the reach of their fingertips through the use of their own mobile devices. This study aims to investigate whether the existing mobile-assisted language learning application (ELSA Speak) is effective to help EFL learners train and improve their pronunciations. This study also seeks to know the most difficult sounds to pronounce by Indonesian EFL learners and highlights learners’ thoughts on the application itself including the ease of use, the clarity of pronunciation models by native speakers, as well as the strength and weaknesses of the application. 15 EFL learner participants were involved in this study. They were asked to do a pretest before using the application. The participants then practiced their pronunciation on their own using this application for a week. A post-test was conducted to know their pronunciation progress. They were also given a questionnaire to examine their perceptions of the application. The results show that the mobile-assisted language learning application ELSA speak is quite effective to help learners train and improve their pronunciation. This application is also easily operated and has a lot of features that help learners train their pronunciation easily. Thus, it supports distance language education (DLE). The most difficult English sounds to pronounce according to the participants are Ɵ, t, f, v, tʃ, e, æ, ð, and d, with Ɵ and t as the majority. Lastly, despite being considered as a helpful and convenient pronunciation training application, some things need to be improved, such as the need for Indonesian translation on the words provided to enrich learners’ vocabulary at the same time.Keywords: Pronunciation, Pronunciation Training App