L2 Czech Annotation for Automatic Feedback on Pronunciation

In this paper, we would like to provide a brief overview of the current state of pronunciation teaching in e-learning and demonstrate a new approach to building tools for automatic feedback concerning correct pronunciation based on the most frequent or typical errors in speech production made by non-native speakers. We will illustrate this in the process of designing annotation for a sound recognition tool to provide feedback on pronunciation. At the end of the paper, we will also present how we have tried to apply this annotation to the tool, what caveats we have found and what our plans are.

Influența limbii materne în predarea pronunției în limba engleză

The present article treats a problem regarding the influence of the mother tongue in teaching English pronunciation. The importance and necessity of using the mother tongue in learning English are relevant. The obtained knowledge, skills and abilities in the mother tongue influence those from the foreign language, as a result thezy are in an interdependence, that observe concrete laws. This interdependence can both contribute to learning English, and hinder it. The formation of correct pronunciation skills depends on the the adjustment of the mother tongue phonological system tot that of the target language.

Spelling to Pronunciation Transparency Ratings

Applying common decoding rules to an English word does not always provide its actual pronunciation given the quasiregular nature of the English orthography. The reader must then make the match between the sounded out form they arrived at during decoding with that word’s actual pronunciation stored in memory. Some words are more difficult to make this match than others. Spelling to pronunciation transparency ratings measure the ease at arriving at the correct pronunciation for a word by applying typical decoding rules on a scale of 1-6 with 1 representing words that are very easy to match to its pronunciation and 6 representing words that are very difficult to match. The purpose of this study was to create a database of spelling to pronunciation transparency ratings for 20,404 words, made available in the supplemental materials to be used in future analyses. Results of a multiple regression revealed variance in ratings to be unaccounted for by other available word features, demonstrating the uniqueness of these ratings. Furthermore, results showed that on average words that contained at least one schwa received higher ratings than words that did not contain a schwa. Lastly, words classified as strange were rated as more difficult than those classified as exception words which were rated higher than regular words, demonstrating the association between spelling to pronunciation transparency ratings and regularity.

An Analysis of English Diphthong Pronunciation by the Students of the English Education Study Program

This research wasaimed to know howEnglish students in Universityof Bengkulu, EnglishEducationStudy ProgrampronouncedEnglish Diphthongs.Thisresearchuseddescriptive qualitativemethod. The population in this research was the 79 sixth semester students of English EducationStudy Program. The numbers of samples were 20% of the population. The Students were asked to pronounce 8 diphthongs in English. The research was doing input the audio from native speaker and data recordedby each student into Audacity. Then, comparing both of the data.The research was usingAudacity as the technology to analyze and to see the pattern of the data recorded in order to check the correct and incorrect of the students’ pronunciation. The data of the research consisted of 8 diphthongs and each diphthong consisted of 3 words including in the word diphthongs. The total words in this study were 24 words. The resultof thisresearchshowedthatmostofEnglishstudentspronouncedEnglish diphthongs[e?], [o?], [a?], [??], [??] and [??] incorrectly.Itshowed thatthestudents stilldid not know about English diphthongs. Meanwhile,thestudentsweregoodatpronouncingdiphthongs suchas[a?]and [??] with more than 58% of correct pronunciation.

Some Interesting Internet Resources and Activities for Teaching a Foreign Language (English) Online

Is online teaching worse than the one in the classroom? No, it is different and sometimes even better, only teachers should be aware of available resources and techniques in order to use peculiarities of online teaching effectively. We should know when and how to apply them and how to select the most effective ones for specific tasks to achieve the best results in teaching. The aim of this conference presentation is sharing some effective webpages, activities and techniques that work better while teaching online and that have been tested in my online teaching English and Georgian as second languages. The participants will practically get familiarized with some of the resources. More specifically, the presentation will cover the following topics: • some websites for presenting new material, practicing it and testing it • some websites and the activities or techniques for teaching, revising and activating vocabulary • some websites for correct pronunciation • some websites for getting students’ feedback The participants of this presentation will not only theoretically learn the presented resources, teaching activities and techniques, but also they will immediately use the most effective ones for online teaching at the conference session. They will be able to select some new resources of their interest and use them in their teaching practice. Keywords: online teaching, the second/foreign language, English as a Foreign Language (EFL), sharing experience, online teaching resources

Phonological Analysis of Errors in the Consonant Cluster System Encountered by Saudi EFL Learners

This study investigates the pronunciation difficulty of selected English consonant clusters (CCs) encountered by Saudi EFL learners. The sample consisted of 134 female Saudi EFL students in their freshman year in the English Department at Najran University. Two instruments were used: a pronunciation test that assessed participants’ CC pronunciations in the onset and coda positions and a questionnaire that explored participants’ attitudes towards their CC pronunciations. This study provides detailed data on the participants’ pronunciation difficulties using Optimality Theory (OT). The results showed that the participants encountered CC pronunciation difficulties in both the onset and coda positions. However, most errors occurred in the coda position, especially for the four-consonant pattern (-CCCC). Participants used different strategies to simplify their CC pronunciations: epenthesis, deletion, substitution, or some combination thereof. Questionnaire data indicated that the participants attributed their pronunciation difficulties to inadequate knowledge of the pronunciation rules, insufficient language instruction, and native-language influence. The participants proffered some remedies to their difficulties, which included doing more pronunciation drills and offering a new course focused primarily on correct pronunciation. OT analysis revealed that onset clusters were mainly influenced by L1 ranking constraints whereas coda clusters were more influenced by universal Markedness constraints. OT indicated that the tendency to satisfy Markedness constraints over the Faithfulness constraints led the participants to use the above-mentioned simplification strategies.

О некоторых приёмах работы над ритмикой и интонацией в преподавании РКИ

About some techniques of working on rhythm and intonation in teaching Russian as a foreign language (RFL). Accent-centricity of the Russian phonetic word is an important aspect of the study of RFL and the correct pronunciation. Verbal stress is not only the basis of the rhythmic organization of a phonetic word, but also an integral part of the intonation of the utterance. The article contains practical recommendations that simplify and speed up the process of mastering rhythmic patterns and intonation structures of the Russian language.

The Influence of Pontianak Melayu Dialect Towards the Students’ Pronunciation of English Speech Sounds

This qualitative research attempted to review the influence of the Pontianak Melayu dialect on students’ English pronunciation of English speech sounds. The objectives of the study were to explain the influence of Pontianak Melayu dialect on students’ English pronunciation of vowels, consonants, diphthongs, and consonant clusters and to explain the way teachers play their roles to improve students’ pronunciation. This study used a qualitative case study design. The subjects of this study were 17 students from seventh-grade of Junior High School who are originally from the Pontianak. The data were collected by using questionnaires, students’ recordings, observation checklists, and interviews. The results of this study show that the Pontianak Melayu dialect contributed insignificant positive transfer on English vowel sounds [ɔ:], [ʊ], and [ɒ]. It gave significant negative transfer on English consonant sounds [f, v, k, s]. It also gave insignificant negative transfer on English diphthong sound [aɪ]. It gave significant negative transfer on English consonant cluster sounds [fr] and [kl], and significant negative transfer on three consonant clusters. Meanwhile, the teacher did play her role in improving students’ pronunciation. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the Pontianak Melayu dialect did not strongly give positive and negative transfer to the students’ English pronunciation. The easiness might be caused by the similarities between the Pontianak Melayu language and English. The difficulties might be caused by the lack of students’ knowledge about correct pronunciation, lack of pronunciation practice, students’ inability to recognize the words, and spelling interference. In teaching pronunciation processes, the teachers and the students should be supported each other to reach the best achievement. The teachers taught by supporting media such as English songs, western movies or English short stories, etc. Meanwhile, the students practice more and more.

Japanese Language Students' Perceptions on Online Nihongo Partner Program

The pandemic that hit in early 2020 has caused face-to-face Nihongo Partner Program to be postponed. As a result, Japanese language lecturers in a public university have come out with an online program to be utilized by students who are learning Japanese and also Japanese students who will be participating in the practical training in teaching Japanese. A study using a quantitative approach was conducted once the program ended. 465 students who participated in the program responded to the survey. The survey questions which consisted of two parts were answered by the respondents. Part A questions related to the background of the respondents while part B has five components which includes (i) respondent reaction during the program, (ii) respondent reaction before the program,(iii) respondent reaction during the program, (iv) respondent reaction after the program, (v) comments and suggestions for improvement. In components i-iv, respondents have to choose five likert scales, while component (v) requires respondents to provide comments and suggestions in written form. The questions of the survey are to answer (1) respondents’ perceptions of this program, (2) strengths and weaknesses of this program, (3) improvements that can be made for the future program. The results of the study found that most of the students agreed that the online NP Program (1) is positive and can be utilized for learning Japanese, (2) improves speaking skills with the correct pronunciation and intonation, increases confidence to speak in Japanese either with Japanese people or classmates, providing an opportunity for respondents to use Japanese language. However, (3) some respondents expressed a fear of making mistakes with the presence of native speakers. From the survey a total of 19 suggestions and improvements were given by the respondents.