IMPLEMENTATION
Our two participants: Emily, 10 and Elisabeth, 9
Issues: v-w, bird-sound, th
Step 1: participant reads out drill-sentences for one issue in front of camera
Step 2: participant works with the application, does exercises (How does which letter sound? How does the mouth look during pronunciation of the sound? Tries to pronounce different words tht involve that sound)
Step 3: participant reads the drill-sentences out again
→ this procedure takes place three times (for each issue)
step 4: Interview
About the application ,,Speak English Pro”:
The application offers the correct pronunciation of each letter, also videos on how the mouth should look like during the pronunciation. The app also offers exercises: for each sound, there are 16 words and the participant has listen and pronounce these words. When she/he pronounces the word in the correct way, five stars appear. If not, the word can be repeated again.
Substitution: The app can help to substitude a teacher by showing students how to pronounce a word. It can also give limited feedback but it can not fully replace a teacher.
Argumentation: The videos can be watched several times and are always available ->Good for slow learners
Modification: If the app was improved (video-function, a more sensitive microphine), it could allow a significant change in how pronunciation can be practiced.
Redifinition: The app must be improved in order to offer more options.
Advantages and disadvantages of the app:
exersices (practice)
pictures and mini-videos
easy usage
tongue is not visible in the pictures (dental fricatives)
bird-sound: picture is wrong (movement of lips is not correct)
despite wrong pronunciation-five stars are given
no suggestion for improvement
Practicing with the App...
Interview-Questions:
1. Wie lange lernst du schon englisch?
2.Wird deine Aussprache im Unterricht verbessert?
3.Erklärt dein/e Lehrer/in dir die Ausspracheregeln?
4. Hat die App dir geholfen, die Wörter richtig auszusprechen?
5. Wieviel Spaß hat dir die Arbeit mit der App bereitet? (1-10)
6. Arbeitest du in der Schule mit solchen Apps oder allgemein mit digitalen Medien?
7. Könntest du dir vorstellen, in der Schule mit solchen Apps zu arbeiten?
8. Wie könnte man das in deiner Klasse umsetzen?
9.Ist es dir leicht gefallen, die App zu nutzen?
Results:
At the beginning, the two participants (age: 9 and 10) had problems with pronouncing the chosen words and sentences correctly. Oftentimes they mixed up v and w, pronounced the bird-sound just like the german “Ö” and the th like “F” or “D”.
The participants had no problems with the usage of the application, even though the explanations were written in English. We were always present and ready to help them or explain something but it was rerely needed. During the process of exercising, our participants were very motivated, which also led to improvement. In some cases, there was overgeneralization, especially between the voiced and voiceless th. During and after the practice we were able to observe that the participants became aware of how to pronounce the letters correctly.
The results of our interview were very different. While Lisa had fun with the app and said, that normaly pronunciation is not adressed in class, Emily seemed to criticize the app a bit more. She told us that pronunciation is a topic at her school and that her teacher oftentimes explains how to pronounce words correctly. Both said that it was very easy to use the app and that they could immagine using such an app at school. Elisabeth adviced us to plan group-work, so that the group-members could help and correct each other.
In the end we come to the conclusion that working with pronunciation-applications can be very effective but that the teacher has to pay attention on the concept of the app. Some applications offer videos, sounds and practice, while others do not. In a typical classroom situation the work with application would be difficult because of many noises that could confuse such an app and disturb students. Group work with additional help of such an application or smaller classes with individual work could work out. Our research project made us become aware of the possibilities of usage of technological devices and proofed that pronunciation-apps can definitely lead to improvement and success in language learning.