2019 IJRSLL – Volume 8 Issue 1
Author/s:
Roohani, Ali*
Shahrekord University, Iran (roohani.ali@gmail.com)
Rahimi, Zahra
Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch, Najafabad, Iran (rahimi.teaching@gmail.com)
Abstract:
Pronunciation has an important role in second/foreign (L2) language learning and communication. However, in some L2 classrooms, little attention is paid to teaching pronunciation. Moreover, software programs have been introduced to facilitate teaching L2 pronunciation to learners with different language backgrounds. Thus, this study investigated the effect of using two pronunciation software programs (Tell Me More and Lose Your Accent in 28 Days) on the Iranian learners’ English pronunciation and compared their effect in monolingual (Persian) and bilingual (Georgian-Persian) learners of English. To these ends, 40 Iranian Junior High School students, who were selected through a placement test, participated in the study. They were divided into four groups: monolingual control, monolingual experimental, bilingual control, and bilingual experimental groups, each with 10 English as a foreign language (EFL) participants. Unlike the control groups, the monolingual and bilingual experimental groups received pronunciation instruction through the two software programs before taking a pronunciation test. Results from analysis of variance and post hoc tests revealed that the monolingual and bilingual experimental groups performed significantly better than the monolingual and bilingual control groups, but there was not any significant difference between monolingual and bilingual experimental groups. The findings call for applying computer-assisted pronunciation instruction for both monolingual and bilingual learners of English in L2 classrooms.
Keywords: pronunciation; bilingual; monolingual; L2 learners; computer-assisted pronunciation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrsll.2018.3005
*Corresponding Author