Automatic speech recognition and text-to-speech technologies for L2 pronunciation improvement

Abstract

This paper presents a reflection on two technologies – automatic speech recognition (ASR) and Text-to-Speech (TTS) – to improve learners’ pronunciation, aiming for successful spoken communication. It sheds some light on the practical usage of these technologies, demonstrating their effectiveness, qualities, and limitations to assist teachers in deciding the most efficient digital resources applied to their students’ needs. A review of literature on previous empirical studies was carried out, with quantitative and/or qualitative studies conducted by researchers in the field, investigating teachers’ and learners' perceptions and the use of ASR and TTS as a pedagogical tool for pronunciation practice. As a result, it was concluded that a) the presented resources seem to have the potential to enhance pronunciation practice, both in terms of perception and production; b) technology can result in considerable benefits to learners, mainly as a supplement to pronunciation teaching; and c) the use of these digital resources is a way of giving learners the opportunity to focus on their specific difficulties and receive personalized feedback while becoming more autonomous in their learning process.

“Look, ma, no hands!” Writing without typing: speech-recognition tools for future translators in the English language classroom

“…In order to reach the final dictated composition, learners were guided through a series of steps that had to be thoroughly followed in order to avoid undesired frustrations that the software might cause due to their non-native pronunciation (Gottardi et al, 2022). Firstly, participants were furnished with a sample task and its corresponding written production, which was analysed in class so as to demonstrate what was expected.…”

“…The potential of dictation activities in teaching writing may be transferred to online media, which have now become normalised in language education (Balchin & Wild, 2020;Bax, 2003Bax, , 2011Gottardi et al, 2022). Tools like Voki, Bombay TV, Twitter, Kahoot or Word Clouds have been employed for pedagogical purposes, particularly with the aim of making lessons more appealing and boosting learners' written and oral performance in the foreign language (Bellés-Calvera & Bellés-Fortuño, 2018a, 2018bBellés-Fortuño & Martínez-Hernández, 2019;Boumediene et al, 2018).…”

“…Another advantage researchers hypothesised that could be gained from this tool is pronunciation awareness (Gottardi et al, 2022). Considering that the tool types the closest word in sound to the one articulated by the student, researchers believed it could be convenient, for instance, to raise awareness of minimal pairs, such as heat and hit.…”

“…In this scenario, challenges may arise when there is neither careful planning nor clear definition of objectives (Azmi, 2017). However, it has been shown that educators have integrated ICTs in their modules with the aim of fostering effective practices, promoting students' production and autonomy (Álvarez & Bassa, 2013;Bakeer, 2018;Gottardi et al, 2022;Warni et al, 2018).…”

Automatic Pronunciation Assessment in a Flipped Classroom Context

“…The compared programs vary in their quality and ability to recognize the speech of native and non-native speakers using the program. In addition to pronunciation assessment tools based on ASR designed particularly for educational purposes, foreign language learners can benefit from authentic communication with ASR technology designed for noneducational, authentic purposes ("off the shelf", Tejedor-García et al, 2021, p. 2;Gottardi et al, 2022;John et al, 2022;Khademi & Cardoso, 2022;Papin & Cardoso, 2022). Therefore, besides the traditional drilling sequence in pronunciation training (listen and repeat), ASR also allows practicing open-ended tasks, e.g.…”