Teaching English Pronunciation Online during the COVID-19 Crisis Outbreak

Abstract

The abrupt emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020 forced tertiary professors to urgently adapt the face-to-face courses they were lecturing to emergency remote teaching. Researchers of different fields have started to investigate and share their thoughts on which are the best methodologies to guarantee a high-quality learning experience while coping with students’ anxiety and teachers’ lack of technical background. The present study examines the adaptation of an English pronunciation course at Rovira i Virgili university to the online setting imposed by the outbreak of the pandemic. The students who took the course were asked to fill in a satisfaction survey containing multiple choice, Likert scale and open questions on the different measures taken and the general progress of the course. Results show that students were higly satisfied with the adaptation of the course to the online context, and that the methods adopted and tools provided were useful and sufficient to continue with the adequate functioning of the course. Hence, this study is a sample of how to teach pronunciation remotely in particular, and how to successfully adapt a face-to-face university course to emergency remote teaching in general, guaranteeing students’ learning and engagement.

Synchronous computer-mediated communication in pronunciation teaching: A survey study

“…The more time students spent at home taking virtual sessions, the more they advocated for synchronous sessions. These results are in line with those studies that endorse a balance of both asynchronous and synchronous activities, and/or a deep analysis of the students' needs to assure learning when taking courses online (Hodges et al, 2020;Moser et al, 2021;Quesada Vázquez, 2021;Rapanta et al, 2020;Zeinali et al, 2021a). Nevertheless, only 25% of the students who took the pronunciation courses online participated in the study.…”

“…Since the pandemic arrived quite abruptly and unexpectedly, teachers did not have time to get ready for the change. In fact, in the beginning many of them did not have the experience, training and technical support to carry out their teaching properly (Bao, 2020;Hodges et al;Zeinali Nejad, Golshan & Naeimi, 2021a;Quesada Vázquez, 2021;Rahiem, 2020;Rapanta et al, 2020). Guaranteeing that virtual teaching methods supported different learning styles was not an easy task indeed.…”

Students' Perception of Learning Vashmid Model of Japanese Pronunciation Through Online Mode

“…From the results of the questionnaire on the fifth question, it is known that almost all students need teaching materials in the form of handbooks when practicing pronunciation online. This result aligns with research conducted by Vazquez (2021), in which handbooks are needed for smooth learning and to make it easier for students to participate.…”

“…It is not impossible if pronunciation learning can be done online. Vazquez (2021) in his research stated that online pronunciation learning can be done using methods and media adapted to the teaching context. Most students are satisfied with adapting activities from face-to-face lectures to online lectures.…”