Using Kahoot as a skill improvement technique in pronunciation

Abstract

Pronunciation is one of the main problems in language teaching and learning and it gets little attention. Most of students underestimate the importance of pronunciation considering that pronunciation is less important than other aspects of language. Many researchers investigated the weakness of pronunciation among students in all stages. However, there is still a strong need to develop pronunciation of foreign language students. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using Kahoot application for developing EFL pronunciation and conducted with second year students at advanced level from Translation and Interpretation Department at Selçuk University in Turkey. A diagnostic test provided in a pronunciation course material was used in order to determine mispronouncing sounds. The study followed the two groups (control and experimental) with pre-post-test design. The pre-test was administered to the students of both groups at the beginning. After the administration of the pretest, for instruction session, the control group followed the activities in the course material and experimental group was taught using Kahoot application for the same activities. Then, the post-test was administered to both groups. The results were statistically analyzed (t-test) and the findings revealed that the EFL pronunciation skills of the experimental group were developed as a result of using Kahoot application. It is recommended that Kahoot application can be used in different educational stages for developing EFL pronunciation skills.

Teachers’ Perception of Advantages and Disadvantages of Kahoot!

“…Since Kahoot was launched in 2013, numerous scholars have explored it in different contexts, for example, Taiwan (Chiang, 2020), Turkey (Bicen & Kocakoyun, 2018) and New Zealand (Licorish et al, 2018). Furthermore, researchers have targeted the application of Kahoot in teaching various languages such as German (Chumairok & Ardiyani, 2020) and Chinese (Liu & Wang, 2017), and different language skills like vocabulary (Hadijah, Pratolo & Rondiyah, 2020) and pronunciation (Yürük, 2020). Some have even gone further and done research on the use of Kahoot in training academic subjects, for example, microbiology (Mohan, Nambiar, & Arvindakshan, 2018).…”

Kahoot! as a Gamification Tool in Vocational Education: More Positive Attitude, Motivation and Less Anxiety in EFL

“…Kahoot! also offers an effective strategy in terms of providing a fun environment in English education (Putri, 2019;Yürük, 2020), improves Arabic language grammar knowledge and motivation (Eltahir, Alsalhi, Al-Qatawneh, AlQudah, & Jaradat, 2021), increases engagement (Budiati, 2017), and especially helps students in concept teaching (Medina &Hurtado, 2017;Plump & LaRosa, 2017). It benefits educators as well as students (Zengin, Bars, & Şimşek, 2017).…”

“…has a positive effect on teachers' and students' attitudes and increases engagement (Wang & Tahir, 2020). Yürük (2020) found that Kahoot! positively affects students' EFL pronunciation skills.…”

“…Kahoot! offers an effective strategy to provide a funny environment in English teaching (Putri, 2019;Yürük, 2020) and increases engagement (Budiati, 2017). Also, in our study, it was understood that students thought Kahoot!…”

A meta-analysis of the effect of Kahoot! on academic achievements and student performance

“…The use of Kahoot! application could improve university students' EFL pronunciation skills at various learning stages in Turkey (Yürük, 2020).…”