Change of Iranian EFL Teachers’ Traditional Pedagogical Methods through Using Pronunciation Power Software in the Instruction of English Pronunciation

Abstract

The use of computer technology in learning and teaching has been studied by many studies but less research has been conducted for understanding users' feeling toward it and how this technology helps teachers develop their teaching methods. One of the computer technologies for the instruction of English pronunciation is Pronunciation Power software. This study examined the change of Iranian EFL teachers' traditional pedagogical methods in the use of Pronunciation Power software in teaching pronunciation. Qualitative method was used by the researchers. It involved semi-structured interview questions with a volunteer sample of four teachers from an open university in Iran. The researchers answered the research question related to the change of Iranian EFL teachers' traditional pedagogical methods toward using this software in teaching pronunciation. According to the findings obtained from the study, use of Pronunciation Power software by Iranian EFL teachers changed their traditional pedagogical methods. This change of teaching methods gave them more opportunities in the instruction of pronunciation.

A Detailed Analysis over Iranian EFL Teachers’ Beliefs towards Using Pronunciation Software in Teaching English Pronunciation

“…Teachers can decide whether and how to use computer technology for instruction in the classrooms. Thus, if teachers want to be the effective users of computer technologies they should have positive beliefs in their usage (Becker, 2000;Pourhossein Gilakjani & Sabouri, 2014). Iranian EFL university teachers use computers in their classes because they provide them better ways of instruction that can help them improve their pronunciation teaching and learning.…”

The Effects of Communicative Framework Instruction Using Computer-Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) on English Pronunciation Ability of Chinese Undergraduate Students

“…With the advance of modern technology, CAPT gives teachers a solution comprising a virtual native-speaker environment as well as a real-time feedback system. Many researchers have accepted the CAPT pedagogy advantages (Chun, 1989;Hismanoglu, 2006;Gilakjani & Sabouri, 2014;Pennington, 1988) since it offers students a low anxiety environment where they may access the content without limits, receive immediate feedback from the Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), and practice at their own pace. Neri, Cucchiarini, Strik, and Boves (2002) also indicated CAPT makes it possible to address individual problems for as much as students wish, which reduces learning anxiety and allows students learning history to be traced in log-files; consequently, CAPT facilitates pronunciation teaching and learning.…”