Cover not available
Article published In:
Journal of Second Language Pronunciation
Vol. 6:1 (2020) ► pp.39–67

The Supra Tutor

Improving speaker comprehensibility through a fully online pronunciation course

ORCID logo | Ohio University
Pronunciation is critical for English oral language proficiency because of its immediate role in language judgments. However, effective and targeted English pronunciation instruction is scarce. Given the need for pronunciation instruction and the undeniable impact of suprasegmentals on intelligibility and on comprehensibility, the Supra Tutor, a four-module online pronunciation tutor focusing on suprasegmentals, was developed. This mixed methods study assessed the impact of the Supra Tutor on the comprehensibility of international teaching assistants (ITAs). Participants were evaluated for comprehensibility before and after training. The study also examined ITAs’ perceptions of the Supra Tutor in terms of usefulness, engagement, and overall quality. Findings indicated that the Supra Tutor can provide effective pronunciation instruction and engage learners to successfully complete the training. Research and pedagogical implications of the Supra Tutor and its contribution to pronunciation instruction are discussed.
Keywords: comprehensibility, pronunciation training, suprasegmentals, online instruction, computer-assisted pronunciation instruction (CAPT), international teaching assistants (ITAs)
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Importance of teaching suprasegmentals
    • 2.2Computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT)
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Research design
    • 3.2Participants
    • 3.3The Supra Tutor
    • 3.4Materials
      • 3.4.1ITA background questionnaire
      • 3.4.2Naïve rater background questionnaire
      • 3.4.3Videotaped lectures
      • 3.4.4Naïve rater scale
      • 3.4.5Evaluation of the Supra Tutor questionnaire
      • 3.4.6Supra Tutor activity reports
    • 3.5Procedures
    • 3.6Data analysis
  • 4.Results and discussion
    • 4.1Research question 1: Impact of the Supra Tutor on the comprehensibility of ITAs
    • 4.2Research question 2: ITAs’ evaluation of the Supra Tutor in terms of usefulness, level of interest, and quality of the materials
      • 4.2.1ITAs’ assessment of their own performance
      • 4.2.2ITAs’ evaluation of the Supra Tutor
  • 5.Limitations and future research
  • 6.Conclusion and implications
  • References
Published online: 25 February 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.18031.lim
References (56)
References
Agrios, G. N. (1997). Plant pathology (4th ed.). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Alameen, G. (2014). The effectiveness of linking instruction on NNS speech perception and production (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Digital Repository @ Iowa State University.Google Scholar
Anderson-Hsieh, J. (1990). Teaching suprasegmentals to international teaching assistants using field-specific materials. English for Specific Purposes, 91, 195–214. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bauer, G. (1991). Instructional communication concerns of international (non-native English speaking) teaching assistants: A qualitative analysis. In J. D. Nyquist, R. D. Abbott, D. H. Wulff, & J. Sprague (Eds.), Preparing the professoriate of tomorrow to teach (pp. 420–426). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.Google Scholar
Benrabah, M. (1997). Word-stress – A source of unintelligibility in English. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 35(3), 157–165. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bliss, H., Abel, J., & Gick, B. (2018). Computer-assisted visual articulation feedback in L2 pronunciation instruction: A review. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 4(1), 129–153. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Busà, M. G. (2007). New perspectives in teaching pronunciation. In A. Baldry, M. Pavesi, C. T. Torsello, & C. Taylor (Eds.), From didactas to ecolingua: An ongoing research project on translation and corpus linguistics (pp. 165–182). Trieste: EUT.Google Scholar
Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. M., Goodwin, J. M., & Griner, B. (2010). Teaching pronunciation: A course book and reference guide (2nd ed.). Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press. (Alden 7th Floor PE1137.C415 2010 copy: 1).Google Scholar
Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. M., & Snow, A. M. (Eds.). (2013). Teaching English as a second or foreign language (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.Google Scholar
Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
Coxhead, A. (2000). A new academic word list. TESOL Quarterly, 34(2), 213–238. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
Crystal, D. (2012). English as a global language (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cutler, A. (2015). Lexical stress in English pronunciation. In M. Reed & J. M. Levis (Eds.), The handbook of English pronunciation (pp. 106–124). Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Davis, W. E. (1991). International teaching assistants and cultural differences: Student evaluations of rapport, approachability, enthusiasm, and fairness. In J. D. Nyquist, R. D. Abbott, D. H. Wulff, & J. Sprague (Eds.), Preparing the professoriate of tomorrow to teach (pp. 446–451). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.Google Scholar
Derwing, T. M. (2010). Utopian goals for pronunciation teaching. In J. Levis & K. LeVelle (Eds.), Proceedings of the 1st Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference, Iowa State University, Sept. 2009 (pp. 24–37). Ames, IA: Iowa State University.Google Scholar
Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J. (2015). Pronunciation fundamentals: Evidence-based perspectives for L2 teaching and research. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Engwall, O., Wik, P., Beskow, J., & Granström, G. (2004). Design strategies for a virtual language tutor. Proceeding of ICSLP 2004, 31, 1693–1696. Retrieved from [URL]
Field, J. (2005). Intelligibility and the listener: The role of lexical stress. TESOL Quarterly, 39(3), 399–423. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gilbert, J. B. (2016). Foreword. In T. Jones (Ed.), Pronunciation in the classroom: The overlooked essential (pp. v–ix). Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press.Google Scholar
Golonka, E. M., Bowles, A. R., Frank, V. M., Richardson, D. L., & Freynik, S. (2014). Technologies for foreign language learning: A review of technology types and their effectiveness. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 27(1), 70–105. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hahn, L. D. (2004). Primary stress and intelligibility: Research to motivate the teaching of suprasegmentals. TESOL Quarterly, 38(2), 201–223. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hardison, D. M. (2004). Generalization of computer-assisted prosody training: Quantitative and qualitative findings. Language Learning & Technology, 8(1), 34–52.Google Scholar
Henderson, A. R. (2006). Testing experimental data for univariate normality. Clinica Chimica Acta, 366(1–2), 112–129. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hincks, R., & Edlund, J. (2009). Promoting increased pitch variation in oral presentations with transient visual feedback. Language Learning & Technology, 13(3), 32–50.Google Scholar
Isaacs, T. (2008). Towards defining a valid assessment criterion of pronunciation proficiency in non-native English-speaking graduate students. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 64(4), 555–580. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Isaacs, T., & Thomson, R. I. (2013). Rater experience, rating scale length, and judgments of L2 pronunciation: Revisiting research conventions. Language Assessment Quarterly, 10(2), 135–159. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Isaacs, T., & Trofimovich, P. (2012). Deconstructing comprehensibility: Identifying the linguistic influences on listeners’ L2 comprehensibility ratings. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 34(3), 475–505. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jenkins, J. (2000). The phonology of English as an international language: New models, new norms, new goals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Levis, J. (2007). Computer technology in teaching and researching pronunciation. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 271, 184–202. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Levis, J. M. (2001). Teaching focus for conversational use. ELT Journal, 55(1), 47–54. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2005). Changing contexts and shifting paradigms in pronunciation teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 39(3), 369–377. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2018). Intelligibility, oral communication, and the teaching of pronunciation. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Levis, J. M., & Wichmann, A. (2015). English intonation – Form and meaning. In M. Reed & J. M. Levis (Eds.), The handbook of English pronunciation (pp. 139–155). Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lima, E. F. (2018). The Supra Tutor: Learners’ perspectives on online pronunciation instruction. In G. Kessler (Ed.), TESOL voices: Insider accounts of classroom life: Online and hybrid classroom education (pp. 59–67). Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press.Google Scholar
Lima, E. F., & Levis, J. M. (2017). A university-based online “pronunciation tutor”. In J. Murphy (Ed.), Teaching the pronunciation of English: Focus on whole courses (pp. 155–175). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Luo, B. (2016). Evaluating a computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) technique for efficient classroom instruction. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 29(3), 451–476. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ma, J. R., Henrichsen, L. E., Cox, T. L., & Tanner, M. W. (2018). Pronunciation’s role in English speaking-proficiency ratings. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 4(1), 73–102. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McCrocklin, S. M. (2016). Pronunciation learner autonomy: The potential of Automatic Speech Recognition. System, 571, 25–42. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Morley, J. (1991). The pronunciation component in teaching English to speakers of other languages. TESOL Quarterly, 25(3), 481–520. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Munro, M. J., & Derwing, T. M. (1995). Foreign accent, comprehensibility, and intelligibility in the speech of second language learners. Language Learning, 45(1), 73–97. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2001). Modeling perceptions of the accentedness and comprehensibility of L2 speech the role of speaking rate. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23(4), 451–468. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Murphy, J. (2017). Introduction and background to pronunciation teaching. In J. Murphy (Ed.), Teaching the pronunciation of English: Focus on whole courses. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Neri, A., Cucchiarini, C., & Strik, H. (2006). ASR-based corrective feedback on pronunciation: Does it really work? Proceedings of ICSLP2006, 1982–1985. Pittsburgh, USA.Google Scholar
(2008). The effectiveness of computer-based speech corrective feedback for improving segmental quality in L2 Dutch. ReCALL, 20(2), 225–243. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Neri, A., Cucchiarini, C., Strik, H., & Boves, L. (2002). The pedagogy-technology interface in computer assisted pronunciation training. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 15(5), 441–467. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pickering, L. (2001). The role of tone choice in improving ITA communication in the classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 35(2), 233–255. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2018). Discourse intonation. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Qian, M., Chukharev-Hudilainen, E., & Levis, J. (2018). A system for adaptive high-variability segmental perceptual training: Implementation, effectiveness, transfer. Language Learning & Technology, 22(1), 69–96.Google Scholar
Saito, Y., & Saito, K. (2017). Differential effects of instruction on the development of second language comprehensibility, word stress, rhythm, and intonation: The case of inexperienced Japanese EFL learners. Language Teaching Research, 21(5), 589–608. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Smith, J., Meyers, C. M., & Burkhalter, A. J. (1992). Communicate: Strategies for international teaching assistants. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Regents/Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Stevens, S. G. (1989). A dramatic approach to improving intelligibility of ITAs. English for Specific Purposes, 81, 181–194. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tanner, M. W., & Landon, M. M. (2009). The effects of computer-assisted pronunciation readings on ESL learners’ use of pausing, stress, intonation, and overall comprehensibility. Language Learning & Technology, 13(3), 51–65.Google Scholar
Thomson, R. I. (2011). Computer assisted pronunciation training: Targeting second language vowel perception improves pronunciation. Calico Journal, 28(3), 744–765. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wang, X., & Munro, M. J. (2004). Computer-based training for learning English vowel contrasts. System, 32(4), 539–552. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zielinski, B. W. (2008). The listener: No longer the silent partner in reduced intelligibility. System, 36(1), 69–84. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (9)

Cited by nine other publications

Chen, Mengtian
2024. Computer-aided feedback on the pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese tones: using Praat to promote multimedia foreign language learning. Computer Assisted Language Learning 37:3 ► pp. 363 ff. DOI logo
Kim, Keun & John Archibald
2024. The efficacy of lexical stress diacritics on the English comprehensibility and accentedness of Korean speakers. Pedagogical Linguistics 5:1 ► pp. 76 ff. DOI logo
Li, Linghong, Martin Valcke, Linda Badan & Christoph Anderl
2024. Exploring the impact of audio self‐modelling on Chinese as a foreign language students' tone pronunciation skill, self‐efficacy, and motivation. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 40:6 ► pp. 2528 ff. DOI logo
Mahmood, Rizgar Qasim & Hung Phu Bui
2024. EFL Learners’ Perceptions of Pronunciation Corrective Feedback: Insights from Synchronous High Variability Phonetic Training. In Innovations in Technologies for Language Teaching and Learning [Studies in Computational Intelligence, 1159], ► pp. 95 ff. DOI logo
Farrús, Mireia
2023. Automatic Speech Recognition in L2 Learning: A Review Based on PRISMA Methodology. Languages 8:4 ► pp. 242 ff. DOI logo
Jiang, Yan & Dorothy Chun
2023. Web-based intonation training helps improve ESL and EFL Chinese students' oral speech. Computer Assisted Language Learning 36:3 ► pp. 457 ff. DOI logo
Jiang, Yan & Dorothy M. Chun
2023. The pedagogy of training Chinese students’ intonation online. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 9:3 ► pp. 332 ff. DOI logo
Lima, Edna F.
2023. A closer look at the Supra Tutor’s prosody lessons and the pedagogical and technological rationale behind them. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 9:3 ► pp. 350 ff. DOI logo
Chun, Dorothy M. & Yan Jiang
2022. Using Technology to Explore L2 Pronunciation. In Second Language Pronunciation, ► pp. 129 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 22 november 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.