The effects of Communicative Framework Instruction using Computer-Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) on English pronunciation ability of Chinese undergraduate students

Abstract

The study aimed 1) to examine the effects of the communicative framework instruction using CAPT on the English pronunciation ability of Chinese undergraduate students; 2) to investigate the opinions of students towards the communicative framework instruction using CAPT. The participants consisted of 17 Chinese undergraduate students at Siam University during the first semester of the 2018 academic year. The instruments used to collect data were a pronunciation pre-test and a post-test, a student opinion questionnaire, and semi-structured interview questions. The analyzed statistics computed from the data included the mean scores, standard deviation, and Wilcoxon signed ranks test; the qualitative data obtained from the interview were analyzed using content analysis.

The findings revealed that 1) there was a significant difference in students’ mean scores at a significance level of 0.05 on the English pronunciation ability before and after the students’ participation in the communicative framework instruction using CAPT; 2) students provided positive feedback on learning how to pronounce and improve pronunciation skills, self-confidence, engaging learning environments, more opportunities to learn inside and outside the classroom, cooperative learning, and learner autonomy. However, students did have problems regarding the App recording quality, as well as the materials and time allocation.