The aim of this paper is to examine whether an ICT self-learning system with learner’s self-videos pronouncing English could improve English fossilized phonemes of English alphabet for advanced and primary leveled Japanese university students. The ICT system was proven to help both students improve their fossilized pronunciation.
In Japan, the English alphabet is initially introduced in elementary schools. Teaching pronunciation using the alphabet can contribute to accurate pronunciation because 24 phonemes, about half of the total English phonemes, appear when the letters of the alphabet are pronounced (e.g., /eɪ/ for A, /b/+/iː/ for B). However, Japanese learners tend to replace some English sounds with similar Japanese ones (e.g., Z [zi:]→[ʥi:], A[eɪ]→[e]+[i]). Additionally, they might have less knowledge about English articulation. This can lead to fossilization of incorrect pronunciation. Thus, this paper examined whether an ICT self-learning system is effective for improving fossilized pronunciation. The system features the ability for learners to view videos of themselves.
Twenty intermediate-level Japanese university students were divided into two groups: an Experimental Group (EG) and a Control Group (CG). For pre-tests, both groups recorded videos of themselves pronouncing the alphabet, and answered questionnaires about themselves and their knowledge of English pronunciation. In training sessions, the EG learned the alphabet with an ICT self-learning system in which there was a video of a native speaker's face on the left side of the screen explaining how to pronounce the sounds. On the right side, there was a real-time video of the learner's face to view while they were mimicking the native speaker.
In contrast, the CG learned the same sounds without using the real-time videos of their face while practicing. For post-tests, the same recordings as the pre-tests were administered. Results showed that the EG made significant improvements. Particularly, consonants were changed from substituted Japanese sounds into proper English sounds such as from [ʥ] to [ʤ] for 'J' and from [b] to [v] for 'V.' This study concluded that this approach could help improve fossilized English pronunciation by Japanese students.
