Authors:
A. Introduction of the Article
The title for the research article chosen for this assignment is “Podcasting: An Effective Tool for Honing Language Students’ Pronunciation?”. This article was published in Language Learning and Technology, in October 2009, Vol. 13, Num. 3, pp. 66-86. Language Learning and Technology is a fully refereed international journal which is available online. The article is written by Lara Ducate and Lara Lomicka from the University of South Carolina. Lara Ducate is an associate professor of German and foreign language teaching methodology, while Lara Lomicka is an associate professor of French and linguistics. Their research interests focus on computer-assisted language learning, including blogs, podcasts, wikis, intercultural learning, and teacher education. The background of the authors is provided in the article for reference.
B. Review of the Article
This study sought to find an interesting way to teach pronunciation to students who were learning German and French as a foreign language, which is through the use of podcasts. Some of the challenges faced by teachers in teaching pronunciation are they find no enough class time to teach pronunciation, lack of knowledge on how to teach pronunciation and having the perception of bored students when learning pronunciation. To date, it is believed that the least teachers can do to help students with their pronunciation is through instruction and exposure. Instruction alone is inadequate to enable learners to speak accurately – it must be accompanied by amount of exposure to the target language. Therefore, this research is aimed to investigate the use of podcasts in improving pronunciation skills in language learning. Based on previous research done by others about podcasting, the researchers wanted to continue investigating the effectiveness of podcast to see how it works and thus, encouraging educators to integrate technology in language teaching as the idea of using podcasts is still new to the field of education. There were four research questions investigated in the study, which are: 1) Did students’ comprehensibility and accentedness improve from their pre-test to post-test?; 2) Was there a difference in comprehensibility and accentedness between the extemporaneous podcasts and the scripted podcasts?; 3) Did students’ comprehensibility and accentedness improve with each task?; and 4) Did students have positive attitudes towards the pronunciation tasks and feel their pronunciation improved?.
This study employs a mixed methodology design. The researchers observed the improvement of comprehensibility and accentedness in terms of rating the podcasts using a holistic rubric. The respondents had to produce 8 podcasts during the whole semester, which were 5 scripted pronunciation podcasts and 3 extemporaneous podcasts. For the scripted pronunciation podcasts, the respondents were required to listen to podcasts which served as a model and then, they had to make their own recordings and to be posted on individual blog for the course. As for the extemporaneous podcasts, the respondents had to produce their own podcasts based on the scripted pronunciation podcasts earlier to apply in real context. The texts listened and podcasts that the respondents have to produce was based on one theme – study abroad. In addition to that, the researchers also conducted a survey to identify the change of attitudes towards pronunciation. Before and after the period of study, the respondents were required to take pre-test Pronunciation Attitude Inventory (PAI) and post-test PAI. This is important to identify the attitudes of the respondents before and after the use of podcasts in their learning.
The subject for this study was 12 students learning German and 10 students learning French. Their first language is American English and they were enrolled in intermediate level language classes (fourth semester). The age of the students was between 18 and 22 years old. Four students enrolling in French had been to French speaking countries while eight students enrolling in German had also been in German speaking countries as well, but all of them were there for not more than a summer period. The participants were selected based on convenience sampling, as all students in the French and German intermediate language courses were selected to be involved in this study. The amount of time needed to complete this study was 16 weeks. To analyze the data, four judges were employed; two judges for each language. The two judges consist of one native speaker of the target language, i.e. French/German and one non-native speaker of the target language. The podcasts were rated based on two areas; which are comprehensibility and accentedness, using a 5-point Likert-scale rubric. A Wilcoxon Signed Ranks method of analysis was used to compare the results of both the PAI pre- and post-test results as well as the average scores obtained from comprehensibility and accentedness ratings.
The findings of this research did show some important views about the effectiveness of podcasts towards pronunciation. In terms of comprehensibility ratings for the German language, there were no eloquent differences between all the scripted and extemporaneous podcasts. The highest percentage of improvement was shown when comparing extemporaneous podcast 1 and 2, where 44% of the students were rated to have improved. As for the French language, there was one significant difference shown to be improved when 90% of the students showed improvement in the second scripted podcasts than the first one. In terms of accentedness ratings, the German students improved as much as 50% from pre-test to post-test, while for French students, there was only 10% improvement shown from pre- to post-test. For the PAI results, it was reported that from the beginning to the end of the semester, the respondents’ attitudes towards pronunciation remained the same, with no significant differences were found. Most of them reported that they enjoyed using podcasts to improve their pronunciation and they found it creative to make students create extemporaneous podcasts.
This research interests me because all this while, I have been using podcasts just for entertainment purpose, and it made me curious to know how this podcast can be utilized to aid pronunciation skills. A study done by Fraser (2002) (cited in Ramesh, Rajasegaran and Mello, 2006) reported that ESL teachers tend to have false perceptions on teaching pronunciation. Some of them are inadequate class time and lack of knowledge and interest in it (Fraser, 2002) (cited in Ramesh et al., 2006). As a future educator, I am interested on how to make learning pronunciation interesting to students because I also find it difficult to teach pronunciation. On top of that, I am a big proponent to the idea of integrating technology in language classroom; so I want to know more of how else technology can bring benefits to the field of education. Overall, this research is well-conducted as pertinent details about the on-going process were considered by the researchers. An example is in terms of the judges. To make sure that their ratings would not be disputable, the judges were required to attend a training session where they rated several samples of the podcasts together with the researchers. This is to ensure the reliability of their ratings towards all the podcasts and they have a scoring rubric that they have to adhere to. In addition, as stated above, the researchers used a mixed methodology to collect qualitative and quantitative data. It is clearly stated in the study the sequence of the data analysis. From the podcast recordings, the researchers obtained qualitative data where they need to rate the degree of comprehensibility and accentedness. After the rating scores had been calculated and averaged, the data has became quantitative as in to see the improvement made throughout the study, as well as the change of attitude towards pronunciation. Although the process of collecting data was seen as quite tedious, it is very useful “when one needs to develop and test a particular type of instrument” (Fraenkel and Wallen, 2010, p. 560). Furthermore, I like the way the researchers exploited and utilized the nature of podcasts in the tasks given. This can be seen through the tasks of creating extemporaneous podcasts. To be able to fully utilize podcasts, there are three phases to go through; which are content-creation, publishing and subscription (Tan and Mong, n.d). The respondents were able to have feedback on their podcasts from a native speaker and they knew which area they need to improve on. This will slowly makes the respondents to be autonomous learners in their learning process. By publishing it on the blog, they were aware that their podcasts can be viewed by anyone and thus creating motivation for them to publish their podcasts to a real audience.
Despite all the positive points explained earlier, I would like to suggest some improvements that can be made to further ensure the reliability and validity of the study. The first one is in terms of the sampling method used by the researchers, which is convenience sampling. This type of sampling is reported to be “not very credible and is likely to produce information-poor cases” (Patton, 1990) (cited in Merriam, 1998, p. 63). The researcher might not consider other aspects of the subjects such as their level of proficiency, age, motivation to learn and etc. The subjects might not be ready to be involved in the study and this will affect the findings of the study. This may be one of the reasons why there were a few respondents in German course did not complete all of the tasks given. As stated above, the study only tests on one group of students without having another group as a control group. This is the second improvement suggested to improve the study. Having another group as a control group will reduce the possibility of other factors which affect the difference in the tests (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2010). Looking at the number of respondents they have in the study, it is impossible for them to divide the groups into the group who receives the treatment and the control group. To be able to do this, they require more respondents to be involved in the study. In this way, they can compare the results between the group who uses podcast and the control group who does not use podcasts in learning pronunciation.
Other than that, I also agree with the limitations that the researchers had pointed out in the research; which were the level of proficiency of the students and a short period of time to conduct the study. The students were at intermediate level of learning the language, which means that they were quite good at the target language and could already speak the language comprehensibly to an interlocutor. This might be one of the reasons why there was no obvious difference shown in the comprehensibility and accentedness in improving pronunciation. Instead, they should have done the research on beginner students of the target language, which might highlights any significant difference or improvement in terms of pronunciation. In terms of time frame, the findings of this study is parallel with a study conducted by Weinberg and Knoerr (2003) in 2000 where they also found no significant difference on the students’ reaction towards learning French pronunciation through multimedia. They believed that the short time factor was one of contributing reasons to the findings. Therefore, it is suggested that the period of time should be lengthen for the treatment to affect the respondents.
The fourth aspect which I believe need to be improved is in terms of the administration of the PAI pre- and post-test. As noted in the article, the attitude tests were completed online by the respondents. The reliability of the data collected could be questioned especially for the short answer questions that require respondents to express their attitude towards the use of podcasts and their improvement. Just like there are differences in expressing ideas verbally and in writing, it is no doubt that there are significant differences between online data collection and face-to-face interview as well. I would like to suggest that if the researchers are unable to conduct face-to-face interviews with some of the respondents, the least they can do is to personally be there when they distribute the survey. Responding to surveys online is not very much encouraged because of the limitations of online communications. At least when the surveys were distributed to the respondents, they can ask the researchers about unclear or ambiguous questions which need explanations. This is what Merriam (1998) discusses about when collecting data. The loss of “immediate reactions, strong emotional responses, and unguarded expressions” (Merriam, 1998, p. 129) are some of the disadvantages of conducting online surveys. There is also a tendency for the respondents to yield response bias in responding to the items in the surveys. Response bias happens when the respondents tend to answer the survey according to the response “they think the researcher wants to hear” and they already know the expected answers (Shuttleworth, 2009).
The fifth aspect which needs improvement is the presentation of data and findings used. In my opinion, as a novice researcher, I found the way the researchers present their data analysis is not very effective. This is because when I read the article for the first time, I had to keep referring to the table provided to further illustrate the details given. I would suggest that the presentation of data for comprehensibility and accentedness could be improved by presenting it in a graph form such as charts or histograms. It will make it easier and understandable for me to see the improvement of comprehensibility and accentedness of the respondents, instead of looking at the numbers alone. This is supported by an article; Presenting Numerical Data (2010) where it stresses the use of visual data to present complex data into a simplified form and “highlight patterns and trends in the data”. In spite of the presentation of data, I did not find reading this research article as difficult and complex as some other articles because the language used by the researchers is simple and direct to the point.
The implications from this research can be divided into its effect as in general and reflecting it into Malaysian contexts. Although the study focuses on foreign language, it can also be applied to second language learning settings. In the field of education, the use of podcasts in teaching pronunciation would surely bring a change to the traditional method of teaching the language; which are imitation drills and reading aloud. Teachers tend to focus more on other skills such as writing, reading, and listening. I do not deny that students are given chances to speak in English classes, but teachers need to note that before they can speak accurately, they have to know how to pronounce the words. Of course in terms of teacher training and budget in providing the appropriate software, iPods or MP3s, the government needs to spend some money on it to make it happen. But for the sake of the children who want to learn, it is a satisfying and meaningful spending to think of. But to listen to podcasts, students do not necessarily have to have iPods or MP3; they can just download and listen to it on their computer. Moreover, nowadays teenagers usually have MP3s and iPods to listen to songs. Why don’t we make use of that so that students can practice their pronunciation whenever and wherever they are. In terms of teaching and learning of ESL in Malaysia, using podcasts is one of the best new ways to teach and expose students to the target language. It would be a rare opportunity for them to be immersed in the language in a natural setting. Through podcasting, students can record and listen to the native speakers over and over again. Besides that, they can also record their own utterances and listen to them. In this way, they can notice any mistakes in their utterances and correct it. This means that they can work on their pronunciation at their own pace. It also will be an advantage for students who experience anxiety to speak the target language in the classroom (Tavales & Skevoulis, 2006). In Malaysian context, learning English is mostly interfered by the first language. The students tend to follow how the word is pronounced in their first language and just use translation method to construct sentences in English, and some of them even use the intonation and stress patterns used in their first language when they speak in English. I am not saying that we have to achieve native-like fluency, but at least we should acquire English as it would be comprehensible for people to understand what we are saying. In order to implement this method in Malaysia, it would require few more years for us to be able to grasp the importance of using technology in facilitating teaching and learning process because even nowadays, not many educators incorporate technology in their teaching. But I am sure that we are striving for it to happen and we can be successful with the help of all stakeholders – government, schools, teachers, parents, and students. It is hoped that by using technologies, especially podcasts, can attract and motivate students to learn the language with an exciting and advanced approach, as in line with the development of technology nowadays to make language teaching and learning as rewarding experience as possible.
References
Fraenkel, J. R. and Wallen, N. E. (2010). How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill International Edition.
Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Presenting Numerical Data. (2010, June 10). [Online article]. Retrieved on February 28, 2011, from the World Wide Web: http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ssds/sd/ld/resources/numeracy/numerical-data
Ramesh, N., Rajasegaran, K., and Mello, G. D. (2006). Rethinking the Teaching of Pronunciation in the ESL Classroom. The English Teacher, 35, 27-40.
Shuttleworth, M. (2009). Research Bias. Retrieved February 28, 2011 from Experiment Resources: http://www.experiment-resources.com/research-bias.html
Tan, Y. H., & Mong, K. T. (n.d.). Audioblogging and podcasting in education. Retrieved February 26, 2011 from http://edublog.net/wp
Tavales, S. and Skevoulis, S. (2006). Podcasts: Changing the face of e-learning. Retrieved February 26, 2011 from http://ww1.ucmss.com/books/LFS/CSREA2006/SER4351.pdf
Weinberg, A., & Knoerr, H. (2003). Learning French pronunciation: Audiocassettes or multimedia? CALICO Journal, 20(2), 315-336.
