Media Review: EnglishCentral as a Tool to Improve Pronunciation.

Media Review: Gokgoz-Kurt, B. (2017). EnglishCentral as a Tool to Improve Pronunciation. TESOL Journal, 8: 894-898. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.351 published in This is the author’s pre-publication copy For the original copy, please visit https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/tesj.351 Please cite the review article as follows: Gokgoz-Kurt, B. (2017). EnglishCentral as a Tool to Improve Pronunciation. TESOL Journal, 8: 894-898. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.351 This is the author’s version. For the original copy, please visit https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/tesj.351 2 EnglishCentral as a Tool to Improve Pronunciation EnglishCentral (https://www.englishcentral.com), which is also available as an app for most Apple and Android devices, is a second language (L2) learning platform aimed at improving various L2 English skills including language use, vocabulary learning, listening, speaking, and pronunciation via a large selection of short videos. It claims to serve as a multimedia resource for low- as well as high-proficiency L2 learners of English with eight different first language (L1) options to use the platform. Users can also choose the topic, skill, or genre they would like to work on (e.g., academic, business, social, media). This graphically attractive, user-friendly, and easy-to-navigate website is an invaluable tool, especially for those L2 English learners who would like to improve their speaking and pronunciation skills and receive instant feedback. The pronunciation component of the website, which will be the main focus of this review, uses a statistically trained intelligibility model (STIM) as opposed to traditional speech recognition technology, which is particularly helpful for self-diagnosis and self-evaluation of pronunciation skills. When users first register online for the website, they are asked to choose their L2 English proficiency level. To help determine the right level, users may take a level test online or over the phone, or simply enter their TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS scores, or CEFR levels, after which they are recommended a corresponding level ranging from 1 (easy-beginner) to 7 (hard-expert). Learners watch the videos they select, listen and record their own voice, and have the opportunity to compare their performance with the model provided. They can adjust the speed of the movie clips, click any word to check its meaning, or hide target words on the script for practice. There are also movie clips specifically created to help learners practice the sounds that most learners have trouble perceiving and/or producing in L2 English. However, most of these features are not available to basic users with free membership, but rather included in Premium (1-year plan, USD53 a month) or Platinum membership (1-year plan, USD312 a month). There are also featured plans and discounted prices for schools and companies. As for the feedback provided, it is designed to be precise enough to point out the specific segmental challenges in two ways. At the lexical level, the website allows users to compare their pronunciation with a model by illustrating where exactly the segmental pronunciation fails to be “native-like.” In order to do this, the website uses international phonetic alphabet (IPA) symbols, and for those learners who are not familiar with them, a help link is provided. In addition, fluency feedback is provided, but this feature does not go beyond showing the inappropriate use of pauses. Overall, however, the feedback tool is helpful given the general efficiency of speech recognition technology to detect students’ segmental and suprasegmental errors. Apart from these features, Premium and Platinum membership offer expert help videos for specific sounds to be practiced, focused practice cliplists, and advanced personalized tracking, as well as live native speaker tutor support (limited/Premium and unlimited/Platinum 24/7 GoLive! sessions). The website also has accounts available for teacher users, which allow them to set goals and track their students’ progress. To support teachers using the platform, EnglishCentral has a blog and offers weekly webinars. This is the author’s version. For the original copy, please visit https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/tesj.351 3 EnglishCentral is a promising tool mainly because it promotes learner autonomy by letting learners take control of their own learning (Kaltenbock, 2001). It claims to be one of the computer/ € web-based tools which is able to combine pedagogical approaches with technological efficiency. In terms of pedagogical soundness (O’Brien, 2006), overall the website is successful. It offers a variety of activities for vocabulary development, listening, speaking, and pronunciation through content-based, personalized language immersion (EnglishCentral, 2017). However, although EnglishCentral claims to be useful for lowproficiency–level learners in its blurb, clearly a certain degree of familiarity with the English language is essential to fully benefit from the pronunciation component of the website. This is because the movie clips, including the vocabulary items to Materials and Media Review 895 be practiced, do not always seem to be well suited to the learners of beginner proficiency level. However, the website could still be helpful for false or high beginner proficiency level learners or true beginners with high motivation to work on their pronunciation. Learners who will benefit more from the website are lowintermediate to advanced proficiency level learners working to improve their pronunciation, as well as those geared more toward accent reduction. As for the quality of input (O’Brien, 2006), it successfully engages learners with the high quality content of the videos in which speakers show a variety of English accents. This would expose learners to different varieties of the target language supporting the English as a lingua franca (ELF) approach to pronunciation teaching (Chun, Hardison, & Pennington, 2008; Jenkins, 2006). One thing to consider for further improvement would be to have L1specific sections where users would be able to practice the sounds posing special difficulty for them due to phonological L1 transfer. This would especially be useful for less proficient learners who may not be as successful as those with stronger abilities to self-diagnose their weaknesses. In terms of assessment of performance (O’Brien, 2006), the tool can be considered quite powerful for an online platform with no special software requirement. Among the features contributing to the effectiveness of performance assessment are immediate segmentspecific feedback, the positive competitive learning environment the platform provides through the points learners collect, and the ranking of each individual among all users and/or users sharing the same L1. Although the evaluation and feedback are more segmental-practice oriented, as the level increases the role of suprasegmental features such as pause duration and intonation increases. However, the tool does not give explicit feedback on what exactly the users fail to perform and how to address this suprasegmental problem. Instead, it lowers the score for the performance even when the segmental production looks flawless. That way, users understand that their speech is less intelligible due to some reason other than the mismatch in segmental production. In this respect, the feedback in fact resembles real-life production, because trying to pronounce 896 TESOL Journal individual segments in a clearer way does not always lead to better intelligibility. One way to make the tool more useful in giving suprasegmental feedback would be to integrate visual speech synthesis and analysis tools into the system, in which users would be able to see the intonation patterns to better understand where and why they fail to perform well enough for reliable communication. This is the author’s version. For the original copy, please visit https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/tesj.351 4 Overall, with the diversity of features it offers to its users, this web-tool could be beneficial for L2 English learners aiming to advance their understanding of and exposure to spoken English. Language teachers are encouraged to promote its use inside and outside of the classroom, although the relatively high cost of the platform may discourage most individual users from using it unless they are provided user accounts by their schools. Depending on factors such as context, needs, level, and learner motivation, this tool may prove fruitful for learners. REFERENCES Chun, D. M., Hardison, D. M., & Pennington, M. C. (2008). Technologies for prosody in context: Past and future of L2 research and practice. In J. G. Hansen Edwards & M. Zampini (Eds.), Phonology and second language acquisition (pp. 323–346). Amsterdam, the Netherlands: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/ 10.1075/sibil.36.16chu EnglishCentral. (2017, June). What is the pedagogy behind EnglishCentral? Retrieved from https://www.englishcentral.com/help?forum=365248&article=20641697 Jenkins, J. (2006). Current perspectives on teaching world Englishes and English as a lingua franca. TESOL Quarterly, 40, 157–181. https://doi.org/10.2307/40264515 Kaltenbock, G. (2001). Learner autonomy: A guiding principle in designing a CD-ROM for intonation practice. ReCALL, 13(2), 179–190. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344001000428a Materials and Media Review O’Brien, M. (2006). Teaching pronunciation and intonation with computer technology. In L. Ducate & N. Arnold (Eds.), Calling on CALL: From theory and research to new directions in foreign language teaching (pp. 127–148). San Marcos, TX: Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium. Reviewed by Burcu Gokgoz-Kurt ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7169-2890 Dumlupinar University View publication stats