English vowel production for Japanese adults: Comparison of two training methods

Paper presented to the 6th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex, Wichita State University, April 23, 2010.Research completed at the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Health ProfessionsAmerican English vowels are challenging for non-native speakers of English, because the vowels’ articulation is generally difficult to observe and describe. Although a computer has been applied for language learning, human instructors are still preferred because of pedagogical flexibility and personal interaction. This preliminary study compared two short-term methods: computer feedback only (Group I) and computer feedback with instructor’s assistance (Group II), on American English vowel production for Japanese adults. Recordings of Japanese vowel productions of pre- and post-trainings in two groups were evaluated by three native speakers of English. Overall the results demonstrated a slight improvement of the vowel productions for Group II, however, no change was found for Group I