Purpose: Listener-targeted perceptual training paradigms, which leverage the mechanism of perceptual learning, show strong promise for improving intelligibility in dysarthria, offsetting the communicative burden from the speaker onto the listener. Theoretical models of perceptual learning underscore the importance of acoustic regularity (i.e.,…

This study aims to suggest a checklist for teachers and researchers to analyze English as a second or foreign language textbooks from a sociolinguistic perspective. In the literature there is not a checklist or framework by which English textbooks can be evaluated considering the sociolinguistics issues raised in this study. After obtaining expert…

Recent research in English as a second language (ESL) contexts has shown pronunciation teaching to be undervalued and often overlooked both in published textbooks and teachers' classroom practice, despite growing research evidence for the efficacy of appropriately structured pronunciation teaching. The current study extends research on this topic…

English language instructing that simply underscored on punctuation and jargon adapting as opposed to elocution learning had basically held up the second semester understudies in Islamic schools. Understudies imagined that elocution is something hard to learn in light of the fact that they are infrequently shown articulation in the homeroom.…

English pronunciation training for real-world communication tasks is crucial in EFL learning because it is essential to learners' listening comprehension and speaking competence. As the e-generation emerges, computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) has begun to receive more recognition in academic institutions for pronunciation learning.…

Even with recent emerging technologies, textbooks still maintain their significance in language education (Richards, 2015) in the form of digitized resources (i.e., e-teaching materials) (Li, 2021). However, one concern voiced over textbooks is their failure to include pronunciation (Nikolic, 2018). Pronunciation is significant for successful…

We are developing a Computer-Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) system for learners of Icelandic as a second and foreign language (L2). Based on pre-designed tasks in pronunciation exercises, this system will provide corrective feedback on learners' speech. One of the main features we are implementing is a new method for automatic…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of gender, teaching styles, student cultural awareness, professor's accent, and ethnicity on students' perceptions of foreign professors at a Historically Black College and University. Multiple regression was used for the analysis of this study. The predictor variables were analyzed through a…

This study investigates acoustically one of long-term debated phonetic characteristics, the so-called Arabic voiced pharyngeal fricative /[voiced pharyngeal fricative]/. Most recent studies have found the Arabic pharyngeal to be approximant, while others have categorized it as a stop in careful speech, and still others have suggested it is a…

This study examines L2 speakers' accent attitudes in relation to their linguistic profile and current practices, recruiting 107 multilingual postgraduate students of 34 different nationalities enrolled in leading research universities in Japan. The participants completed a survey regarding their perceptions of different English varieties in…

Rhythm metrics can detect second language development of target-like speech rhythm but interpretation of the results from metrics in learners' speech is problematic because the mapping of metrics to underpinning phonological features is indirect. We investigate speech rhythm in first language (L1) Arabic / second language (L2) English, which…

While phonetic training in laboratory settings has been shown to be helpful for second language (L2) sounds learning in prior studies , it is still open to debate whether a perception- or a production-based approach can better help adults learn L2 sounds in classroom settings. This study aimed to fill this knowledge gap. The participants were…

This paper examines links between perfect rhymes and text readability and decoding using a measure of English rhymes called the Perfect Rhymes Dictionary (PeRDict). PeRDict is based on the Carnegie Mellon University Pronouncing Dictionary (the CMUdict) and provides rhyme counts for ~48,000 words in English and for the most frequent 1,000, 2,500,…

An often overlooked but fundamental issue for any comprehensive model of visual-word recognition is the representation of diacritical vowels: Do diacritical and nondiacritical vowels share their abstract letter representations? Recent research suggests that the answer is "yes" in languages where diacritics indicate suprasegmental…

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of explicit formal instruction (EFI) on speaking and pronunciation skills among a Kurdish university's first-year EFL students. The researcher was teaching a communications unit, where the focus was on speaking skills and pronunciation: speech rate (words per minute), fluency (number of pauses and…