Siri as an interactive pronunciation coach: its impact on EFL learners

Abstract

Language is a powerful tool that facilitates communication, knowledge acquisition, and negotiation of meaning, but it is a complex skill for English as foreign language (EFL) learners who often encounter various challenges and complexities. Among the critical language skills, pronunciation holds a significant place. As much as it is challenging, many EFL teachers find it necessary to teach it explicitly, so exploring innovative approaches to address this challenge is essential. This preliminary study investigated how Siri, a voice assistant tool, can be integrated with in-class instruction to improve the pronunciation of EFL learners. The study demonstrated that Siri could lead to better learning gains for students than using only in-class instructions and feedback when combined with teacher instructions. Forty EFL learners participated; twenty-five who did not have iPhones compatible with Siri were treated as the control group, whereas fifteen with iPhone devices compatible with Siri were treated as the experimental group. Each group was assigned an experienced English teacher to help give instructions and feedback. The primary data collection method involved students’ reading the assigned tasks, recording, and sending them to their respective teachers and peers for feedback and peer review, respectively. Cohen’s kappa coefficient and independent t-test were used to analyze the data. The results showed that Siri improved the students’ pronunciation skills more than in-class instruction.

Keywords:

• Voice assistant tool
• Siri
• in-class instruction
• EFL
• peer-review

Reviewing Editor:

• Shuyan Wang, Instrcution, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

Subjects:

• Technology
• Applied Linguistics
• English Language

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Acknowledgment

The researcher would like to thank the Deanship of Scientific Research at Majmaah University for supporting this research under project No. R-2023-701.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Saleh Mosleh Alharthi

Saleh Mosleh Alharthi is an Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics at Majmaah University, specializes in language learning, technology, and sociolinguistics. He holds an MA from The University of Colorado Boulder and a PhD from The University of Memphis. He teaches various undergrad and graduate-level linguistics courses.