Past Event

Pronunciation teaching and technology: Text readers, speech recognition, and digital games

Dr. Walcir Cardoso
(Concordia University)

This presentation will introduce you to three technologies to enhance your students’ experience learning second/foreign language (L2) pronunciation: Text readers (or Text-to-speech synthesizers), automatic speech recognition, and digital gaming (Spaceteam ESL, a free mobile “shouting game” developed at Concordia University by Waddington & Cardoso). Using these three technologies and based on current research on L2 acquisition, this presentation will emphasize the following recommendations for pronunciation teaching: (1) provide students with varied and personalized opportunities to use the target language (Chapelle, 2003; Chapelle & Jamieson, 2008; focus on listening and speaking); (2) emphasize spelling-to-sound rules to empower students with predictive skills (Dickerson, 2004, 2013); (3) encourage practice and repetition (Chapelle & Majieson, 2008; Roediger & Pyc, 2012); (4) provide immediate feedback (Liakin, Cardoso, & Liakina, 2015); and (5) develop oral fluency (Nation & Newton, 2008). The presentation will focus on learner-centred approaches to teaching and learning (e.g., Blumberg, 2008; Brandl, 2002), with discussions of ideas on how to motivate your students to extend learning beyond the walls of the language classroom.

About the Presenter

Dr. Walcir Cardoso (PhD in Linguistics, McGill University) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Education and President of the Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes. He conducts SSHRC and FQRSC funded research in second language acquisition of phonology within an approach that combines insights from theoretical and applied linguistics. The practical goal of his research is to promote an effective and socially realistic pedagogy for the teaching of pronunciation and other language skills in traditional and computer-assisted environments. He is the author of over 80 peer-reviewed publications and has presented more than 280 papers (54 as an invited speaker) at local and international events. The quality of his research was recognized in 2011 when he was the recipient of the Paul Pimsleur Award for Research in Foreign Language Education, bestowed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Dr. Cardoso teaches a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses including Phonology and its acquisition, Computers in Language Learning, and Methodology. Recently, he has received three teaching awards: (1) The Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (Concordia University, 2007), (2) the Professor of Merit Award (Société pour la promotion de l’enseignement de l’anglais au Québec – SPEAQ, 2008), and (3) the Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching (Concordia University, 2009).