MultiROMs and online applications used for teaching phonetics in a secondary school: A critical review

Abstract

The aim of the article is to evaluate the quality of the materials used to teach pronunciation in a Polish secondary school. Although the analysis covers all kinds of aids available for teachers, including a coursebook accompanied by a CD, the authors focus mainly on MultiROMs and online resources connected with a given book. The findings allow the authors to conclude which coursebook sets seem to be most effective in shaping students’ pronunciation and which exercises are most helpful, taking into consideration the level of students’ English. Additionally, the authors’ idea was to check whether these books take into consideration the aspects of pronunciation which prove to be especially difficult for Polish students. The analysis of online resources for teaching and learning pronunciation follows the research conducted by Krajka (English language teaching in the internet-assisted environment. Issues in the use of the web as a teaching medium. Maria Curie-Skłodowska University Press, Lublin, 2007), investigating both segmental and suprasegmental aspects of pronunciation. The aim of the enquiry was to find out in what way the Internet resources can compensate for any shortcomings of traditional coursebooks. There are several reasons why the authors—both secondary school teachers/practitioners—turned to free Internet resources. One of the most important though is the fact that nowadays secondary school students and teachers can seldom afford to buy any additional materials accompanying the foreign language coursebook; thus the search for the resources both available and reliable seems to be essential.