Estonol, a computer-assisted pronunciation training tool for spanish l1 speakers to improve the pronunciation and perception of Estonian vowels

Abstract

Over the past few years the number of online language teaching materials for non-native speakers of Estonian has increased. However, they focus mainly on vocabulary and pay little attention to pronunciation. In this study we introduce a computerassisted pronunciation training tool, Estonol, developed to help native speakers of Spanish to train their perception and production of Estonian vowels. The tool's training program involves seven vowel contrasts, /i-y/, /u-y/, /a-o/, /a-ae/, /e-ae/, /o-o/, and /o-γ/, which have proven to be difficult for native speakers of Spanish. The training activities include theoretical videos and four training modes (exposure, discrimination, pronunciation, and mixed) in every lesson. The tool is integrated into a pre/post-test design experiment with native speakers of Spanish and Estonian to assess the language learners' perception and production improvement. It is expected that the tool will have a positive effect on the results, as has been shown in previous studies using similar methodology.