YouGlish: A web-sourced corpus for bolstering L2 pronunciation in language education

Abstract

Manifold methods of applying technology for the teaching and learning of pronunciation have been advocated by scholars and researchers. With the advancement of technology, novel applications and software continue to be added to the list. In this regard, this paper deals with one of the recent websites primarily dedicated to pronunciation instruction through authentic and natural speech samples from various contexts. YouGlish is a web-sourced tool to access quick and unbiased answers to the colloquial use of foreign languages by real speakers across various contexts (Miller, 2019). Grounded on a number of theoretical rationales, YouGlish is a website that endorses data-driven learning, which fosters learner autonomy and discovery learning that hopefully contributes to the linguistic performances of its users. With this in mind, this review intended to explicate YouGlish along with its characteristics, specify the theoretical principles underlying it, outline its applications in language education settings and list some considerations for its use.