The Impact of Audio-Readings on the Pronunciation of Past Tense Verbs in EFL Students

Abstract

Abstract: The present study investigates the effectiveness of Audio-readings to improve the pronunciation of EFL learners focusing on regular past tense verbs. In order to develop this study, the population was taken from a public university of Ecuador. The participants were 60 students among boys and girls whose average age was 19. The university facilitated online sessions for the current experimentation. The researcher selected two groups: experimental and the control one. The experimental group used an Audio-reading while the students from the control group just read the text without audio. Students from both groups took a pre-test and a post-test which consisted in recording their voices while reading a text. These recordings were compared and it was found as a result a significant difference in the improvement of pronunciation in favor of the experimental group, concluding that Audio-readings are beneficial for the improvement of pronunciation. The EFL teachers prior knowledge about the process of applying Audio-Readings for pedagogical purposes was researched through a teachers interview. Teachers and students perceptions about the implementation of Audio-readings received a special attention in this research through surveys for teachers and students.