The Effects of Computer-assisted Pronunciation Readings on ESL Learners’ Use of Pausing, Stress, Intonation, and Overall Comprehensibility

McNerney and Mendelsohn, 1992), more materials are needed to provide learners opportunities for self-directed practice.A 13-week experimental study was performed with 75 ESL learners divided into control and treatment groups.The treatment group was exposed to 11 weeks of self-directed computer-assisted practice using Cued Pronunciation Readings (CPRs).In the quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design, speech perception and production samples were collected at Time 1 (week one of the study) and Time 2 (week 13).Researchers analyzed the treatment's effect on the learners' perception and production of key suprasegmental features (pausing, word stress, and sentence-final intonation), and the learners' level of perceived comprehensibility.Results from the statistical tests revealed that the treatment had a significant effect on learners' perception of pausing and word stress and controlled production of stress, even with limited time spent practicing CPRs in a self-directed environment.Regarding stress, Field (2005) found that when native English speech was manipulated to include incorrect lexical stress, the ability of both NS and NNS listeners to locate words in connected speech was Tanner and Landon Effects of Computer-Assisted Pronunciation