The Impact of Quizlet on Teaching Pronunciation to 9th Grade EFL Students
ABSTRACT
Developing the ability to pronounce a word clearly is an essential component of oral communication. Hence, the present study aims to examine how the use of Quizlet, a digital flashcard tool, can contribute to enhancing the pronunciation abilities of 9th -grade Turkish EFL students at a state high school in Gaziantep. The study included a total of twenty-six high school EFL students as participants. The 52 target words for the study were selected from the English coursebook, skills book, and workbook specifically designed by the Ministry of Education for 9th-grade students. During the 8-week duration of the study, the Quizlet group was provided with various tasks and assignments using the different study modes available on the Quizlet platform. The participants' pronunciation of the target words was digitally recorded. The evaluation of the students' recordings was conducted by a native speaker and a native-like speaker of English. A rubric was specifically designed for the purpose of assessment, focusing on three main aspects: vowel quality, consonant quality, and word stress. To ensure the consistency and reliability of the ratings, the interrater reliability of the evaluators was calculated. By analyzing the mean scores, the overall scores of each individual word as well as the scores for segmental features of pronunciation, including vowel and consonant quality, and suprasegmental feature of pronunciation, which is word stress were examined. The findings of the study reveal that the learners in the Quizlet group performed well in the aspect of consonant quality. On the other hand, they faced challenges in the area of word stress. While the word 'trip' received the highest rating of 7.4, the word 'suggest' had the lowest rating of 4.1 in terms of mean scores for the correct pronunciation. The outcomes also indicate that teachers can gain valuable insights into learners' common errors and identify their areas of difficulty based on the mispronounced sounds.