Assessing the Pedagogical Potential of Google Translate's Speech Capabilities: Focus on French Pronunciation.

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Title: Assessing the Pedagogical Potential of Google Translate's Speech Capabilities: Focus on French Pronunciation.
Authors: Papin, Kevin1 (AUTHOR) papin.kevin@uquam.ca, Cardoso, Walcir2 (AUTHOR) walcir.cardoso@concordia.ca
Source: CALICO Journal. 2025, Vol. 42 Issue 1, p1-24. 24p.
Subject Terms: *Speech synthesis, *Computer assisted language instruction, Machine translating, Speech, Statistical significance, Automatic speech recognition
Abstract: As the capabilities of web-based machine translation develop, online translators such as Google Translate (GT) have attracted computer-assisted language learning (CALL) researchers' attention for their potential to aid second/foreign language (L2) instruction. Using its built-in text-to-speech (TTS) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) features, GT can be used for L2 pronunciation practice. The aim of this study (part of a larger project investigating L2 learners' use of speech technologies in homework settings) is to examine the impact of self-regulated pronunciation practice using GT's TTS and ASR features on the development of French liaison (the re-syllabification of latent consonants when they appear in consonant-plus-vowel contexts across words, e.g., /z/ in tes amis [te.za.mi] "your friends"). Participants were 20 adult beginner learners of French studying at an English-speaking university in Canada. Their phonological development (i.e., awareness, perception, and production) was assessed before (pretest) and after (immediate and delayed posttests) the completion of a semi-autonomous, GT-based pronunciation practice. The results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA, the statistical method used) indicate that the proposed treatment led to a statistically significant improvement in liaison production between the pretest and the delayed posttest, while phonological awareness and perception remained unaffected, probably due to a ceiling effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of CALICO Journal is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Assessing the Pedagogical Potential of Google Translate's Speech Capabilities: Focus on French Pronunciation.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Papin%2C+Kevin%22">Papin, Kevin</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> papin.kevin@uquam.ca</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cardoso%2C+Walcir%22">Cardoso, Walcir</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> walcir.cardoso@concordia.ca</i>
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  Data: As the capabilities of web-based machine translation develop, online translators such as Google Translate (GT) have attracted computer-assisted language learning (CALL) researchers' attention for their potential to aid second/foreign language (L2) instruction. Using its built-in text-to-speech (TTS) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) features, GT can be used for L2 pronunciation practice. The aim of this study (part of a larger project investigating L2 learners' use of speech technologies in homework settings) is to examine the impact of self-regulated pronunciation practice using GT's TTS and ASR features on the development of French liaison (the re-syllabification of latent consonants when they appear in consonant-plus-vowel contexts across words, e.g., /z/ in tes amis [te.za.mi] "your friends"). Participants were 20 adult beginner learners of French studying at an English-speaking university in Canada. Their phonological development (i.e., awareness, perception, and production) was assessed before (pretest) and after (immediate and delayed posttests) the completion of a semi-autonomous, GT-based pronunciation practice. The results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA, the statistical method used) indicate that the proposed treatment led to a statistically significant improvement in liaison production between the pretest and the delayed posttest, while phonological awareness and perception remained unaffected, probably due to a ceiling effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of CALICO Journal is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.3138/calico-2025-0117
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Computer assisted language instruction
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      – SubjectFull: Machine translating
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              Text: 2025
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