Xiaona ZHOU
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Presentation Enhancing Chinese EFL Learners’ Connected Speech Through AI-integrated Training more
Sat, Jun 13, 11:20-11:45 Asia/Tokyo
Recent years have seen increasing integration of AI tools in pronunciation training with proven effectiveness. However, their application to connected speech processes (CSPs) remains underexplored. English CSPs, which involve various types of sound adjustments, are widely used by native speakers in daily communication but pose substantial challenges for Chinese EFL learners in both perception and production. This study aims to develop and evaluate an AI-enhanced CSP training package comprising three components: explicit instruction, perception practice, and production practice. The package integrated materials generated by Murf (a text-to-speech tool) and feedback from Doubao (a generative AI chatbot). Its effectiveness was evaluated by comparing 18 intermediate-level Chinese university students with Northern Mandarin as L1 on sentence dictation and sentence reading-aloud tasks before and after eight online training sessions. Results indicated that participants’ perception and production of CSPs improved significantly (p < .001). However, the training effects exhibited an asymmetrical pattern across the six target CSP types (i.e., consonant-vowel linking, elision, vowel-vowel linking, assimilation, vowel reduction, and multiple) and between perception and production tasks. These findings support incorporating CSP instruction into regular English classrooms and highlight the potential benefits of strategic AI tool implementation in CSP-focused pronunciation training.
Presentation Fostering Spoken Corpus and AI Literacy for Preservice English Teacher Training more
Sun, Jun 14, 15:45-16:10 Asia/Tokyo
This qualitative study aims to initiate a 5-month online yarning circle (relational indigenous methodology fostering mutual help through reflection and discussion [Shay, 2021]) in teacher training on enhancing English pre-service teachers’ (EPTs’) corpus and AI literacy in English oral teaching skills. Three doctoral students who had received applied linguistics training for over 4 years served as mentors and paired up with 3 undergraduate students who were EPTs. The three mentors facilitated weekly discussion with their mentees on key indicators that influence English oral performance and communication strategies that could be used in English oral communication and co-developed corpus and AI-integrated English speaking lesson plans. Qualitative results identified the effectiveness of this online yarning circle. Both mentors and mentees highlighted the benefits gained from their partnerships in English oral teaching. The EPTs reported growth in their linguistic knowledge, corpus and AI literacy, and the ability to integrate linguistic knowledge with educational technology to design English speaking lessons. Mentors learned how to develop teacherfriendly resources from EPTs. For instance, mentors provided guidelines on key indicators that influence English speaking performance. The EPTs offered suggestions to make the indicators more suitable for secondary school contexts based on their teaching practice in local schools.