Designing vibrotactile devices for teaching English intonation

Abstract

Speaking is one of the most important skills in second language learning (L2). Speaking is more difficult than reading or listening because of the difficulties in acquiring the intonation patterns of the second language. To address these difficulties, two different vibrotactile devices were designed and implemented to teach English intonation because the learning of intonation is a part of muscle and motor training. The devices were designed to present English intonation using vibrotactile feedback in order to increase L2 learners' awareness of English intonation. To evaluate the effectiveness of the devices on intonation learning, a between-subjects experiment was conducted. Twelve university students volunteered in the experiment, and were randomly and equally assigned to each of the two conditions. Multiple-choice questions were given to the participants during the experiment, and the pretest and post-test surveys were administrated to assess the usability of the vibrotactile devices. The participants were recorded during the experiment for later analysis. Results showed positive effects of the proposed vibrotactile devices on teaching English intonation in that they were evaluated as helpful in intonation awareness, feeling rhythm of English speeches, and listening. © 2012 ACM.