The efficacy of the Praat Program for self-improvement in English pronunciation of Chinese EFL university students

The current study investigates the efficacy of the Praat Program (hereafter Praat) in improving Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) in university students’ English pronunciation. Pronunciation is one of the essential components of speaking skills as it helps enunciate the intended meaning. However, it is also one of the most challenging aspects due to a lack of practice or opportunity to use English regularly or receive corrective feedback or objective evaluation from an independent source. 18 Chinese EFL university students participated in the study, and training sessions were held on Praat. The study lasted six weeks. The participants took two English pronunciation pretests from PTE "Read Aloud” tests before participating in the training sessions. They received ongoing technical support during their Praat use. At the end of Week 6 of their participation, they were given two English pronunciation posttests. Statistical comparisons between the pretest and posttest results suggested significant pronunciation improvement (p < 0.05) with a moderate effect size. Six participants were then recruited for individual interviews based on their pronunciation performance to investigate their perceptions of Praat and factors that explained their processes and efficacy in using Praat. Qualitative results suggest that the students perceived Praat as helpful in improving their pronunciation (e.g., providing listening input, opportunities for output, and feedback on their pitch contour, which was not ordinarily available to them in the English learning context). Factors such as Praat's stress-free environment were identified as influential in helping them use Praat effectively.