Effects of computer-assisted language learning on secondary school students’ achievement, motivation and gender in English pronunciation in Gucha Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

Learning correct pronunciation of words is essential for effective communication in any language. However, this has been a big challenge to most learners of English as a Second Language. Perhaps it is the teaching methods used by instructors or the phonological difference between English and other L1 languages that is responsible for this problem. This study investigated the effects of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) on secondary school learners’ achievement, motivation and gender to learn English pronunciation. The study adopted a Quasi Experimental Research Design involving Solomon Four Non-Equivalent Group Design. In this design, two Experimental groups (E1, E2) and two control groups (C1, C2) were used. The target population were secondary school students and the accessible population were form two secondary school students in Gucha Sub-county, Kenya who were 1500. Gucha was chosen because of availability of learners whose L1 lacked some consonant sounds which are present in English, thus becoming the source of pronunciation difficulties. The sample comprised of 160 students, who were selected using purposive sampling technique. The English Pronunciation Achievement Test (EPAT) and the English Students’ Motivation Questionnaire (ESMQ) were used to obtain data. These instruments were validated using expert judgment and pilot-testing. Reliability coefficient of the ESMQ was estimated using Cronbach’s coefficient alpha and the EPAT was estimated using the Kuder Richard 21 methods. EPAT and ESMQ yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.76 and 0.73 respectively as they were deemed to be reliable because they were above the accepted level of 0.7. The hypotheses of the study were tested using inferential statistics (T-test, ANOVA and ANACOVA) with the help of SPSS programme and were accepted at (alpa) = 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study indicated that learners exposed to CALL outperformed those exposed to traditional methods in EPAT. CALL also engendered higher performance for girls in EPAT showing that CALL is better than the traditional methods which sometimes favour the boys. However, the difference was not significant at 0.05 level of significance. Similarly, gender did not negatively affect learners’ motivation to learn English Pronunciation. However, learners who received computer based instructions were motivated more to learn English pronunciation than those exposed to traditional (teacher-based) methods. The study concluded that CALL led to improved performance in both achievement and motivation and did not bring about gender difference. The findings of the study would be of interest to policy makers, teachers of English, teacher educators and Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) in providing information on ways in which English language pronunciation would be improved among our community in Kenya.