The use of multimodal tools for pronunciation training in second language learning of preadolescents

This Chapter aims to discuss the possibilities that arise for enhanced pronunciation training in Second Language (L2) teaching with the use of multimodal tools which incorporate the novel advances of speech technologies in fields like Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) or speech assessment. The improvement in the pronunciation skills of young learners of a new language has been traditionally neglected in the interest of the teaching of vocabulary, grammar or syntax; assuming that pronunciation would be improved by the own student along time. However, to acquire an intelligible pronunciation has a capital role in the communication abilities of the students when they have to face native speakers of the target language in a real situation. Furthermore, the recent years have witnessed the apparition of a large number of Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) applications, which aim for the semi-automation of the process of pronunciation learning. These tools make an extensive use of speech technologies to detect mistakes in the pronunciation of the student and provide a valuable feedback, while using an effective multimodal interaction environment to make this feedback reach successfully the learner. As a real experience of these novel possibilities, the outcome of the work carried out during a set of sessions in the Vienna International School (VIS) with "Vocaliza" is presented. "Vocaliza" is a CAPT tool developed under the "Comunica" framework for providing a better teaching experience to speech therapists and L2 teachers of Spanish all through the world. It uses audiovisual prompting for presenting a set of words and sentences to the student, capturing the answer with the pronunciation of the student and presenting feedback at the phonetic level on the mispronunciations made by the user. The results of this study open the discussion for the possibilities of these novel techniques and provide sufficient elements and arguments for teachers and educators in their decision of incorporating the new technological elements into their classes.