Title: ENHANCING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION AND LEARNER ATTITUDES VIA AI-DRIVEN CAPT: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON VIETNAMESE SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Authors: Ngo Thu Huyen and Nguyen Phuong Linh

Abstract: This longitudinal mixed-methods study investigates the pedagogical efficacy and socio-affective outcomes of integrating an Artificial Intelligence-driven Computer-Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) platform English Central within the secondary school English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context of Vietnam. The research explicitly addresses the systemic ‘assessment paradox’ where high-stakes national written examinations ignore formal oral components, resulting in fossilized phonological errors and intense language anxiety among learners. Utilizing a sample population of 30 eleventh-grade EFL students over an intensive eight-week intervention, quantitative speech analytics were captured via pre- and post-testing protocols using a validated 4-point analytical phonological rubric. This quantitative data was triangulated with multi-dimensional 5-point Likert scale attitudinal matrices. The experimental results demonstrate highly significant advancements across all evaluated phonological domains. Targeted first-language (L1) transfer barriers, specifically the substitution of interdental fricatives (/θ/, /ð/) and post-alveolar sibilants (/ʃ/), alongside the systemic omission of word-final consonant codas and complex clusters showed marked remediation (p < 0.01). Psychologically, the automated, non-judgmental Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) feedback loop successfully lowered the participants’ high baseline affective filter, protecting student self-esteem and fostering proactive autonomous practice habits outside school hours. The study provides actionable curricular frameworks for embedding adaptive language technologies into large-scale public school education to bridge the gap between error recognition and self-correction.

Keywords: Computer-Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT), Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), phonetic accuracy, student attitudes, language anxiety, first-language (L1) interference.

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