Literature Review 1

Chiu, T., Liou, H., & Yeh, Y. (2007). A study of web-based oral activities enhanced by automatics speech recognition for EFL college learning. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 20(3), 209-233.

In this study, Chiu, Liou and Yeh(2007) investigate the effectiveness of CandleTalk, a simulated conversation environment, among EFL learners in Taiwan.

A group of English major students and a group of non-English major students received six-week training through CandleTalk to develop oral competence. Data collection encompasses two types of instruments: One is Discourse Completion Test (DTC) which was used to assess students’ oral proficiency in the pretest and posttest, and one was a questionnaire evaluating the system design.

The results show that both groups of learners improved their oral production and the non-English major groups had better achievement than that of the English major group. Most learners had positive perception towards CandleTalk.

A few limitations still exist in the study. First, the assessment test used in this project is not good enough to present learners’ ability of using the speech acts. Second, the implementation period should be extended to demonstrate learners’ achievements. Last, future researcher may explore more potential of system designs in different aspects of teaching.