Abstract:

Teaching pronunciation is challenging. Traditional face-to-face methods are time-consuming, labour-intensive and stressful for students. Blended learning may offer a solution provided the technology can both engage students and deliver improved performance. This article describes and evaluates a gamified online pronunciation course tailored to correct the characteristic phonological errors of English students at a Russian university. The author developed three user-friendly modules designed for flexible, interactive and self-paced learning in order to supplement face-to-face teaching. Students who took the online course showed greater improvement in pronunciation. Feedback obtained from students via a questionnaire suggested that the online course had contributed significantly to their improved pronunciation. Student feedback highlighted which aspects of the course they appreciated most. Treating learning as a game helped motivate them to complete the tasks. The study suggests that gamification can be a valuable strategy in planning online pronunciation modules and offers practical lessons in effective design.

Keywords:

Blended learning, gamification, pronunciation, online course, phonological errors.