Using web technologies for L2 speech evaluation by native speakers: Some methodological issues and implications

Abstract

This paper reports on the benefits and limitations of a web-based experiment designed for the purposes of a broader study investigating the English speech of Macedonian learners of English. The subjects of the study were first and second year students of English at Skopje University whose speech was recorded and then evaluated by trained phoneticians, native speakers of English, using a specifically designed web application as a data gathering instrument. The results demonstrate the manifold benefits of the approach as well as the flexibility of its adaptation in applied linguistic research and L2 learning/teaching.