YouGlish as a pronunciation resource: Voices from turkish EFL learners

Abstract

This paper explores the perceptions of English language learners about YouGlish (https://youglish.com/) as language support at the resource level. Data were collected through a focus group interview (FGI) with nine elementary EFL students in Turkey following a twelve-week website utilization. Findings indicated that authentic input, content diversity, and extracurricular learning opportunities were cited as strengths of the website, while the lack of progress checks and assessments and a competitive learning environment were viewed as weaknesses. Incremental pronunciation improvement at the segmental level was also reported by the participants. In addition, intelligibility, career opportunities, and emulation were cited as drivers of their desire for pronunciation improvement. Important implications for second language pronunciation learning and teaching were drawn.