Feedback Mechanisms in Pronunciation and Speech Coaching Apps

This paper investigates the feedback mechanisms employed in English pronunciation and speech coaching (PSC) apps. An initial qualitative analysis looked at the pronunciation affordances of 42 apps and the modalities of their feedback. This informed the structuring of the subsequent quantitative analysis (and development of our publicly available App Search Engine). Though the examined apps employ a range of feedback strategies, they predominantly offer non-actionable feedback (e.g., binary, scale-based, raw numeric) primarily directed at segmental targets. Gap analysis reveals that a number of promising feedback strategies remain underrepresented in the current landscape. We briefly discuss ways in which developers, educators, and researchers might contribute to bettering the current approach to providing feedback.