Being Observed by a Tutor Enhances Foreign Speech Production Learning in Video-Mediated Training

Social presence, particularly awareness of being observed by a tutor, may enhance learners’ engagement and attention during foreign language practice, but its effects on learning and associated neural activity remain poorly understood. We investigated whether learners’ (n = 32) awareness of being observed by a tutor influences foreign speech learning in a short (11-min) video-mediated listen-and-repeat training for Mandarin words. In the online group, learners knew the tutor could see them, whereas in the offline group, they knew the tutor could neither see nor hear them. Tone production was assessed before, during, and after training, and tone identification before and after training. Electroencephalography and autonomic activity were recorded during training. Tone production accuracy improved from pre- to post-training in the online group only, whereas tone identification improved similarly in both groups. Posterior alpha power increased during training in the offline group but did not change significantly in the online group. Together, these findings suggest that awareness of being observed by a tutor may support foreign language speech production learning in video-mediated settings. The accompanying differences in posterior alpha activity further indicate that the social context of learning is associated with differences in neural activity during practice.