The use of multimedia language laboratory in teaching English phonetics at the university

Abstract

The importance of correct English pronunciation is growing due to its central role in communication and the speaker’s identity. Non-native English speakers lack a natural linguistic environment and tend to carry articulation rules and intonation from their mother tongue. Modern conditions of the fast-paced world require a revision of the forms and methods of the educational process. Teachers should engage students in independent and individual work at classes, increase the use of practical and research tasks. Information technologies in the teaching process at different levels of education (both school and university) change the roles of all participants in the educational process. Thus, teachers are given more opportunities to improve their work, and students are taught a foreign language at a higher level. The article aims to state the advantages of using multimedia technologies as an educational tool in teaching English practical phonetics and to find out university students’ attitude to it. The object of the research is the benefits of working in a language laboratory, equipped with Rinel-Lingo (a multimedia language programme to train phonetics of a foreign language of university students). The article analyzes the results of the survey conducted in Murmansk arctic state university.