Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology
Chinese EFL undergraduates’ use of printed and digital pronunciation learning resources and their expectations in the digital era
Hua Li 1 2 * , Azlina Abdul Aziz 1, Nur Syafiqah Yaccob 1
More Detail
1 Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
2 School of Foreign Languages, Zhejiang Yuexiu University, Shaoxing, China
* Corresponding Author
Open Access Full Text (PDF)
ARTICLE INFO

Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology, Online First, pp. -
https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202649961

Article Type: Research Article

Published Online: 13 Nov 2026

Views: 2 | Downloads: 1

ABSTRACT
Pronunciation-learning resources in university English-language education now include print and digital formats, yet learners’ reported use and expectations for integrating them remain underdescribed in Chinese tertiary contexts. This descriptive, cross-sectional survey examined how first-year English majors at one university in Zhejiang Province, China, reported using a printed pronunciation textbook and digital resources, what benefits and challenges they perceived, and what features they wanted in future materials. The analysis used 501 usable questionnaires received from 512 invited students. Closed-ended responses were summarized with frequencies and percentages. Respondents reported using the textbook across course phases and using online courses and learning applications among the digital options listed. They also identified multimodal content, structured practice, interaction, and feedback as desired features, while reporting challenges associated with portability, fragmented online information, and distraction. Because the data are self-reported and cross-sectional, the findings describe this cohort’s reported practices and design expectations; they do not establish instructional effectiveness, changes over time, or gains in pronunciation. The results may inform resource design and future evaluation in comparable settings.
KEYWORDS
Chinese university students digital resources English pronunciation printed textbooks pronunciation learning resources
In-text citation: (Li et al., 2026)
Reference: Li, H., Aziz, A. A., & Yaccob, N. S. (2026). Chinese EFL undergraduates’ use of printed and digital pronunciation learning resources and their expectations in the digital era. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202649961
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Li H, Aziz AA, Yaccob NS. Chinese EFL undergraduates’ use of printed and digital pronunciation learning resources and their expectations in the digital era. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology. 2026. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202649961
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Li H, Aziz AA, Yaccob NS. Chinese EFL undergraduates’ use of printed and digital pronunciation learning resources and their expectations in the digital era. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology. 2026. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202649961
In-text citation: (Li et al., 2026)
Reference: Li, Hua, Azlina Abdul Aziz, and Nur Syafiqah Yaccob. "Chinese EFL undergraduates’ use of printed and digital pronunciation learning resources and their expectations in the digital era". Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology (2026). https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202649961
In-text citation: (Li et al., 2026)
Reference: Li, H., Aziz, A. A., and Yaccob, N. S. (2026). Chinese EFL undergraduates’ use of printed and digital pronunciation learning resources and their expectations in the digital era. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202649961
In-text citation: (Li et al., 2026)
Reference: Li, Hua et al. "Chinese EFL undergraduates’ use of printed and digital pronunciation learning resources and their expectations in the digital era". Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology, 2026. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202649961
REFERENCES
  • Bai, B., & Yuan, R. (2019). EFL teachers’ beliefs and practices about pronunciation teaching. ELT Journal, 73(2), 134-143. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccy040
  • Baker, A. (2014). Exploring teachers’ knowledge of second language pronunciation techniques: Teacher cognitions, observed classroom practices, and student perceptions. Tesol Quarterly, 48(1), 136-163. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.99
  • Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J. (2015). Pronunciation fundamentals: Evidence-based perspectives for L2 teaching and research. John Benjamins Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.42
  • Farhat, P. A., & Dzakiria, H. (2017). Pronunciation barriers and computer assisted language learning (CALL) coping the demands of 21st century in second language learning classroom in Pakistan. International Journal of Research in English Education, 2(2), 53-62. https://doi.org/10.18869/acadpub.ijree.2.2.53
  • Gilakjani, A. P., & Ahmadi, M. R. (2011). Why is pronunciation so difficult to learn? English Language Teaching, 4(3), 74-83. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v4n3p74
  • Henrichsen, L., Blanco, K. D., Carreño, S., Carter, S., Decker, L., Fry, L., James, J., Krauel, M., Li, Y. R., Malyshkevich, V., Messenger, R., Moore, A., Mullen, A.-L., Peterson, J., Sell, J., Stephens, C., Van Wagoner, K., Young, A., & Zhao, K. (2018). Online resources for learners and teachers of English language pronunciation. TESL Reporter, 51(1), 23–89. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326357430
  • Huang, J., & Yuan, F. (2013). An analysis and evaluation of two pronunciation textbooks. Polyglossia, 25, 1-18. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:60269175
  • Jahara, S. F., & Abdelrady, A. H. (2021). Pronunciation problems encountered by EFL learners: An empirical study. Arab World English Journal, 12(4), 194-212. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol12no4.14
  • Kandel, R. K. (2026). Postgraduate students’ use of smartphones for English language learning: Navigating the balance between autonomy and distraction. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202637849
  • Levis, J. M., & Sonsaat, S. (2016). Pronunciation materials. In M. Azarnoosh, M. Zeraatpishe, A. Faravani, & H. R. Kargozari (Eds.), Issues in materials development (pp. 109–119). Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-432-9_10
  • Ma, Q., Mei, F., & Qian, B. (2026). Exploring EFL students’ pronunciation learning supported by corpus-based language pedagogy. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 39(4), 915–941. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2024.2432965
  • McGrath, I. (2016). Materials evaluation and design for language teaching (2nd ed.). Edinburgh University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780748694822
  • Okumura, S. (2026). Video creation in technology-mediated task-based language teaching: A study in Japanese elementary classrooms. International Journal of Didactical Studies, 7(2), e36929. https://doi.org/10.33902/ijods.202636929
  • Pawlak, M. (2025). Explicit and implicit (automatized) knowledge of second language pronunciation: Implications for theory, research, and classroom practice. Foreign Language Annals, 58(2), 346–366. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12803
  • Pei, Z., & Qin, K. (2015). A survey of English phonetics instruction in China. International Journal of English Linguistics, 5(5), 75-82. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v5n5p75
  • Pennington, M. C. (2021). Teaching pronunciation: The state of the art 2021. RELC Journal, 52(1), 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882211002283
  • Purwanto, A. (2019). Teaching pronunciation using varieties of pronunciation teaching materials and practices. Scope: Journal of English Language Teaching, 3(2), 81-92. https://doi.org/10.30998/scope.v3i2.4129
  • Rahnavard, F., & Mashhadi Heidar, D. (2017). The impact of computer-assisted language learning (CALL)/web-based instruction on improving EFL learners’ pronunciation ability. International Journal of Research in English Education, 2(1), 49–57. https://doi.org/10.18869/acadpub.ijree.2.1.49
  • Reed, M., & Levis, J. M. (Eds.). (2015). The handbook of English pronunciation. Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118346952
  • Reed, M., & Michaud, C. (2011). An integrated approach to pronunciation: Listening comprehension and intelligibility in theory and practice. In J. Levis & K. LeVelle (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2nd pronunciation in second language learning and teaching conference (pp. 95–104). Iowa State University. https://www.iastatedigitalpress.com/psllt/article/15163/galley/13761/view/
  • Saito, K., & Plonsky, L. (2019). Effects of second language pronunciation teaching revisited: A proposed measurement framework and meta-analysis. Language Learning, 69(3), 652–708. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12345
  • Tomlinson, B. (2012). Materials development for language learning and teaching. Language Teaching, 45(2), 143-179. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444811000528
  • Tomlinson, B. (2023). Developing materials for language teaching (3rd ed.). Bloomsbury.
  • Yan, H., & Lin, J. (2019). Integrating web-based collaborative learning into the pronunciation curriculum. In Proceedings of the 2019 4th international conference on distance education and learning (pp. 83–87). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3338147.3338155
LICENSE
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.