Development of an Utterance Training e-Learning System for L2 Learners of Japanese

Due to the limited number of classroom activities on pronunciation, it is difficult for L2 learners to acquire the proper pronunciation of Japanese words. Moreover, because of the practical restrictions of classroom learning, the only way to improve learning efficiency is to automate utterance learning. However, the conventional self-learning method of pronunciation is inferior to the method in which instructions are provided by a teacher because the former does not include the aspect of feedback. In order to eliminate these shortcomings of the conventional teaching methodology, the Japanese e-Learning utterance training system was developed. Since this system adopts a self-learning style, it might improve the time and lack of teaching material restrictions of the classroom method. Further, this system incorporates the benefits of the classroom system by providing relevant feedback to the learner. This system was used on a trial basis at the International Student Center of Kumamoto University (ISCKU). In this paper, we discuss the problems that were identified during this trial test and accordingly propose relevant solutions.