Technology Anxiety and Class Size as Boundary of Instructional Effects in L2 Pronunciation: A Moderated Mediation Model
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1611.27Keywords:
class size, pronunciation instruction, learner anxiety, moderated mediation, technology anxietyAbstract
Although pronunciation instruction has been shown to improve L2 learners’ pronunciation performance, the indirect and moderating effects of learner differences, class size, and technology anxiety on this relationship remain underexplored. Previous studies have primarily focused on direct instructional effects, while anxiety has been an underexplored mediator, and the moderating roles of technology anxiety and class size have received limited attention. Therefore, this study investigates whether learner anxiety mediates the relationship between pronunciation instruction and learner performance, and technology anxiety and class size moderate the relationships among instruction, anxiety, and performance. A moderated mediation model was tested by employing structural equation modeling with data from 349 English learners at a public university. The results show that learner anxiety does not mediate the relationship between pronunciation instruction and pronunciation performance. Technology anxiety does not significantly moderate any relationship in the model. Class size significantly moderates only the relationship between learner anxiety and pronunciation performance. This study contributes to the literature by showing how psychological and contextual factors shape pronunciation performance. It also offers pedagogical implications for optimizing environments for pronunciation learning.
References
Aoumeur, H. (2017). The impact of class size on teaching and learning English as a foreign language: The case of the Department of English at Abdel Hamid Ibn Badis University. Arab World Research Journal, 8(2), 349–361. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3005591
Aldrich, J. O. (2018). Using IBM SPSS Statistics: An interactive hands-on approach. Sage Publications.
Bailey, K. (1983). Competitiveness and anxiety in adult second language learning: Looking at and through the diary studies. In Seliger, H & M. Long (Eds.), Classroom-oriented Research in Second Language Acquisition. Newbury House.
Baran-Łucarz, M. (2014). The link between pronunciation anxiety and willingness to communicate in the foreign-language classroom: The Polish EFL context. Canadian Modern Language Review, 70(4), 445-473. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/561660
Bent, T., Bradlow, A. R., & Smith, B. (2007). Phonemic errors in different word positions and their effects on intelligibility of non-native speech: All’s well that begins well. In O. S. Bohn & M. J. Munro (Eds.), Language Experience in Second Language Speech Learning. In Honor of James Emil Flege (pp. 331-347). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Bueno-Alastuey, M. C., & Gómez-Lacabex, E. (2022). Technology and pronunciation. In The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Technology (pp. 161–173). Routledge.
Blatchford, P., & Russell, A. (2020). Rethinking Class Size: The complex story of impact on teaching and learning. UCL Press. https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781787358799
Bryfonski, L., & Ma, X. (2020). Effects of implicit versus explicit corrective feedback on Mandarin tone acquisition in a SCMC learning environment. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 42(1), 61-88. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263119000317
Chakim, M. H. R., Ahmad, D., Rusilowati, U., Oganda, F. P., Sanjaya, Y. P. A., & Sunarya, P. A. (2023, December). Enhancing educational innovation: A comparative analysis of blockchain adoption strategies in smart learning environments. In 2023 Eighth International Conference on Informatics and Computing (ICIC) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D., & Goodwin, J. (2010). Teaching pronunciation: A course book and reference guide (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Collins, B., & Mees, I. (2013). Practical Phonetics and Phonology: A Resource Book for Students (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Lawrence Erlbaum.
Derwing, T. M., Munro, M. J., Foote, J. A., Waugh, E., & Fleming, J. (2014). Opening the window on comprehensible pronunciation after 19 years: a workplace training study. Language Learning, 64(3), 526–548. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12053
Ellis, R. (2015). Understanding second language acquisition (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R., & Sheen, Y. (2006). Re-examining the role of recasts in second language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 28(4), 575–600. https://doi.org/10.1017/S027226310606027X
Edwards, J. G. H. (2017). Pronunciation and individual differences. In The Routledge handbook of contemporary English pronunciation (pp. 385–398). Routledge.
Flege, J. E. (2009). Give input a chance! In T. Piske & M. Young-Scholten (Eds.), Input matters in SLA (pp. 175–190). Multilingual Matters.
Finn, J. D., Pannozzo, G. M., & Achilles, C. M. (2003). The “Why is” of Class Size: Student Behavior in Small Classes. Review of Educational Research, 73(3), 321–368. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543073003321
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312
Gardner, R. C., & MacIntyre, P. D. (1993). A student’s contributions to second language learning. Part II: Affective variables. Language Teaching, 26(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444800000045
Gómez-Lacabex, E., & Gallardo-del-Puerto, F. (2023). Pronunciation and intelligibility in English-medium instruction (EMI): Lecturers' views and skills. English Pronunciation Teaching: Theory, Practice and Research Findings, 9(3), 160-175.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2014). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). SA.
Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). Rethinking some of the rethinking of partial least squares. European journal of marketing, 53(4), 566-584. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-10-2018-0665
Hair Jr, J., Hair Jr, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Gudergan, S. P. (2023). Advanced issues in partial least squares structural equation modeling. SAGE Publications.
Hodgetts, J. (2020). Pronunciation Instruction in English for Academic Purposes. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56116-1
Howatt, A. P. R. (1984). A History of English Language Teaching. Oxford University Press.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(3), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1986.tb05256.x
Horwitz, E. (2001). Language anxiety and achievement. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 21(5), 112–126. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190501000071
Jarosz, A. (2023). Key aspects of pronunciation learning and teaching. English pronunciation teaching: Theory, practice and research findings, 4(3), 8–18. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781800410503-006
Kennedy, S., Blanchet, J., & Trofimovich, P. (2014). Learner pronunciation, awareness, and instruction in French as a second language. Foreign Language Annals, 47(3), 79–96. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12066
Langerock, N., Oberauer, K., Throm, E., & Vergauwe, E. (2025). The cognitive load effect in working memory: Refreshing the empirical landscape, removing outdated explanations. Journal of Memory and Language, 140(2), 104558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2024.104558
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and principles in language teaching (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Lorch, M. P. (2016). A late 19th-century British perspective on modern foreign language learning, teaching, and reform: The legacy of Prendergast’s “Mastery System.” Historiographia Linguistica, 43(1–2), 175–208. https://doi.org/10.1075/hl.43.1-2.06per
MacIntyre, P. D. (2017). An overview of language anxiety research and trends in its development. In C. Gkonou, M. Daubney, & J.-M. Dewaele (Eds.), New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications (pp. 11–30). Multilingual matters.
Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2019). Second language learning theories. Routledge.
Moneva, J. C., Acibar, L. B., & Monding, N. C. (2020). Class size and students’ anxiety in oral recitation. Journal of Social Science Studies, 7(2), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.5296/jsss.v7i2.16518
Nagle, C. (2018). Motivation, comprehensibility, and accentedness in L2 Spanish: Investigating motivation as a time‐varying predictor of pronunciation development. The Modern Language Journal, 102(1), 199-217. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12461
Puri, B., Mushtaque, I., Fang, S., Chenhe, G., & Younas, A. (2025). The impact of mobile-based language learning on speaking and learning anxiety, engagement, and achievement in Chinese language learning: The mediating role of cognitive load. Acta Psychologica, 259(2), 105400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105400
Pawlak, M. (2020). Individual differences and good language teachers. In C. Griffiths & Z. Tajeddin (Eds.), Lessons From Good Language Teachers (pp. 121–132). Cambridge University Press.
Pawlak, M. (2023). The mediating role of individual differences in pronunciation instruction: Extending the research agenda. English pronunciation teaching: Theory, practice and research findings, 2(4), 52–65. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781800410503-009
Raja, F. (2017). Anxiety levels among students in public speaking: causes and remedies. Journal of Education and Educational Development, 4(1), 94-105. https://doi.org/10.22555/joeed.v4i1.1001
Rogers, C. L., & Dalby, J. (2005). Forced choice analysis of segmental production by Chinese-accented English speakers. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 48(2), 306–322. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2005/021)
Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Rogerson-Revell, P. (2021). Computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT): Current issues and future directions. Relc Journal, 52(1), 189-205. https://doi.org/10.1177/003368822097740
Simard, D., Molokopeeva, T., & Zhang, Y. Q. (2020). The contribution of working memory to L2 French pronunciation among adult language learners. Canadian Modern Language Review, 76(1), 50-69. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.2018-0223
Saville-Troike, M. (2006). Introducing second language acquisition. Cambridge University Press.
Saito, Y., & Saito, K. (2017). Differential effects of instruction on the development of second language comprehensibility, word stress, rhythm, and intonation: the case of inexperienced Japanese EFL learners. Language Teaching Research, 21(5), 589–608. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10065885/1/LTR2017.pdf
Saito, K., Suzukida, Y., & Sun, H. (2019). Aptitude, experience, and second language pronunciation proficiency development in classroom settings: A longitudinal study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41(1), 201-225. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263117000432
Sardegna, V. G., & Jarosz, A. (2023). English pronunciation teaching: Theory, practice and research findings. Channel View Publications.
Szyszka, M. (2011). Foreign language anxiety and self-perceived English pronunciation competence. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 1(2), 283-300. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2011.1.2.7
Sheen, Y. (2008). Recasts, language anxiety, modified output and L2 learning. Language Learning, 58(1), 835–874. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2008.00480.x
Strik, H., Neri, A., & Cucchiarini, C. (2008, February). Speech technology for language tutoring. In Proceedings of Lang Tech. Rome. Retrieved January 18, 2026, from http://voice.fub.it/conferences/2008_langtech/en/poster/14_STRIK.pdf
Tanner, M. W., & Landon, M. M. (2009). The effects of computer-assisted pronunciation readings on ESL learners’ use of pausing, stress, intonation, and overall comprehensibility. Language Learning and Technology, 13(3), 51–56. https://doi.org/10.64152/10125/44191
Waniek-Klimczak, E. (2003). The relationship between pronunciation accuracy and fluency in English as a second language. In E. Waniek-Klimczak & W. Sobkowiak (Eds.), Zeszyt Naukowy Instytutu Neofilologii (No. 2, pp. 33–45). Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa w Koninie.
Zhang, R., & Yuan, Z. (2020). Examining the effects of explicit pronunciation instruction on the development of L2 pronunciation. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 42(2), 905–918. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263120000121
