May 2025 – Volume 29, Number 1
https://doi.org/10.55593/ej.29113a4
Van Tuyet Thi Phan
Can Tho University, Vietnam
<ptttuyetvan
ctu.edu.vn>
Tan Quoc Nguyen
Viet My High School, Vietnam
<quoctannguyen150894gmail.com>
Khang Duy Nguyen
Can Tho University, Vietnam
<ndkhangctu.edu.vn>
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of video dubbing on EFL learners’ pronunciation as well as explored their attitudes toward the technique at a private school in the Mekong Delta. A quasi-experimental design that followed a pretest-posttest group gathered both qualitative and quantitative data to address these issues. The participants are young EFL learners with A2-level English proficiency. The quantitative data was collected and analyzed through pre- and post-tests to measure the effects of video dubbing on young EFL learners’ pronunciation before and after the treatment. Meanwhile, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data on participants’ attitudes toward the impact of video dubbing. The findings showed significant improvement in participants’ consonants, vowels, stress, intonation, and overall pronunciation. Besides, the learners expressed positive attitudes toward the technique, pointed out difficulties, and gave relevant suggestions. The implications and limitations of the study are also discussed.
Keywords: Video dubbing, pronunciation, effects of dubbing, attitudes
In an increasingly globalized world, English is considered an international or global language for communication and is utilized in many fields, including military, politics, business, education, and diplomacy (Heng, 2017; Igawa, 2008; Qi, 2016). Furthermore, English has become a lingua franca, serving as a communication tool among different countries and cultures. For non-native speakers, mastering English as a Foreign Language (EFL) can significantly benefit academic, professional, and personal success by improving communication and problem–solving skills, enhancing career opportunities, and promoting learners’ intercultural communication competence. One essential part of this is pronunciation, which directly influences communication effectiveness and comprehensibility. According to Gilakjani (2016a), pronunciation is one of the most challenging skills to master, and learners should invest much time improving their pronunciation. Good pronunciation helps learners understand each other more easily in communication; otherwise, poor pronunciation can cause misunderstandings even if learners are good at grammar and vocabulary. However, achieving good pronunciation in learning English is challenging for young EFL learners since there are differences in phonetic features between first language (L1) and second language (L2), especially since each language has its own prosodic features (Bolinger, 1978; Hirst & Di Cristo, 1998).
Moreover, many EFL learners do not have many opportunities to practice pronunciation in or outside of the classroom, and it is difficult for them to access the target language in an English-speaking environment (Senel, 2006). Similarly, English classrooms in Vietnam are diverse in geographical contexts where learning a foreign language may not be the priority. EFL learners frequently face a variety of challenges to improving their pronunciation in a classroom setting, including a lack of exposure to authentic English input as well as opportunities for purposeful practice in a comfortable environment (Dizon, 2020; Rahimi & Fathi, 2022; Tai & Chen, 2023). Consequently, they often lack confidence in pronunciation when speaking English. Furthermore, pronunciation affects listening and speaking skills in learners of English, particularly those of young learners in a crucial language acquisition phase. In this sense, good pronunciation is essential since it facilitates learning, while poor pronunciation makes teaching languages much more difficult (Gilakjani, 2016b). Moreover, Gilakjani (2016a) suggested that good pronunciation can help learners be more confident in speaking, and their listening comprehension skills are also improved. Therefore, despite its difficulty, mastering pronunciation is crucial for EFL learners.
Creating motivation and engagement for young EFL learners, especially when learning pronunciation, is also crucial. According to Sasha (2013), learners can learn pronunciation well if they have enough time to practice it with full attention and interest and are motivated when exposed to the target language. Young learners can now access new technology that helps them get acquainted with English easily via many websites such as YouTube and TikTok. According to Puspitarini and Hanif (2019), media can be utilized to share information and activate students’ thoughts, feelings, and attention while learning. One motivating way to interact with media is dubbing – replacing a video’s original audio with learners’ voices. Due to the development of new technologies, teachers can easily apply video dubbing techniques or use audiovisual materials to teach foreign languages, which has been found to promote initiative and creativity and can help with vocabulary acquisition, speaking fluency, and pronunciation (Chiu, 2011). This technique improves participants’ enjoyment and enables them to concentrate on imitating the prosodic and phonetic characteristics of native speakers in real-world situations. It also encourages students to practice ICT competencies (Al Mamun, 2014). However, since this is a relatively new technique that requires more study, especially in the realm of younger learners, this research aims to examine the effects of video dubbing on young EFL learners’ pronunciation and their attitudes toward the technique.
Literature review
What is pronunciation?
Pronunciation means conveying meaning orally by producing sounds (Kelly, 2000; Yates & Zielinski, 2009). Harmer (2001) defines pronunciation as the combination of sounds, stress, and intonation used to pronounce a word. Research demonstrates that accurate pronunciation requires students to be able to perceive and produce sounds correctly and distinguish between various accents and dialects (Derwing, 2019). The English sound system has two different groups of sounds, including segmental and supra-segmental features (Burns & Claire, 2003; Goodwin, 2014; Yates & Zielinski, 2009). Segmental features refer to consonants and vowels (Burns & Claire, 2003; Gilakjani, 2016b; Yates & Zielinski, 2009), while supra–segmental features include stress, intonation, and linking (Burns & Claire, 2003) or stress, intonation, rhythm, and voice quality (Gilakjani, 2016b; Yates & Zielinski, 2009). This study focused on the production of sounds by speakers to convey meaning in communication, including vowels, consonants, stress, and intonation.
The roles of pronunciation in EFL learning
Almost no one can deny the significance of pronunciation in oral communication, especially for EFL learners. According to Fraser (2000), speaking English involves several subskills, the most crucial of which is pronunciation (other subskills of speaking include vocabulary, grammar, and pragmatics). Derwing and Munro (2015b) showed that good pronunciation can facilitate everyday communication, especially intelligibility. They suggested that learners with good pronunciation can learn other skills, such as listening more efficiently. L2 learners who are good at pronunciation often feel more confident when interacting with native speakers, especially in oral communication tasks such as conversations. Furthermore, according to Vu and Shah (2016), learners are more likely to communicate effectively with proper pronunciation and intonation, even if they make a few minor grammatical and vocabulary errors. In contrast, poor pronunciation can cause unintended consequences, misinterpretations, and misunderstandings between speakers and listeners (Bakar & Abdullah, 2015). Poor pronunciation can also be linked to intelligibility, which is the degree to which the listeners understand a speaker’s message, although this is a two-way process because both the speakers’ language production and listeners’ comprehension skills are involved (Derwing & Munro, 2015a). Accurate pronunciation boosts self-confidence when speaking English in various settings, including business meetings, daily conversations, and academic presentations, making communication easier and creating deep bonds with others (Heng, 2017).
Despite the importance of L2 pronunciation, little emphasis is placed on it in many EFL settings, such as in the context of this study. Learning pronunciation in Vietnam is still not focused on as much as other skills, and it is sometimes ignored in the formal education system (Nguyen & Newton, 2020). Most teachers focus on grammar or vocabulary, which can help students pass exams. This mismatch in importance and focus leads us to believe that teaching pronunciation should be prioritized more at schools in Vietnam, and one way to overcome this might be to use technology.
Video dubbing as a technique for pronunciation teaching
With the development of technology, applying modern teaching techniques such as audiovisual aids, video dubbing, or integrating cultural elements into pronunciation instruction for young learners, e.g., AI with Elsa Speak (Nguyen & Phan, 2021), mobile English learning (Zhang, 2016), or automatic speech recognition (Ngo et al., 2024), is necessary. These methods can help learners experience pronunciation learning in a meaningful and exciting environment with authentic materials and have opportunities to interact with different cultural backgrounds or accents from around the world. Moreover, these technologies allow learners to practice pronunciation both in and outside the classroom. Regarding this, video dubbing is a promising new technology-infused EFL pronunciation technique that is gaining more attention.
Dubbing is a type of audiovisual translation that refers to replacing the original track of a film or video, which contains the dialogue in the source language, with another track on which translated dialogs are recorded in the target language (Chaume, 2006). The word ‘dubbing’ has two definitions: in a general sense, it means to replace an existing soundtrack, and in a more specific sense, it means to perform a particular style of lip-syncing to match the voices and lip movements of the current source (Florente, 2016, p. 20).
Burston (2006) defines two dubbing options with different definitions. The simplest option, ‘simple video dubbing’, is having students record their voices over the original soundtrack. More advanced students, or those who have done dubbing before, can create their own scripts and storylines for silent videos; this method is known as ‘scenario creation’. The first option primarily helps learners with speaking and listening comprehension. The second one can improve vocabulary and grammar knowledge, as well as reading and writing abilities, in addition to oral production. In these ways, dubbing offers educational advantages similar to video production but requires less planning and less time in the classroom. However, teachers and students still need to be prepared, particularly technically. According to Burston (2006), video dubbing might entail adding student voices to an existing soundtrack, and the dubbing of muted video clips is a fantastic opportunity to advance the linguistic abilities of students learning foreign languages at all levels.
In this study, video dubbing, also referred to as lipsynchronized dubbing, is the process of allowing learners to replace the original speech of characters with their voices (Lertola, 2019) and is used as a teaching technique that helps young EFL learners improve their pronunciation.
Key factors influencing video dubbing as a tool for teaching pronunciation
Several attempts have been made to classify the factors influencing L2 pronunciation (Celce-Murcia et al., 2010). Based on theories of pronunciation influence, there are two areas: internal and external factors. Internal factors include age, personality, cognitive abilities (learning styles, intelligence, perception), musicality, individual differences (aptitude, identity, innate phonological abilities), attitudes, motivation, personal effort, and goal setting of L2 learners. External factors relate to the L2 learning environment, native language, exposure, and educational factors. In addition, according to Elliot (1995), several things can influence how well a learner pronounces words, including motivation and exposure, instruction, target language exposure, and curriculum integration for English pronunciation, while six factors that influence pronunciation learning were found to be the native language, age, exposure, innate phonetic ability, language identity and ego, motivation, and interest in good pronunciation (Brown, 2001). Similarly, Gilakjani et al. (2020) found that learners’ motivation, pronunciation instruction, social identity, error correction, native language, exposure, and attitude significantly influenced their ability to learn pronunciation.
The procedure of using video dubbing in teaching pronunciation
Several researchers have explored the effects of video dubbing as a pedagogical tool in EFL contexts. According to Chiu (2011), dubbing enables learners to concentrate on imitating the native speakers’ prosodic and phonetic characteristics. In the Korean context, English dubbing project tasks were found practical in motivating EFL learning to improve listening, pronunciation, and speaking (Park, 2022). Wati and Rozimela (2019) propose a procedure for implementing video dubbing in classrooms, emphasizing active viewing, freeze framing and prediction, silent viewing, sound-on/vision-off activities, repetition and role play, reproduction activities, dubbing activities, and follow-up activities. Each technique aims to engage students actively and improve their listening and speaking skills. Pamungkas (2019a) offers a more structured approach, detailing specific steps such as explaining basic pronunciation, engaging in dubbing practice, and providing scripts for students to practice. This step-by-step method ensures that students understand the fundamental pronunciation rules before dubbing videos, thereby incrementally scaffolding their learning process. Jao et al. (2022) further refine this approach by embedding video dubbing within the cognitive apprenticeships’ framework, incorporating modeling, coaching, scaffolding, articulation, reflection, and exploration into the instructional process. This approach emphasizes the importance of iterative practice and peer evaluation to enhance learners’ pronunciation skills. The procedure includes the following steps:
- Modeling: selecting and watching an English video from the app
- Coaching: paying close attention to every word and mimicking the characters’ speech patterns
- Scaffolding: dubbing and rewriting in response to the automatically generated feedback.
- Articulation: assessing their dubbing efforts as well as those of their peers
- Reflection: peer discussion based on the dubbing app’s results
- Exploration: five-minute reflective oral talks
The last three steps of articulation, reflection, and exploration were omitted because they did not fit the current research teaching context. Regarding this, the researchers only used video dubbing as a teaching technique in the classroom, not the app. Moreover, these three steps may challenge young EFL learners due to their developmental level and language proficiency. Instead, focusing on modeling, coaching, and scaffolding provided a more appropriate and supportive framework for enhancing pronunciation skills in young learners. These steps include structured guidance, repetitive practice, and immediate feedback, which align better with young EFL learners’ cognitive and linguistic needs. The procedure is presented below:
Modeling. In this process, participants watch an English video with subtitles once, listen, and observe how the characters in the video clip speak each sentence individually. The purpose of this activity is to help them familiarize themselves with the input of the video before starting dubbing, such as intonation, vowels, consonants, expressions, or characters in context, and engage in authentic situations with insightful and captivating video content.
Coaching. At this stage, the participants again listen carefully to every sentence and imitate how the characters speak with the teacher’s instructions and observation. The teacher stops the video after every sentence and asks the participants to repeat. This activity aims to help learners practice their pronunciation, focusing on features such as vowels, consonants, intonation, and stress, until they synchronize with the original speech. The participants listen to the video twice. Furthermore, they must pay attention to the characters’ emotions, lip movements, and other sound effects to achieve dubbing synchrony.
Scaffolding. The participants start dubbing and revise the video scripts based on the teacher’s feedback. The first time, the whole class dubs the video together. The second time, the teacher divides the class into teams (2 or 3 teams) based on the number of characters in the video. Every team member dubs their character. Next, the teacher plays the video again, and participants dub the video. The last time, the teacher invites some students to dub in front of the class, and the rest give their comments. Also, students can revise their dubs based on the teacher’s feedback.
Learner attitudes
Attitude is a way of thinking, feeling, or behaving about something or someone. Anderson (1985) defined attitude as a relatively strong feeling that a person responds consistently favorably or unfavorably to a given situation. According to Eagly and Chaiken (1993) and van den Berg et al. (2006), attitudes include cognitive, affective, and behavioral components. The affective component of attitudes refers to emotions or feelings such as liking, preference, or conviction. The cognitive component of attitudes refers to how one thinks about something or someone. The behavioral component of attitudes is related to how one acts or behaves toward something. Zimbardo and Ebbesen (1970) also suggest measuring three aspects of attitudes. The cognitive component can be assessed by a person’s understanding of a subject or self-rating their beliefs. The affective component can be measured by physiological responses or verbal statements of like and dislike. Finally, observing the subject’s actions in particular stimulus contexts can assess the behavioral component. These components are often observed in EFL because their influences strongly affect learners’ successful learning. The significant relationship between learners’ attitudes and language learning, including the undeniably important factor of pronunciation, was highly observed in different contexts (Gilakjani et al., 2020; Jabbari & Golkar, 2014)
The effects of video dubbing on EFL learners’ pronunciation and their attitudes toward the technique
Studies on video dubbing and pronunciation from different perspectives and contexts have been explored as a pedagogical trend in language teaching. Chiu’s (2011) study showed that learners had positive attitudes toward the video-dubbing task since it helped them improve their pronunciation, fluency, and intonation awareness. Similarly, Pamungkas (2019b) found improvements in vowels, diphthongs, and consonants, while Tran (2021) and Nguyen (2023) both observed overall improvements in pronunciation, intonation, and fluency after using video dubbing in their research contexts. In this regard, the findings of Sánchez-Requena (2016) may help clarify the results that by imitating native speakers through video dubbing, learners can improve their pronunciation skills. The effectiveness of dubbing has been reinforced by Bui (2021), who reported that film dubbing improves pronunciation more effectively than creating videos traditionally.
Furthermore, learner engagement and positive attitudes toward video dubbing were consistently highlighted across all studies. Chiu (2011) and Tran (2021) mentioned that students found the video dubbing tasks enjoyable and engaging. Pamungkas (2019a) and Nguyen (2023) also observed enthusiastic student participation, and Bui (2021) reported positive feedback from participants via surveys and interviews. While each study employed different methodologies and involved various participant groups, they all underscored the effectiveness of video dubbing in improving EFL pronunciation. Typical findings include significant pronunciation improvements, high student engagement levels, and positive attitudes toward the dubbing activities. The diversity in research designs and assessment methods enriches the overall understanding of video dubbing as a versatile and effective tool in EFL pronunciation instruction.
In studies about video dubbing in Vietnam, the participants mainly came from high school, college, or university students. Furthermore, fewer studies have indicated common pronunciation errors. In this study, the researchers focused on the effects of video dubbing on young EFL learners’ pronunciation at a private school in the Mekong Delta by identifying their errors and examining their attitudes toward this technique.
Methodology
Research questions
Though previous studies have suggested that learning pronunciation through video dubbing is effective, there is not yet enough research to test these results in younger learners. Besides, little research has been done to clearly show that motivation changes are observed due to this teaching method. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effects of video dubbing on young learners’ pronunciation and gain insights into their attitudes toward this technique by answering the two research questions:
- What are the effects of video dubbing on young EFL learners’ pronunciation?
- What are the participants’ attitudes toward the effects of video dubbing?
Research design
The quasi-experimental phase followed a one-group pretest-posttest design to gather quantitative data to address the first research question (Fraenkel et al., 2023). Specifically, pre- and post-tests were used to collect quantitative data to investigate the effects of video dubbing on the pronunciation of young learners of English as a foreign language. For the second research question, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect both quantitative and qualitative data to explore their attitudes toward the effects of video dubbing. Qualitative data was used to explain the quantitative data, whereas quantitative data was used to generalize the sampling results to the population (Creswell & Creswell, 2017).
Participants
A convenient sampling method was applied to recruit participants in the study with a total of 30 students (13 females and 17 males, aged 11). They were in a sixth-grade class at the basic level of English proficiency (Level A2 in the Vietnamese Standardized Test of English Proficiency) at a private school in the Mekong Delta and had learned English for six years. They were chosen for several criteria. First, young learners at the A2 proficiency level could represent a critical stage in language acquisition, where pronunciation development is significant (Piccardo & North, 2017). Second, all participants were from the same class, ensuring consistency in instructional background and exposure to English learning. Finally, the size and setting of the group allowed for practical administration of the video dubbing intervention over ten weeks. They were arranged in one quasi-experimental group. They received the treatment by participating in the video dubbing activity with the instructions for ten weeks. All participants received three 45-minute video dubbing pieces of training per week. After the intervention, all of them were asked to respond to a 28 five- Likert- scale statements questionnaire. Six of them were invited to participate in the interview after the treatment based on their scores, which varied from the lowest to the highest. Two of them were females, and the others were males. This selection ensured diverse perspectives on the impacts of video dubbing since selecting participants with different scores allowed the researchers to explore how students with varying pronunciation proficiency experienced the video dubbing activity.
Research instruments
The pre-test and post-test. According to Sebestova (2007), there are two approaches to testing pronunciation– atomistic and holistic. In a holistic approach to pronunciation testing, examiners are asked to evaluate a candidate’s overall effectiveness rather than to focus too much on any one aspect of their performance (Alderson et al. 1996, p. 289). On the other hand, the atomistic approach implies a thorough grading system that assesses distinct pronunciation components independently (Sebestova, 2007, p. 19). In this approach, the accessors focused on specific features, including segmental (vowels and consonants) and supra–segmental (stress, intonation, rhythm) features.
We decided to use the atomistic approach because the learners were low-level and were exposed only to certain lower-level pronunciation points, such as consonant and vowel sounds. This approach allows teachers to check for the effect of the pedagogical method on specific pronunciation features or stresses. We adapted a pronunciation test from Hughes (2002) to measure participants’ ability to pronounce vowels, consonants, and a few prosodic features. The features we decided to measure are based on the current textbook Tiếng Anh 6 Global Success of Vietnam Education Publishing House (English Six), which is officially used in this educational context.
The test was conducted twice, as a pre-test and post-test. This allowed us to measure the pronunciation performance before and after the treatment to investigate the improvement of their pronunciation (see Appendix 1). The same test was used for both the pre-test and post-test for the following reasons. First, this ensured that the same skills and knowledge were measured before and after the intervention. This consistency was crucial for accurately assessing any changes or improvements. Second, it helped in maintaining reliability. If a different test were used post-intervention, variations in the results could be due to the test itself rather than changes in abilities. Third, this study likely has little effect on previous test knowledge because we are measuring pronunciation, which is skill-based rather than knowledge-based and, therefore, not heavily influenced by item knowledge.
Participants were asked to read 35 words in part 1 to test their pronunciation of consonants, vowels, and stress, eight sentences in part 2 to test intonation, and a dialogue in part 3 where they worked in pairs to test their pronunciation of consonants, vowels, stress, and intonation in context. Their responses were recorded for analysis.
The researchers used the scoring rubric of pronunciation adapted from the Pearson Test of English Academic’s scoring rubric (2012). The scoring rubric uses similar assessing scales and conceptual criteria for all four aspects of pronunciation, including vowels, consonants, stress, and intonation, while the original version concentrates on these scales of pronunciation in general. The maximum score was 25, and the minimum score was 0. The pronunciation performance was independently rated based on the scoring rubric, and the average score of the two independent raters was their official score. The pre-and post-test criteria were presented in detail in Appendix 2.
The questionnaire.The framework for exploring EFL learners’ attitudes toward the effects of video dubbing was based on three components, including affective, cognitive, and behavioral, from Eagly & Chaiken (1993) and van den Berg et al. (2006). The affective component examined participants’ feelings, such as enjoyment, excitement, and anxiety, when practicing pronunciation through video dubbing in the classroom. The cognitive component explored their perceptions of the benefits and difficulties of implementing video dubbing. The behavioral component aimed to gain more insight into whether they would continue using video dubbing. The questionnaire (Appendix 3) consists of 28 statements and was designed based on the features of video dubbing presented in previous studies (Brown, 2001; Chiu, 2011; Gilakjani et al., 2020; Jao et al., 2022; Park, 2022) and adapted from the questionnaire of Phan et al. (2024) aiming at examining participants’ general evaluation about the effects of video dubbing on pronunciation and the language skills with 9 items and their attitudes toward this technique with the remaining 19 items. The latter of 19 statements was divided into three components of attitudes, as mentioned above.
Semi-structured interviews. According to Gay et al. (2009), an interview is regarded as an interactive conversation in which the researchers ask relevant questions of the participants to gather information. Moreover, a thorough understanding of their thoughts and beliefs can also be acquired through interviews (Yin, 2014). Interviews are helpful in qualitative research because they allow the researchers to analyze attitudes about their opinions after the experiment. Mason (2002) states that during semi-structured interviews, the interviewer may alter the questions’ sequence or order, which makes the interviewees feel more at ease during a deliberate conversation. This suggests that the semi-structured interviews help offer the participants flexibility in answering the questions. Furthermore, the semi-structured interview, in which follow-up questions would allow the interviewers to explore data beyond those predetermined, was a helpful tool for examining their attitudes toward the effects of video dubbing in improving their pronunciation. Reliable data from that would unfold more unexpected insights from the in-depth interviewing process.
In the semi-structured interview, six guiding questions were designed based on the framework of attitudes suggested by Eagly & Chaiken (1993) and van den Berg et al. (2006), classified into four themes, namely (1) personal information, and (2) cognitive component, (3) affective component, and (4) behavioral component (Appendix 4).
Materials. The researchers used the content of pronunciation elements from the textbook English Six to design relevant tests since the participants were using this book in the academic year of 2023–2024, which was also suitable for their current level of proficiency. This study’s dubbing activity videos were taken from a YouTube-Kids channel for learning English. Each video lasted about 2–3 minutes, and the topics were related to the textbook content. After choosing suitable videos, the CapCut app was used to add subtitles. CapCut is a free video editing tool that allows users to create templates and design videos. The Text Analyzer on www.roadtogrammar.com was used to rate the difficulty of the texts to ensure that the content of the videos was suitable for the participants’ level of proficiency. Afterward, two experienced English teachers (one Vietnamese teacher and one foreign teacher) were invited to check the video contents and the subtitle accuracy in case of spelling or grammar errors. The video dubbing activity procedure is shown in Appendix 5.
Data analysis
The quantitative data regarding the effects of video dubbing on the participants’ pronunciation was collected from the pre-test and post-test before and after the treatment. Firstly, Cronbach’s alpha was calculated via SPSS (version 20) as an inter-rater reliability metric, and the results indicated that the two tests were reliable (α =0.716, α =0.814). This ensured the consistency of the tests. Secondly, a Pearson correlation coefficient was computed using the pre-test and post-test scores to assess the linear relationship between the test scores of the two raters with a positive correlation r(60) = .977, p = .000.
Due to the ordinal nature of the paired data of the input test results, Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Tests were then performed to compare the pronunciation test results graded by independent raters before and after the intervention. The independent variable was video dubbing. The dependent variable was participants’ English pronunciation performance, which consist of four components: vowels, consonants, stress, and intonation.
The Cronbach’ Alpha was calculated for the questionnaire, and the result indicated that the research instrument was reliable (α = .852). The meanings of mean scores were analyzed using Oxford’s (1990, p.300) framework for understanding the average between 1.0 and 5.0 Likert-scale questions (Low: 1.0 – 2.4, Medium: 2.5 – 3.4, High: 3.5 – 5.0).
All Vietnamese transcripts about attitudes from the interviews were double-checked carefully by the researchers, who then used thematic analysis to code the data (Boyatzis, 2009) into three themes, including EFL learners’ (1) affective component toward their feelings when using video dubbing, (2) cognitive component toward their awareness of benefits and difficulties during the implementation of the technique, and (3) behavioral component to gain their insight into the decision of using the technique in the future or not.
Results
Effects of video dubbing on young EFL learners’ pronunciation
General results of the pre-test and post-test. Table 1 shows the results of the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test to check for the difference and the effect size (“rs”) of the improvement in participants’ pronunciation at the two times of measurement. There were significant differences between the two groups in all themes with large effect sizes. An effect size greater than 0.55 is considered as “large” by Plonsky & Oswald (2014) and Spring (2022).
Table 1. Statistical results of the students’ pre- and post-English-pronunciation tests
| Pre – test | Post – test | Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test Z | ||||
| Themes | N | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | |
| Consonants | 30 | 3.40 | 0.62 | 3.73 | 0.58 | Z = 2.89, p < 0.01, rs = 0.96 |
| Vowels | 30 | 3.60 | 0.56 | 3.80 | 0.55 | Z = 2.12, p = 0.03, rs = 0.95 |
| Stress | 30 | 4.50 | 0.50 | 4.66 | 0.47 | Z = 2.24, p = 0.03, rs = 1.00 |
| Intonation | 30 | 3.36 | 0.55 | 4.30 | 0.59 | Z = 4.46, p < 0.01, rs = 0.93 |
| Overall pronunciation ability | 30 | 14.86 | 1.65 | 16.50 | 1.77 | Z = 4.52, p < 0.01, rs = 0.89 |
Figure 1 illustrates the mean scores of overall pronunciation ability in the pre-test and post-test.
Figure 1. Overall pronunciation ability in the pre-test and post-test
Figure 2 illustrates the mean scores of consonants, vowels, stress, and intonation in the pre-test and post-test.
Figure 2. The mean scores of consonants, vowels, stress, and intonation in the pre-test and post-test
Figures 1 and 2 visualize the pre- and post-test scores. Significant improvement with large effect size was found between pre- and post-English pronunciation scores in consonants, vowels, stress, intonation, and overall pronunciation ability. Figure 1 shows the overall pronunciation ability improvement through the mean scores before and after the treatment, while Figure 2 shows the participants’ pronunciation improvement regarding consonants, vowels, stress, and intonation through the mean scores before and after the treatment. As a result, these outcomes suggest that video dubbing positively affected their development of consonants, vowels, stress, intonation, and overall pronunciation ability.
Additionally, the participants’ common pronunciation problems before and after the treatment were presented as follows.
Common problems related to consonants. Table 2 presents the number of specific problems learners had with consonants. Consonants were tested by items 13, 10, 14, 18, 15, 17, 47, 48, 49, 54, 44, and 55.
Table 2. Improvements in problems related to consonants
| Item | Target | Words | Students in the pre-test (n) |
Students in the post-test (n) |
| 13 | /θ/ | Both | 14 | 18 |
| 10 | /ʃ/ | Special | 7 | 15 |
| 14 | /ʃ/ | Wish | 6 | 10 |
| 18 | /ʤ/ | Large | 12 | 14 |
| 15 | /ð/ | Weather | 13 | 15 |
| 17 | /ʧ/ | Much | 14 | 17 |
| 47, 49 | /z/ | Beaches, Places | 4 | 10 |
| 48 | /s/ | Place | 16 | 22 |
| 54 | /z/ | Places | 4 | 10 |
| 44, 55 | /z/ | Holidays | 16 | 22 |
The post-test results were higher for all of the items than the pre-test ones. Among these consonants, the /ʃ/ sound was found to be improved the most after the treatment, while /ʤ/ and /ð/ sounds exhibited the least improvement. This phenomenon could be explained by the difference between the features of English and Vietnamese languages and participants’ awareness of sound production. With /ʃ/, awareness of the difference and how to produce the sound likely helped learners improve during practice. Furthermore, Vietnamese learners seemed to have exceptional difficulty increasing their awareness of the /ʤ/ and /ð/ sounds and their ability to produce them. The participants also seemed to have trouble pronouncing ending sounds such as /s/or /z/. For most cases, only about half of the participants pronounced these consonants properly, with an improvement in the post-test ranging from 7% (sounds /ʤ/ and /ð/) to 27% (sound /ʃ/) with an average of 16%.
Common problems related to vowels. The problem of vowels was covered by items 1, 8, 25, 26, 27, and 30 (see Table 3). In all investigated areas, participants had improvements in post-test results for the measured vowels. The difference between English and Vietnamese language features can explain the reasons for the problems with vowels in the pre-test. Mainly, since long vowels such as /ɪː/, /ɑː/, and / uː/, as well as the /eə/ sound, do not exist in Vietnamese, the participants had difficulty pronouncing them and tended to replace them with similar sounds in Vietnamese. In general, improvement was found related to the correct pronunciation of vowels at an average improvement rate of 17% from the pre- to post-test.
Table 3. Improvements in problems related to vowels
| Item | Target | Words | Students in the pre-test (n) |
Students in the post-test (n) |
| 25 | /ɪː/ | tree | 4 | 10 |
| 26 | /ɪː/ | easy | 5 | 9 |
| 30 | /ɪː/ | cheap | 7 | 12 |
| 1 | /ɑː/ | smart | 14 | 20 |
| 8 | /eə/ | wear | 17 | 21 |
| 27 | / uː/ | School | 10 | 16 |
Common problems related to stress. Problems with stress were covered by items 5, 33, 34, and 45 (see Table 4). The post-test results were better in all the items than the pre-test results. The stress problems in the pre-test can be explained by the fact that words with many syllables (more than three), such as ‘international,’ ‘tourism,’ ‘afternoon,’ and ‘Australia’ in the pre-test could confuse the participants in pronouncing the words with the correct stress. Moreover, the participants tended to ignore pronunciation stress since this did not exist in their mother tongue, which has only single-syllable words.
Table 4. Improvements in problems related to stress
| Item | Target | Words | Students in the pre-test (n) |
Students in the post-test (n) |
| 5 | 1st stress | tourism | 20 | 26 |
| 33 | 3rd stress | international | 11 | 17 |
| 34 | 3rd stress | afternoon | 8 | 12 |
| 45 | 2nd stress | Australia | 8 | 10 |
Common problems related to intonation. Intonation problems were covered by items 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 50, and 51 (see Table 5). In most of the tested cases, the falling intonation was pronounced at the end of these sentences instead of the rising intonation with Yes/No questions. The average improvement rate of intonation between the pre-test and the post-test was 23%, with the lowest (item 51 at 13%), and the highest (item 39 at 30%). The problems of intonation in the pre-test could be explained by the fact that the participants did not know or realize the rules for using correct intonation in English prior to their awareness of the study. Also, they often tended not to pay attention to intonation when speaking English and instead used falling intonation at the end of the sentences due to negative transfer from L1- Vietnamese.
Table 5. Improvements in problems related to intonation.
| Item | Target | Sentence | Students in the pre-test (n) |
Students in the post-test (n) |
| 38 | Rise | Do you have long hair and big eyes? | 5 | 12 |
| 39 | Rise | Is your neighborhood quiet and peaceful? | 5 | 14 |
| 42 | Rise | Are you a student? | 7 | 15 |
| 43 | Rise | Do you have any sugar? | 6 | 13 |
| 41 | Fall | There’s a lamp, a wardrobe, and a desk. | 20 | 26 |
| 51 | Rise | Can you see Big Ben? | 8 | 12 |
| 50 | Rise | Isn’t it raining? | 7 | 14 |
EFL learners’ attitudes toward the effects of video dubbing
After the intervention, the participants’ attitudes toward the effects of video dubbing on learning pronunciation were collected through the questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The latter contributes to gaining more insights and clarification for the data collected from the questionnaire.
Descriptive Statistics Tests were run to analyze the mean scores of the four clusters including (1) participants’ general evaluation of video dubbing; (2) cognitive components, (3) affective components, and (4) behavioral components of participants’ attitudes toward the technique. The results of the tests are presented in Table 6.
Table 6. Descriptive Statistics of the participants’ general evaluation and attitudes of video dubbing
| N | Min | Max | Mean | Std. Deviation | |
| MeanGeneralEva | 30 | 3.90 | 5.00 | 4.4733 | .39211 |
| MeanCognitive | 30 | 3.00 | 5.00 | 3.7700 | .44034 |
| MeanAffective | 30 | 2.60 | 5.00 | 3.9867 | .73893 |
| MeanBehavioral | 30 | 2.00 | 5.00 | 4.1083 | .73309 |
As shown in the Table above, the mean scores of general evaluation (M = 4.47), cognition (M = 3.77), affection (M = 3.98), and behavior (M = 4.10) are considered a high level (mean >= 3.5) of agreement according to Oxford (1990). The results concluded that learners had a high evaluation of video dubbing as well as showed high attitudes toward each component after using this technique to learn pronunciation. In this regard, each of the above-mentioned clusters will be presented in correlation with the data obtained from the interviews to clarify the learners’ attitudes toward video dubbing. Frequency tests were subjected to summarise the participants’ responses for each statement of the clusters.
General evaluation of the effects of video dubbing
Remarkably, all of the items about the participants’ general evaluation of the effects of video dubbing on pronunciation and language skills received high percentages of strong agreement and agreement from the respondents (90% or more), showing that the learners highly appreciated this technique in pronunciation and many aspects of their language learning.
Table 7. Summary of participants’ responses to the general evaluation of the effects of video dubbing
| Items | Strongly disagree and Disagree |
Neutral | Strongly agree and Agree |
| 1. Video dubbing has positive effects on my English pronunciation, especially consonants, vowels, stress, and intonation. | 0% | 3.33% | 96.67% |
| 2. Video dubbing creates a positive pronunciation learning environment compared to traditional learning through books in the classroom. | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| 3. Video dubbing is a fun pronunciation-learning activity, especially for young learners. | 0% | 3.33% | 96.67% |
| 4. Video dubbing helps me improve my intonation when speaking English. | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| 5. Video dubbing helps me distinguish English intonation patterns. | 0% | 3.33% | 96.67% |
| 6. Video dubbing helps me improve my speaking skills. | 0% | 3.33% | 96.67% |
| 7. Video dubbing helps raise my awareness of the importance of pronunciation. | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| 8. Video dubbing helps me improve my listening skills | 0% | 3.33% | 96.67% |
| 14. Video dubbing helps me feel more confident when speaking English. | 3.33% | 6.67% | 90% |
This finding is consistent with the extracts from the interviews, as all interviewees shared a common perception of the positive impacts of video dubbing and their interest in using this technique for practicing pronunciation. For instance, they stated:
“…I really enjoyed learning pronunciation with video dubbing like this because it helped me improve my pronunciation…” (Participant 1)
“I liked learning pronunciation with video dubbing …. It helped me improve my pronunciation, vocabulary, and listening skills…” (Participant 3)
Besides, three out of six interviewees (50%) believed that video dubbing would benefit learning pronunciation more than traditional learning with textbooks, as found in item 2 with 100% of the participants’ consensus.
“…I had more opportunities to practice pronunciation than usual because there were very few pronunciation lessons in the textbook, limiting the time for practice.” (Participant 1)
The findings gained in the interviews verify the results of the questionnaire from items 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 14 as follows:
“… it was not boring.” (Participant 1)
“I used not to pay attention to intonation when speaking, but after practicing with this technique, I have had more role-playing practice, so I have improved my intonation.” (Participant 3).
“…I could learn the intonation of the character when to raise or lower it to fit the context.” (Participant 2).
Cognitive component toward the effects of video dubbing
The cognitive component examines the participants’ awareness of the benefits and drawbacks of using video dubbing to improve pronunciation. The findings in this cluster indicated that the participants agreed on the benefits of video dubbing with 100% for item 12, 96.67% for items 9 and 13, and 93.33% for items 11 and 15. In contrast, for some drawbacks faced when using this technique, the participants reported quite modest percentages of agreement, recognized as 43.33% for items 19 and 20, 33.33% for item 18, 23.33% for item 17, and 20% for item 16. This showed that video dubbing benefited the participants in many aspects of acquiring the language and that the difficulties encountered in using this method were negligible. The interview results are fully compatible with this finding and help to clarify the point of view.
Table 8. Summary of participants’ cognitive component
| Items | Strongly disagree and Disagree |
Neutral | Strongly agree and Agree |
| 9. Video dubbing creates an interactive atmosphere with the characters, images, and sounds to learn English pronunciation. | 3.33% | 0% | 96.67% |
| 11. Video dubbing allows me to practice pronunciation, especially consonants, vowels, stress, and intonation. | 3.33% | 3.33% | 93.33% |
| 12. Video dubbing provides me with opportunities to get familiar with native speakers’ pronunciation. | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| 13. Video dubbing allows me to interact with my friends in class through characters on video. | 0% | 3.33% | 96.67% |
| 15. Video dubbing helps me expand my English vocabulary. | 0% | 6.67% | 93.33% |
| 16. I encounter problems with expressing characters’ emotions when dubbing. | 20% | 60% | 20% |
| 17. I face difficulty with expressing characters’ intonation. | 23.33% | 53.33% | 23.33% |
| 18. I have difficulty getting into characters and expressing the characters through appropriate sounds and intonation. | 40% | 26.67% | 33.33% |
| 19. I have problems with complex vocabulary when practicing video dubbing. | 16.67% | 40% | 43.33% |
| 20. I have difficulty imitating the character’s mouth movements when dubbing. | 16.67% | 40% | 43.33% |
All six interviewees agreed that the teacher’s use of video dubbing in the classroom helped them improve their pronunciation, including sounds, stress, and intonation. Moreover, they found it an exciting and motivational way to learn pronunciation. This activity was indicated to have created a positive pronunciation learning environment from the outstanding features of this technique. They noted:
“… I had more opportunities to practice and improve my pronunciation than usual…” (Participant 1)
“… It was more lively with multiple characters, images, and sounds.” (Participant 1)
“… because I could hear the native speaker’s pronunciation and practiced more…” (Participant 3)
Furthermore, five participants noted that video dubbing helped them to pay attention to the researched aspects of pronunciation, especially intonation.
“… However, after learning this method, I pay more attention to my pronunciation, such as final sounds and intonation.” (Participant 1)
“… I pay more attention, and it helps me improve the sounds in pronunciation, stress, and intonation…” (Participant 5)
Three participants believed that video dubbing helped them improve their listening skills and expand their vocabulary because they listened to the dubbing videos carefully many times and got exposed to native speakers’ speech patterns.
“… It helped me improve my pronunciation, vocabulary, and listening skills…” (Participant 3)
“… and my listening skills have been developed…” (Participant 4)
“… I got to practice more and expose myself to native English speakers, which helped me develop my listening skills…” (Participant 6)
Besides expressing positive attitudes toward video dubbing, the participants also mentioned challenges they faced during the treatment. Five of the six participants agreed that they could not keep up with the speed of the speech when they started dubbing at first, so they tended not to catch the mouth movements of the characters because they were not used to it. They stated:
“…I couldn’t keep up with the speed of the character’s speech, and I couldn’t fully empathize with the character’s emotions or get the intonation right 100%… I also had trouble mimicking the character’s mouth movements at first…” (Participant 1)
“… Well, I find it challenging to keep up with the lip movements of the characters…” (Participant 2)
“Well, the initial difficulty for me was the speaking speed of the characters; sometimes it was a bit fast so that I couldn’t catch the mouth movements of the characters…” (Participant 3)
Similarly, five participants said they had difficulty expressing the characters’ emotions and intonation.
“… I have to practice to accurately express the intonation, lip movements, and emotions of the characters…” (Participant 2)
“… and it’s difficult to follow their facial expressions and emotions…” (Participant 4)
“… I also couldn’t follow the mouth shape and emotional expressions of the character…” (Participant 6)
Finally, two participants said that they sometimes had difficulty with vocabulary which affected their ability to dub videos.
“… Sometimes I come across some difficult vocabulary…” (Participant 2)
Affective component toward the effects of video dubbing
For the affective component, the results obtained from the questionnaire and interviews complement each other and clarify participants’ feelings when practicing pronunciation through video dubbing in the classroom.
Table 9. Summary of participants’ affective component
| Items | Strongly disagree and Disagree |
Neutral | Strongly agree and Agree |
| 21. I like using video dubbing to practice my English pronunciation. | 10% | 30% | 60% |
| 22. I feel motivated to practice my English pronunciation when using video dubbing. | 3.33% | 13.33% | 83.33% |
| 23. I feel more confident when using video dubbing. | 3.33% | 23.33% | 73.33% |
| 24. I prefer to practice video dubbing with my friends in class. | 6.67% | 20% | 73.33% |
| 25. I prefer to practice video dubbing with my teacher. | 6.67% | 23.33% | 70% |
Table 9 demonstrates that a large number of participants (83.33%) believed that video dubbing provided them with motivation for practicing pronunciation in item 22. In addition, 73.33% of the participants agreed with item 23 “I feel more confident when using video dubbing”. These two findings were found compatible with the findings from the interviews through Participant 6’s assertion that “…I feel more motivated and confident when learning pronunciation with video dubbing). The remaining items 24, 25, and 21 had 73.33%, 70%, and 60%, respectively, showing that learners hold high levels of affection for practicing pronunciation using video dubbing with different partners. Interestingly, the interview findings indicated that all six participants had positive attitudes toward using video dubbing for learning pronunciation, for its interesting and positive features, such as its ability to help them improve their pronunciation, motivate them to learn pronunciation, and provide them with opportunities or attention for practicing pronunciation.
“I really enjoyed learning pronunciation with video dubbing like this because it helped me improve my pronunciation. It was more lively, with multiple characters, images, and sounds, and it was not boring.… Now I feel more motivated in learning my pronunciation because I find this learning method interesting.” (Participant 1)
“I found it effective to learn pronunciation with video dubbing like this. I really liked it… it created a positive learning environment, motivating me to learn pronunciation better. … As a result, my pronunciation was improved, especially the sounds, stress, and intonation…” (Participant 4)
Behavioral component toward the effects of video dubbing
The behavioral component aims to gain insights into participants’ decisions on whether they would continue using video dubbing. All the items in the questionnaire had higher levels of strong agreement and agreement than the other Likerts, with 90%, 83.33%, 73.33%, and 66.67% for items 27, 28, 26, and 10, respectively. This shows that the learners intend to continue using video dubbing to learn pronunciation.
Table 10. Summary of participants’ behavioral component
| Items | Strongly disagree and Disagree |
Neutral | Strongly agree and Agree |
| 10. I will find my favorite videos for dubbing activities. | 13.33% | 20% | 66.67% |
| 26. I will continue to practice video dubbing to improve my English pronunciation. | 0% | 26.67% | 73.33% |
| 27. Video dubbing should be frequently included as an activity in English classrooms. | 0% | 10% | 90% |
| 28. I intend to recommend video dubbing to my friends. | 3.33% | 13.33% | 83.33% |
An example from Participant 6 indicates a similar opinion to the questionnaire data and helps explain it:
“I will invite my friend to do video dubbing with me because it is fun”. Similarly, the interview results for this cluster also supported and clarified the findings from the questionnaire. Regarding this, all six participants suggested that more video dubbing activities should be implemented in schools.
“… I think we should incorporate this pronunciation learning activity more into the class because it creates an interesting and relaxing learning environment…” (Participant 2)
“… I think this pronunciation learning activity should be developed in schools and more interesting movies should be used…” (Participant 6)
Furthermore, two participants suggested that choosing videos with diverse accents from English-speaking countries should be considered since they could help them get exposed to different cultures.
“… Moreover, I would like to experience video dubbing with characters speaking English from different parts of the world…” (Participant 5)
“… I think it would be good to choose videos that feature characters with diverse accents from English-speaking countries around the world so that I can have more exposure to different cultures…” (Participant 6)
Discussion
Effects of video dubbing on young EFL learners’ pronunciation
The pre-test and post-test results indicate that participants improved their pronunciation after the treatment. Specifically, their vowels, consonants, stress, and intonation improvements were significant. These results were in line with several findings that revealed the important effects of video dubbing techniques on EFL learners’ pronunciation (Bui, 2021; Chiu, 2011; Nguyen, 2023; Pamungkas, 2019b), including vowels and consonants (Pamungkas, 2019a), and intonation (Chiu, 2011; Tran, 2021). This could be due to the fact that the video dubbing technique with suitable guides and activities for learners creates a learning atmosphere of motivation and involvement for a clear goal of pronunciation practice. The results from both qualitative and quantitative data showed that the participants paid more attention to and gained more improvement in their pronunciation, appreciated the demands of the practice, and improved awareness of the sounds. Another possible reason for these results could be that practicing pronunciation in authentic contexts through video dubbing helped young EFL learners be more motivated to learn pronunciation. In addition, video dubbing could provide them with many opportunities to practice pronunciation in the classroom since they had to practice repeatedly to synchronize the speech in the video. Furthermore, exposure to the target language through video dubbing with correct pronunciation could help them realize and improve their pronunciation problems.
The pre-test results demonstrated pronunciation problems regarding consonants, vowels, stress, and intonation that young EFL learners encountered most. For consonants, they most often mispronounced /θ/, /ʃ/, /ʤ/, /ð/, /ʧ/, /z/, and /s/. Meanwhile, the most of mispronounced vowels were:/ɪː/, /ɑː/, /eə/, and / uː/. In addition, we found that students usually put the wrong stress on words having many syllables. In terms of intonation, they often had difficulty with rising intonation at the end of the sentence for questions. We imagine that these resulted from negative L1 transfer, the lack of an environment for practicing, and pronunciation being paid less attention to in the research context. Furthermore, the pre-test results showed that the participants had the most problems with intonation while they were the least concerned with stress. This suggests that intonation, which involves the rise and fall of pitch in speech, posed a more significant challenge to the learners despite it being one of the most universal semiotic tools available in human communication, likely because some of its prosodic characteristics are unique to each language (Bolinger, 1978; Hirst & Di Cristo, 1998) as Vietnamese – a tonal and monosyllabic language.
Surprisingly, the results showed that intonation improved the most after the treatment while stress improved the least. This point was similar to the results of the previous studies (Chiu, 2011; Tran, 2021) that emphasized the effects of video dubbing on the learners’ intonation performance. One possible reason for this could be the repetition of listening and revoicing in contextualized scenarios while participating in cognitive learning processes required the participants to concentrate on using the tones, pitches, intonations, and other speaking characteristics of the speech patterns (Chiu, 2011; Zhang, 2016). In addition, this improvement could be attributed to the specific focus of the treatment on aspects of speech that were closely related to intonation, such as pitch variation, rhythmic patterns, and sentence melody. It could also be that the audiovisual materials used in the study provided rich contextual clues that helped learners better grasp the natural intonational contours of the language. The significant improvement in intonation highlights the potential of targeted interventions, such as video dubbing, in addressing specific pronunciation difficulties in young EFL learners.
In contrast, one possible reason the participants’ stress was the least improved after the treatment could be the saturation limits of the measured feature. While the participants were already relatively proficient in stress patterns, the impact on this aspect of pronunciation reached a certain limit of development. In addition, one possible explanation could also be that the treatment materials or activities were less effective at assisting the acquisition of stress than they were for intonation. Another possibility could be that stress, a more static and rule-based aspect of pronunciation, might require different instructional approaches or more extended practice to see significant gains.
EFL learners’ attitudes toward the effects of video dubbing
EFL learners in this study had positive attitudes toward the effects of video dubbing in their general evaluation. Similar findings from both the questionnaire and interviews were found in terms of cognitive, affective, and behavioral components.
Regarding the cognitive component, several benefits of using the technique were found. First, most of the participants noted that video dubbing helped them improve their pronunciation, and this was in line with opinions in previous studies about the benefits of video dubbing in assisting learners to improve their pronunciation by imitating the speech of native speakers (Burston, 2006; Pamungkas, 2019b; Sánchez-Requena, 2016). This result could be explained by the fact that the participants were exposed to authentic speech models and encouraged to replicate them in their speech by engaging in video dubbing, leading to more accurate and natural sound production.
The second dominant benefit that participants mentioned was the enhancement of their motivation toward learning pronunciation. This result aligns with Sánchez-Requena’s (2016) view that video dubbing is a fun and motivating activity since the learning process is fun and engaging by having students take roles, practice dialogues, and synchronize their speech with on-screen characters.
The third benefit participants mentioned was enhanced opportunities for practicing pronunciation in the classroom. This result could be explained since the participants had to synchronize their speech with on-screen characters during video dubbing. To do that, they had to pay attention to the characters’ speech and practice more.
The fourth benefit brought up by participants was the enhancement of their attention to their pronunciation. When learners were exposed to the voices of characters with good pronunciation during video dubbing, they could recognize gaps in their pronunciation. Therefore, they would pay more attention to their pronunciation when communicating.
Finally, participants said that video dubbing helped them improve their listening skills. This is consistent with Gilakjani’s (2016a) findings on the benefits of video dubbing in assisting learners to enhance their indirect listening comprehension.
Participants also reported some challenges in using the dubbing technique during their semi-structured interviews, including (1) the speed of the characters’ speech and lip movements, (2) the emotions and intonation of the characters, and (3) new vocabulary. Regarding the first challenge, some participants mentioned having difficulty keeping up with the speaking speed and lip movements in the early stages of video dubbing. The result is congruent with those from the studies by Celce-Murcia et al. (2010) and Gilakjani (2016a) about the internal and external factors that influence pronunciation learning and the opinion that excessive speed and length of some videos. This challenge may give students a feeling that their skills have not improved at all (Sánchez-Requena, 2016). A possible reason might be because video dubbing was an unfamiliar method for the participants.
The second challenge discussed was that of expressing the emotions and intonation of the characters during the video dubbing process. This interview finding was compatible with Bolinger’s (1978) and Hirst and Di Cristo’s (1998) studies. An explanation can be found in Sánchez-Requena’s (2016, p. 18) research, which reports that sometimes a large amount of continuous speech leads to difficulties in pronunciation and intonation, and reading subtitles is not always easy. From the research context, we found that some participants felt shy during the video dubbing process at the initial stage because it was a new method for them. However, they gradually became more familiar and confident with the instructor’s guidance and support as they realized the benefits of correct pronunciation coming from using the dubbing technique, which is partly consistent with the findings of Bakar & Abdullah (2015) on participants’ perceptions of the importance of correct pronunciation in their research context.
Finally, some participants sometimes had difficulty with new vocabulary. However, this did not affect the dubbing process much because of the teacher’s support and the fascinating nature of the method. The finding was supported by the research of Elliot (1995) and Gilakjaniet et al. (2020).
In addition, the participants’ attitudes obtained from the affective component showed that they liked using video dubbing to practice pronunciation because the nature of this technique is that it is lively, full of characters, images, and sounds, and it is interesting. Due to these features, students generally believed they were given good opportunities and attention to practice pronunciation. They became more and more motivated to learn pronunciation. This finding, along with this positive cause and effect, was similar to the results of Burston (2006), Elliot (1995), and Lertola (2019).
Finally, some suggestions were recognized from the behavioral component of attitudes about whether they would continue to use the technique for learning pronunciation, including (1) video dubbing should be applied more in schools, (2) they wanted to experience diverse accents from English-speaking countries around the world, and (3) they wanted teachers to choose animated movies or trending movies. The suggestions from the participants might bring more engagement and motivation for pronunciation learning activities. In addition, learners recognize the importance of pronunciation in learning the language in general and helping other skills in particular. They want to experience practicing different accents from English-speaking countries around the world. This is consistent with the view of some researchers on English as a global language, who argue that acquiring an American or British accent is not essential for learners’ pronunciation because each person has their own accent and that L2 accent represents their national identity (Derwing & Munro, 2015a). Furthermore, Celce-Murcia et al. (2013) found that L2 speakers often avoid separating from their group because doing so is associated with identity. Finally, choosing cartoons or trendy movies might engage them more in learning pronunciation because learning with their favorite characters and movies is inherently motivating. Therefore, teachers who want to try this pedagogy in the future might pay attention to this aspect.
Implications
Based on the findings of this study, we can offer the following advice to teachers, administrators, and curriculum developers.
Firstly, video dubbing should be considered for pronunciation teaching because it can help improve pronunciation and listening skills and increase students’ motivation for learning pronunciation.
Secondly, when applying this technique in teaching pronunciation to young learners, teachers should pay attention to learner challenges and provide assistance so that the technique can be used at maximum effectiveness and flexible enough to be applied in different contexts. Furthermore, understanding the nature of video dubbing will help teachers be more confident in using it.
Thirdly, school administrators should prepare suitable teaching and learning equipment to implement this technique in the classroom, such as TVs, teaching and learning materials, and instrumental media. Moreover, school administrators should support and encourage teachers to create an active and motivational learning environment for pronunciation. This would benefit both teachers and learners in the teaching and learning process since it provides learners with many opportunities to practice correct pronunciation naturally while teachers obtain opportunities to be innovative and creative in their pedagogy.
Finally, curriculum developers should diversify pronunciation activities and increase pronunciation practice time with various activities, such as video voiceovers and textbook activities, so that learners have more opportunities to practice correct pronunciation in class.
Limitations and suggestions for further research
Although the current findings were positive, the study also has some limitations. Firstly, only a small sample of young EFL learners participated in this study. Therefore, the generalizability of the findings is somewhat limited. It is suggested that a bigger, more representative sample of participants from a larger population should be considered for further research. Secondly, the duration of the treatment in the study was not long, so that results may differ from longer-term interventions. Thirdly, the lack of a control group can be counted as another limitation that prohibited the researchers from examining and comparing the potential differences in video dubbing effects on young EFL learners as opposed to learners who practiced pronunciation in other ways. For future research, it is suggested that two or three-group experiments should be considered to quantify and identify effects under various experimental conditions. Furthermore, future studies can use software or applications for pronunciation assessment to increase the objective of the results of the tests.
Conclusion
In summary, this study suggests that video dubbing is suitable for teaching pronunciation to young EFL learners. It provides many different perspectives, suggestions, and specific advice for applying video techniques to teaching English pronunciation, an essential foundation for EFL learners to acquire and use the language.
About the Authors
Van Tuyet Thi Phan, Associate Professor, is a lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University. She is passionate about social studies and pedagogy and always wants to raise public awareness about the role of education in changing, improving, and developing society, which can be found in her publications. Her research areas also include teaching English skills, critical teaching, literature, professional development, and the application of ICT in language teaching. ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0410-1047.
Tan Quoc Nguyen, MA, is an EFL teacher at Viet My High School, a private school in Can Tho, Vietnam. He has five years of experience teaching English at the secondary level in Vietnam. His research interests include teaching pronunciation to young EFL learners, foreign language pedagogy, motivation, and computer-assisted language learning (CALL). ORCID ID: 0009-0008-7497-1076.
Khang Duy Nguyen (corresponding author) is currently an associate professor at the School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University. His research interests are not limited to language teaching and learning research but also didactics, professional development, pedagogy and education, curriculum development, practical application of ICT in the classroom, classroom research, practical educational theories, and application of critical theories. ORCID ID: 0000-0002-6121-7735
To Cite this Article
Phan, T. T. V., Nguyen, Q. T., & Nguyen, D. K. (2025). The effects of video dubbing on EFL learners’ pronunciation and their attitudes toward the technique. Teaching English as a Second Language Electronic Journal (TESL-EJ), 29(1), 1-35. https://doi.org/10.55593/ej.29113a4
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APPENDIX 1
PRE –TEST & POST – TEST
Name:
Class:
| Aspects of pronunciation | Score |
| Vowels | /5 |
| Consonants | /5 |
| Stress | /5 |
| Intonation | /5 |
| Total | /25 |
I. Read the words
| Words | Number of syllables | Stress placement | Vowel(s) | Consonant(s) | Correct | Incorrect |
| 1. Smart | 1 | – | /ɑː/ | /s/, /m/, /t/ | ||
| 2. Monday | 2 | 1st stress | /ʌ/, /eɪ/ | /m/, /n/, /d/, | ||
| 3. Work | 1 | – | /ɜː/ | /k/, /w/, | ||
| 4. Near | 1 | – | /ɪə/ | /n/ | ||
| 5. Tourism | 3 | 1st stress | /ʊə/, /ɪ/ | /t/, /r/, /z/, /m/ | ||
| 6. Lamps | 1 | – | /æ/ | /s/, /l/, /m/, /p/ | ||
| 7. Sofas | 2 | 1st stress | /əʊ/ | /z/, /f/, /s/ | ||
| 8. Wear | 1 | – | /eə/ | /w/ | ||
| 9. House | 1 | – | /aʊ/ | /p/, /h/, /s/ | ||
| 10. Special | 2 | 1st stress | /e/ | /ʃ/, /s/, /l/ | ||
| 11. Shopping | 2 | 1st stress | /ɒ/, /ɪ/ | /ʃ/, /p/, /ŋ/ | ||
| 12. Badminton | 3 | 1st stress | /æ/, /ɪ/ | /b/, /d/, /m/, /n/ | ||
| 13. Both | 1 | – | /θ/, /əʊ/ | /t/. /b/ | ||
| 14. Wish | 1 | – | /ɪ/ | /ʃ/, /w/ | ||
| 15. Weather | 2 | 1st stress | /e/, /ə/ | /w/, /ð/ | ||
| 16. Noisy | 2 | 1st stress | /ɪ/, /ɔɪ/ | /n/, /z/ | ||
| 17. Much | 1 | – | /ʌ/ | /m/, / ʧ/ | ||
| 18. Large | 1 | – | /ɑː/ | /l/, /ʤ/ | ||
| 19. Live | 1 | – | /ɪ/ | /l/, /v/ | ||
| 20. Go | 1 | – | /əʊ/ | /g/ | ||
| 21. Library | 3 | 1st stress | /aɪ/, /ɪ/, /ə/ | /b/, /r/, /l/, | ||
| 22. Look | 1 | – | /ʊ/ | /l/, /k/ | ||
| 23. Zoo | 1 | – | /uː/ | /z/ | ||
| 24. Tall | 1 | – | /ɔː/ | /t/, /l/ | ||
| 25. Tree | 1 | – | /ɪː/ | /t/, /r/ | ||
| 26. Easy | 2 | 1st stress | /ɪː/, /ɪ/ | /z/ | ||
| 27. School | 1 | – | / uː/ | /s/, /k/, /l/ | ||
| 28. Television | 4 | 1st stress | /e/, /ɪ/ | /ʒ/, /n/, /v/, /t/,/l/ | ||
| 29. Yes | 1 | – | /e/ | /j/, /s/ | ||
| 30. Cheap | 1 | – | /ɪː/ | / ʧ/, /p/ | ||
| 31. Advice | 2 | 2nd stress | /aɪ/, /ə/ | /s/, /d/, /v/ | ||
| 32. Remember | 2 | 2nd stress | /e/, /ɪ/, /ə/ | /r/, /m/, /b/ | ||
| 33. International | 3 | 3rd stress | /ɪ/, /ə/, /æ/, | /n/, /t/, /l/, /ʃ/ | ||
| 34. Afternoon | 3 | 3rd stress | /ə/, /ɑː/, /uː/ | /f/, /t/, /n/ | ||
| 35. Biology | 2 | 2nd stress | /aɪ/, /ɒ/, /ə/ | /b/, /l/, /ʤ/ |
II. Read the sentences
- Our classroom is large. (falling intonation)
- Where did Peter buy these new chopsticks? (falling intonation)
- Do you have long hair and big eyes? (rising intonation)
- Is your neighborhood quiet and peaceful? (rising intonation)
- How do you go to school every day? (falling intonation)
- There’s a lamp, a wardrobe, and a desk. (falling intonation)
- Are you a student? (rising intonation)
- Do you have any sugar? (rising intonation)
III. Read the conversation
What a nice photo!
- Mai: Tom, are these photos from your holidays?
- Tom: Yes, they are. This is Sydney, a city in Australia.
- Mai: What’s it like?
- Tom: It’s exciting with a lot of beaches.
- Mai: What a beautiful place!
- Tom: Yes, its beaches are very clean.
- Mai: Oh, this is London. Isn’t it raining? What bad weather!
- Tom: Yes, it rains all the time. Can you see Big Ben?
- Mai:.. on the River Thames. It’s a landmark of London.
- Tom: It is. And this is Times Square in New York, crowded but interesting.
- Mai: You’re lucky to visit many places.
- Tom: I am. What about your holidays?
- Mai: Here are some photos of mine. This is…
APPENDIX 2
THE SCORING RUBRICS OF PRONUNCIATION
| Criteria | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Vowels | All vowels are produced in a manner that is easily understood and clear. | Vowels are produced clearly and unambiguously. A few minor distortions do not affect intelligibility. All words are easily understandable. At least 3/4 of the words are intelligible. | Most vowels are pronounced correctly. Some consistent errors might make a few words unclear. At least 1/2 of the words are intelligible. | Some vowels are pronounced correctly, but the rest are consistently mispronounced. At least 1/4 of the words are intelligible. | Many vowels are mispronounced – more than 3/4 of the words. | All the vowels are mispronounced, misordered, and omitted. |
| Consonants | All consonants are produced in a manner that is easily understood and clear. | Consonants are produced clearly and unambiguously. A few minor distortions do not affect intelligibility. All words are easily understandable. At least 3/4 of the words are intelligible. | Most consonants are pronounced correctly. Some consistent errors might make a few words unclear. At least 1/2 of the words are intelligible. | Some consonants are pronounced correctly, but the rest are consistently mispronounced.At least 1/4 of the words are intelligible. | Many consonants are mispronounced – more than 3/4 of the words. | All the consonants are mispronounced, misordered, and omitted. |
| Intonation | The intonation tune is produced correctly in all sentences. | The intonation tune is produced correctly in most sentences – at least 3/4. | The intonation tune is produced correctly in at least 1/2 of the sentences. | Some sentences are produced with the correct intonation tune – at least 1/4 of the sentences. | Many sentences are produced with incorrect intonation tunes. About 3/4 of the sentences are incorrect. | All the sentences are produced with incorrect intonation tunes. |
| Stress | Stress is placed correctly in all words. | Stress is placed correctly in at least 3/4 of the words. | Stress is placed correctly in some words – at least 1/2 of words. | Stress is placed correctly in some words – at least 1/4. | Stress is placed incorrectly in many words or is unclear – about 3/4 of words. | Stress is placed incorrectly in all words or is unclear. |
| Overall pronunciation |
Note. Adapted from Pearson Test of English Academic’s scoring rubric (2012)
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APPENDIX 3
QUESTIONNAIRE
I. Background Information
Your name (Optional): _____________________________________
Your gender: ☐ Male ☐ Female
II. Learners’ general evaluation and attitudes toward the effects of video dubbing
Please check the number, which is applicable to you. Each number refers to the following description: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree.
| No. | Statements | Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree |
| 1 | Video dubbing has positive effects on my English pronunciation, especially consonants, vowels, stress, and intonation. | |||||
| 2 | Video dubbing creates a positive pronunciation learning environment compared to traditional learning through books in the classroom. | |||||
| 3 | Video dubbing is a fun pronunciation-learning activity, especially for young learners. | |||||
| 4 | Video dubbing helps me improve my intonation when speaking English. | |||||
| 5 | Video dubbing helps me distinguish English intonation patterns. | |||||
| 6 | Video dubbing helps me improve my speaking skills. | |||||
| 7 | Video dubbing helps raise my awareness of the importance of pronunciation. | |||||
| 8 | Video dubbing helps me improve my listening skills. | |||||
| 9 | Video dubbing creates an interactive atmosphere with the characters, images, and sounds to learn English pronunciation. | |||||
| 10 | I will find my favorite videos for dubbing activities. | |||||
| 11 | Video dubbing allows me to practice pronunciation, especially consonants, vowels, stress, and intonation. | |||||
| 12 | Video dubbing provides me with opportunities to get familiar with native speakers’ pronunciation. | |||||
| 13 | Video dubbing allows me to interact with my friends in class through characters on video. | |||||
| 14 | Video dubbing helps me feel more confident when speaking English. | |||||
| 15 | Video dubbing helps me expand my English vocabulary. | |||||
| 16 | I encounter problems with expressing characters’ emotions when dubbing. | |||||
| 17 | I face difficulty with expressing characters’ intonation. | |||||
| 18 | I have difficulty getting into characters and expressing the characters through appropriate sounds and intonation. | |||||
| 19 | I have problems with complex vocabulary when practicing video dubbing. | |||||
| 20 | I have difficulty imitating the character’s mouth movements when dubbing. | |||||
| 21 | I like using video dubbing to practice my English pronunciation. | |||||
| 22 | I feel motivated to practice my English pronunciation when using video dubbing. | |||||
| 23 | I feel more confident when using video dubbing. | |||||
| 24 | I prefer to practice video dubbing with my friends in class. | |||||
| 25 | I prefer to practice video dubbing with my teacher. | |||||
| 26 | I will continue to practice video dubbing to improve my English pronunciation. | |||||
| 27 | Video dubbing should be frequently included as an activity in English classrooms. | |||||
| 28 | I intend to recommend video dubbing to my friends. |
Thank you for your valuable time!
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APPENDIX 4
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Section 1: Ask for learners’ personal information
- What’s your name?
- How old are you?
Section 2: Ask for learners’ attitudes toward the benefits and drawbacks of using video dubbing to improve their pronunciation (cognitive component).
- Do you think your pronunciation is better after learning pronunciation through video dubbing in class? Please give an example to demonstrate how your pronunciation has improved!
- What are your challenges in practicing pronunciation through video dubbing in your class?
Section 3: Ask learners about using video dubbing to improve their pronunciation (affective component).
- How did you feel about learning pronunciation through video dubbing in your class?
Section 4: Ask for learners’ suggestions toward using video dubbing to improve their pronunciation (behavioral component).
- What are your suggestions for learning pronunciation through video dubbing in your class?
APPENDIX 5
SUMMARY OF THE PROCEDURE OF VIDEO DUBBING ACTIVITY
| No. | Steps | Activities | Aims |
| 1. | Modeling Watching an English video, listening, and observing how the characters in the video clip speak each sentence individually. |
Students watch a short English video (2 – 3 minutes) with subtitles once, listen, and observe how each character in the video clip speaks each sentence individually.
The teacher explains new words (optional). |
Familiarize with the input of the video.
Engage in authentic situations with insightful and captivating video content. |
| 2 | Coaching Listening carefully to every sentence and imitating how the characters speak. |
Students listen carefully to each sentence again and imitate how the characters speak twice. | Allow the students to cut down on pointless speech progressively, adjust word stress, mimic speech patterns of native speakers, and gain confidence when speaking. |
| 3 | Scaffolding Dubbing the video and revising the script based on the teacher’s feedback. |
Students start dubbing the video (the whole class).
The teacher divides the class into teams (2 or 3 teams) based on the main characters to dub the video again. Students practice dubbing the video in pairs or groups with subtitles with the teacher’s monitoring duties. The teacher invites some students to dub the video in front of the class. Students rewatch video, receive comments, and revise their dubs based on the teacher’s feedback. |
Revise their pronunciation mistakes through repeated trial and error.
Get feedback, guidance, and self-correction. |
Note. Adapted from Jao et al. (2022) following three cognitive apprenticeships (CA) instructional processes.
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