KATAOKA, Harumi

71

研究ノート

Oral Repetitions of English Vocabulary Using Text-To-Speech Synthesis Sounds:
Preparation for University Entrance Examinations
KATAOKA, Harumi(Kinki University)

1. INTRODUCTION
According to a recent survey (MEXT, 2013), a total of 794,230 students in a comprehensive
course, referred to as “Futsuuka” in Japanese, graduated from high school in March 2013. Of these,
62.2% directly proceeded to universities in April 2013. To gain admission in universities, mosthigh school students have to take university entrance examinations that measure students’ English
proficiency. To pass these examinations, students need to understand the English sentences inEnglish tests. According to Hirsh and Nation (1992, p. 689), readers need to know 97%–98% of
the vocabulary in each English sentence to understand the sentence.
In 2009, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) reported
that Japanese high school students have to learn 1,800 English words as part of their English as a
Foreign Language (EFL) education under the new English language curriculum, which was
enforced in April 2013. However, some students need to master more than 1,800 English words topass the university entrance examinations, especially if they hope to pass the examinations ofsome of the higher level universities.
In general, high school students who hope to pass the university entrance examinations study
English vocabulary by using specified workbooks. Most of them study workbooks called Akahon.
Although the Akahon series contains English audio CDs for the first stage of the English test of
the National Center Test for University Admissions, there are no English audio CDs available forsome private university entrance examinations. Therefore, high school students who wish to gain
admission in private universities study English vocabulary without the help of these CDs.
However, Hatashita, Ikemura, and Togo (2005) reported that high school students who studied
English vocabulary by oral repetition—using English speech sounds—had higher vocabulary testscores compared to those who studied without using English speech sounds. Their study revealed
that oral repetition is an effective English vocabulary learning strategy for Japanese high school
students when using English audio.
Traditionally, high school students study the target English vocabulary by learning two aspectsof vocabulary: (1) spelling and (2) meaning.
By using text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis technology, English language teachers can create
language learning audio materials that are suitable for their students’ English proficiency levels(Kataoka and Ito, 2013). In the case of no English audio material for private university entranceOral Repetitions of English Vocabulary Using Text-To-Speech Synthesis Sounds:
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examinations, teachers can develop this material using TTS synthesis technology. Listening totarget vocabulary speech sounds can offer Japanese EFL learners three learning outcomes: (1)spelling, (2) meaning, and (3) pronunciation.
Thus far, there has been no research on students’ use of TTS speech sounds to learn English
vocabulary for private university entrance examinations; therefore, studies of this kind arenecessary.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
There is a difference in the pronunciation and linguistic structure between Japanese and English.
Previous studies have shown that Japanese EFL learners need to learn and memorize English
words, pronunciations, and meanings on a one-by-one basis (Hatori, 1977; Kohno, 1984; Palmer,
1921); this indicates that EFL learners need to have an understanding of the spelling, meaning,and pronunciation of each English word.
According to Widdowson (1978, p. 57), the four language skills of speaking, listening (orunderstanding speech), reading, and writing are closely related when developing English
acquisition among learners. Reading aloud is one type of English learning activity. Considering
Widdowson’s definitions of the four skills, a reading aloud activity could be considered a practicalEnglish learning strategy. Several studies have been conducted on reading aloud in Japanese EFL
education (Ishihara, 2002; Miyasako, 2002, 2007; Suzuki, 1998; Takeuchi, Ikeda, and Mizumoto,2012). Hatashita, Ikemura, and Togo (2005) reported that high school students who learned
English vocabulary by oral repetition using English audio had higher English test scores thanthose who did not use English audio. Therefore, based on the findings of these studies, it can besaid that reading aloud is one way in which Japanese EFL learners can develop their English
abilities. Although English language learning using English speech sounds has been proven to bean effective way for Japanese EFL learners to study English (Kohno, Ikari, Kadota, Murata, andYamane (Eds.), 2007), there are not enough research results on the number of repetitions ofEnglish vocabulary preferred by Japanese high school students.
Studies on TTS technology in EFL education have already been conducted in Japan as well as
overseas (Azuma, 2008; Chew, 2009; Hirai and O’ki, 2011; Jones, Berry, and Stevens, 2007;
Kataoka, 2009; Kataoka and Ito, 2013; O’ki, 2010; Yoshida, 2008). All these studies suggest that
TTS speech sounds are useful for both Japanese EFL learners to acquire English and for English
language teachers to create audio language learning materials that match their students’ English
proficiency levels. However, thus far, there are insufficient findings on the actual use of TTS
speech sounds as English audio material for Japanese high school EFL education.
Tinkham (1993) revealed that most learners require five to seven repetitions to learn English
vocabulary. Webb (2007) examined the repetition and memory of English vocabulary for 121
Japanese university students. The results showed that most words were memorized only after ten
repetitions. These studies also suggest that English speech sounds are one of the most effective
learning strategies for Japanese EFL learners to acquire English. The participants in theseprevious studies were university students, and more studies need to be conducted on the learning

KATAOKA, Harumi

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processes of Japanese high school students.
A collaborative learning approach is adopted to teach English during regular EFL education inhigh school. However, it is necessary for teachers to understand each student’s learning process.
Vygotsky (1978) described the general relationship between learning and development as “thezone of proximal development (ZPD).” According to him, this zone represents the distance
between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving under
adults guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers (p. 86). According to the concept of
the ZPD, “scaffolding” by teachers is an important factor affecting learners’ language
development (Bruner, 1985; van Lier, 1996).
In order to gauge the learners’ situation, Wallace (1998, p. 13) suggested that teachers put dataof tests and/or questionnaires into the reflective cycle—a framework of action research; this is one
way for teachers to acquire the process of their learners’ developments. Two important processes
for teachers’ professional development are to analyze both professional practices during lessons
and learner’s reflections (Figure 1).

Figure 1. A Framework of Action Research (Wallace, 1998, p. 13)
Sano (2005) also recommended using action research to improve English lessons in Japan.
According to him, action research is a useful tool for teachers in Japan who want to develop andimprove their English lessons. Sato (2006) defined schools as “collaboration learning systems.”
These previous studies indicate that students can learn not only the target subject but also
numerous other unrelated things through interactions with their classmates/teachers in theclassroom setting. To develop students’ English proficiency, teachers must plan activities andtasks. Therefore, scaffolding by teachers is necessary for the growth of high school students’English proficiency.
3. METHOD
3.1 Participants
A total of 31 third-year high school students from a boy’s private school in Osaka city
participated in this study. On average, the students had learned English for 5.5 years, since juniorhigh school. They were enrolled in the comprehensive course, and their average English
proficiency levels in the Society for Testing English Proficiency (STEP) test were around the 3rd74Oral Repetitions of English Vocabulary Using Text-To-Speech Synthesis Sounds:
Preparation for University Entrance Examinations

grade. All the boys were born in Japan, and none of them had stayed in an English-speaking
country or had any experience participating in this kind of experiment. The participants wereassured of complete anonymity throughout the study.
3.2 Purpose of the Study
The aim of this study is to use TTS speech sounds to investigate how many oral repetitions ofEnglish vocabulary are sufficient for third-year high school students studying for university
entrance examinations. All the students in this study wanted to go to university. They also hoped
to study English vocabulary during regular English lessons in order to prepare for their university
entrance examinations.
3.3 TTS System Used in This Study
The TTS technology used in this study was a digital speech synthesis system and aspeech-synthesized software technology that could be executed in personal computers. Just by
typing English words on the keyboard of a personal computer, English digital speech is
automatically produced (Dutoit, 1997; Taylor, 2009). TTS technology has been widely utilized forour daily lives (Kataoka, 2009). It is also used as a speech-recognition system and/or an automatedvoice answering system in the latest smartphones (as of 2014). By using TTS technology, teachers
can control English speech sounds and produce audio learning materials to suit their students’English proficiency levels (Kataoka and Ito, 2013). In this study, TTS technology was used to
produce a TTS English audio CD for the oral repetition activity. Figure 2 is a screenshot of the
TTS system used in this study.

Figure 2. A Screenshot of the TTS System
As an audio recording system, a free audio software “iTunes” was used to record TTS speechsounds onto an audio CD. The lessons were conducted in a regular classroom in a high school. The
TTS CD was played for the students on a CD deck.
3.4 Research Questions
The following two research questions were addressed.
RQ1: How many oral repetitions of each English word/idiom—using TTS speech sounds—in
one lesson are sufficient for third-grade high school students?

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75

RQ2: Apart from improving learners’ English proficiency, are there any additional effects?
3.5 Learning Materials
Two types of learning materials were prepared.
(1) A TTS audio CD to teach the target English vocabulary during lessons.
(2) An English vocabulary list in hard copies, comprising 190 English words and 33 idioms;
these were taken from the Kansai University entrance examination workbook called Akahon(Kyougakusha, 2005, pp. 74–81, see Appendix A).
3.6 Procedure
Previous studies on Japanese students’ language recognition (Hatori, 1977; Kohno, 1984;
Kohno et al., 2007; Palmer, 1921), and reading aloud (Hatashita, Ikemura, and Togo, 2005;
Ishihara, 2002; Miyasako, 2002, 2007; Suzuki, 1998; Takeuchi, Ikeda, and Mizumoto, 2012) haverevealed that a knowledge of both the pronunciation and meaning of each English and Japaneseword facilitates students’ understanding of English. This is why the oral repetition practice—by
the reading aloud method—was used to enable students to learn the target English vocabulary inthis study. Table 1 shows the timeline for 33 lessons.
Table 1Timeline for 33 lessons

Note. The page numbers are taken from Akahon: Kansai University (Kyougakusha, 2005).
The participants studied the target English vocabulary for their university entrance
examinations by repeating the TTS speech sounds. Building on the results of a previous study on
the use of English audio to improve vocabulary (Hatashita, Ikemura, and Togo, 2005), all thestudents were given TTS speech sounds for each English word/idiom. The pause between each

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Oral Repetitions of English Vocabulary Using Text-To-Speech Synthesis Sounds:
Preparation for University Entrance Examinations

word/idiom was set to 3,000 ms (= three seconds) so that students could repeat each word/idiom
together during the lessons.
The high school students were also given hard copies of the target English vocabulary list; thesewere taken from the Akahon workbook (see Appendix A). Students were asked to read through thelist and memorize the spelling and pronunciation of each English word/idiom, and its meaning inJapanese script.
In their English lessons, they were asked to stand up and read one target vocabulary word/idiom
silently, while listening to the TTS CD. Then, they had to repeat, in unison, each English
word/idiom exactly as they had heard it, while reading that word/idiom on the hard copy list.
In order to sustain the students’ motivation to study English vocabulary for university entrance
examinations, action research (Wallace, 1998; Sano, 2005) was adopted to monitor them during
their regular English lessons. Data were gathered in two ways—(1) eight vocabulary tests and (2)three questionnaires—during their regular English lessons for a total of 33 lessons (see Table 1).
As already mentioned, the target English vocabulary list was taken from Akahon (see Appendix
A). Each page of the Akahon workbook was studied and tested for four sessions. After three
sessions of oral repetition practice, a vocabulary test/questionnaire was issued in the fourth
session (see Table 1 and Figure 3).

Figure 3. Repetition Practice
The 33 lessons were divided into three modules to determine the students’ motivation levels
when studying English vocabulary (see Table 1); the results of the two types of research—(1)English vocabulary tests and (2) questionnaires—were used to improve subsequent lessons.

Module 1: 3 Sets

Module 2: 1 Set

Module 3: 4 Sets

Figure 4. English Vocabulary Repetitions During the Three Modules
In order to determine the most effective oral repetition times for the students, the repetition
times in the practice sessions were decided on the basis of the results of the questionnaires thatwere given to students during the lessons (see Table 1 and Figure 4).

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3.7 Data Collection
The following two types of data were collected to analyze how high school students learned
English vocabulary for university entrance examinations, using action research.
a. English vocabulary tests: A total of eight tests were conducted in this study (see Table 1,
Appendix B), each comprising ten questions. A correct answer to a question was assigned 1 point,
and the total score was 10 points.
b. Questionnaires: The questionnaires were administered to gather data about the most effective
number of repetitions of English vocabulary. Three questionnaires in three modules wereadministered in this study.
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Results of the English Vocabulary Tests
Table 2 shows the mean, standard deviation, and minimum and maximum scores for the eight
vocabulary tests. The score for “all students” was marked as “AS,” and that for the “students whocompleted all eight tests” was marked as “S” in Table 2. The tests comprised ten questions, and 1
point was given for each correct answer, 10 points being the total score (see Appendix B). The
average scores for each test were different, although different contexts of vocabulary tests wereconducted. The eight vocabulary tests were administered during the second semester, from
September to November. Some students who were taking the writing tests and interviews forprivate university entrance examinations—called “Suisen nyuushi” in Japanese—were absent from
regular high school lessons. This is why the total number of “AS” students for each vocabulary
test changed.
Table 2
Results of the eight English vocabulary tests

Note. A correct answer to a question was assigned 1 point, and the total score was 10. “AS” refers
to “all students” in each test; “S” means the student who took all eight tests.
The results revealed that the average scores for “AS” in all tests were higher than those for “S.”This showed that the students in the AS group, who took Suisen nyuushi, had higher English
proficiency levels.
4.2 How Many Repetitions of Each English Vocabulary Words/Idioms per Lesson are
Sufficient for Third-grade Japanese High School Students?
4.2.1 Results in Module 1
Action research (Sano, 2006; Wallace, 1998) was adopted to analyze students’ perspectives on

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Oral Repetitions of English Vocabulary Using Text-To-Speech Synthesis Sounds:
Preparation for University Entrance Examinations

learning English vocabulary during lessons, in order to investigate the two research questions: (1)How many oral repetitions of each English word/idiom—using TTS speech sounds—in one lesson
are sufficient for third-grade high school students?, and (2) Apart from improving learners’
English proficiency, are there any additional effects?
To determine the optimal number of vocabulary repetitions for students during the practice, byreading aloud, different repetition times were assigned to the students (see Module 1 in Table 1
and Figure 4). The number of vocabulary items per test was limited to one page of the Akahon
workbook (see Appendix A). Through a comparison of three tests—the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd English
vocabulary tests—I found that the 3rd test showed the best average score (see Table 2).
The first questionnaire was administered to assess the number of oral repetitions students felt
comfortable with after the 3rd English vocabulary test administered in the 12th class (see Table 1).

Figure 5. Results of the first questionnaire: How many repetitions do you believe to be sufficient?
The results revealed that 61.29% of students believed that each target English vocabulary word
should be repeated twice, continuously; 38.71% believed that each word should be repeated threetimes; none of the students believed one oral repetition to be sufficient (see Figure 5). Since thedata were not distributed normally, a non-parametric chi-square test was carried out. A significant
difference was found between the three questionnaire categories (χ 2 (2) = 17.87, p = .00, W = .29) 1 .
Based on the result of the first questionnaire, I concluded that the students perceived that orally
repeating vocabulary twice, continuously, was most effective.
Each questionnaire contained a free descriptive column; based on the comments the students
wrote in this column in the first questionnaire in Module 1, there were two reasons for theirperception that two repetitions were sufficient: (1) the moderate sense of time during repetitions,and (2) the concentration required to memorize the spelling of the target vocabulary. Some
negative comments were also reported, such as “In case I had already memorized some target
vocabulary, the three times, continuously, oral repetition style annoyed me.” I wondered whether
the students’ dislike for the three times repetition style caused a gradual decrease in their
willingness to study, even if their score in the 3rd test was better than those in the 1st and 2nd
tests. This is why during the 13th and 15th classes in Module 2, they studied the target vocabulary
using the two times oral repetition method (see Table 1 and Figure 4).
4.2.2 Results in Module 2
The second questionnaire in Module 2 was administered after the 4th vocabulary test in the 16th

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class (see Module 2 in Table 1). This questionnaire elicited information on which type of twotimes oral repetition students preferred: oral repetitions (1) to repeat target vocabulary twice,continuously (twice, continuously, oral repetition style) and (2) to repeat target vocabulary only
once at the end of the list, and then repeat it all again (once × 2 times oral repetition style).

Figure 6. Results of the second questionnaire: Which repetition do you prefer?
The results indicated that 60.00% of students supported the twice, continuously, oral repetitionstyle (see Figure 6). The data were not distributed normally; therefore, a non-parametricchi-square test was carried out. No significant difference was found between two questionnaire
categories (χ 2 (1) = 1.20, p = .27, W = .04). Based on the results of the second questionnaire, amixed style of the two times repeating practice was chosen for the 17th to 31st classes in thisstudy (see Module 3 in Table 1 and Figure 4).
4.2.3 Results in Module 3
The third questionnaire in Module 3 was administered after the 8th vocabulary test in the 33rd
lesson (see Table 1); it aimed at eliciting information on which type of two times repeating
practice the students preferred.

Figure 7. Results of the third questionnaire: Which repetition do you prefer?
The results showed that 56.67% of students preferred the target vocabulary to be repeated twice,continuously (see Figure 7). Since the data were not distributed normally, a non-parametricchi-square test was carried out. No significant difference was found (χ 2 (1) = .53, p = .47, W= .13).
The results of the three questionnaires in Modules 1, 2, and 3 revealed that the third-grade highschool students preferred to repeat the target English vocabulary twice, continuously, per lesson.
They repeated one target word/idiom six times in total. Considering the results of previous related

Oral Repetitions of English Vocabulary Using Text-To-Speech Synthesis Sounds:
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studies (Tinkham, 1993; Webb, 2008), repeating a word/idiom six times appears to be an
appropriate and valid result.
4.3 The Results of the Third Questionnaire in Module 3: High School Students’ Perspectives
Other items in the third questionnaire were assessed using a 5-point scale (Takeuchi, 2003, p.
254) ranging from 1 (I strongly disagree) to 5 (I strongly agree). Table 3 depicts the questionnaire
results for each item. Items 5 and 7 from the third questionnaire in Module 3 revealed thestudents’ perception that English speech sounds helped them to learn English vocabulary.
Table 3Results of the third questionnaire in Module 3: High school students’ perspectives
Questionnaire items

M

SD

1

Were you able to hear each English word/idiom?

3.48

0.89

2

Were you able to pronounce the vocabulary repeatedly after each English

3.48

0.89

sound?
3

Did you feel the speed of each English word/idiom was fast?

2.97

0.48

4

Did you feel that the pause between vocabulary items was long?

2.81

0.54

5

Do you think that the repetition practice helped you memorize the target

3.58

0.76

3.52

0.81

3.65

0.84

3.35

0.84

2.35

1.31

English vocabulary?
6

Did you get better scores because of the vocabulary repetition practice?

7

Do you think that it benefited you to learn English vocabulary using theEnglish sounds?

8

Do you think it was useful for you to memorize the target English vocabulary
by repeating it together in class?

9

Did you learn the target English vocabulary outside class?

Note. 5 = strongly agree, 4 = agree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree, 2 = disagree, 1 = strongly
disagree.

Figure 8. Results of the Third Questionnaire in Module 3: High School Students’ Perspectives

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KATAOKA, Harumi

There were some positive/remarkable descriptions that were written by the participants in thethird questionnaire. “S” in the following excerpt stands for “student.”
Excerpt 1 from the free description column in the third questionnaire in Module 3.
S1: I have understood the pronunciation of English words.
S2: By listening to the English vocabulary and repeating it, I was able to memorize it easily.
S3: I could not learn the English vocabulary outside the classroom.
S4: I had a deep understanding of the English vocabulary, because I paid attention to otherstudents’ oral repetitions.
S5: I guess we should be able to learn the English vocabulary only by hearing thepronunciations in a short time during the lessons.
S6: I could listen to my classmates’ English pronunciations, and I was able to ask them how
they memorized English words.
S7: The first time I had read the English vocabulary list, I guessed I would not be able toremember it at all. I lost my motivation. However, I found that I was able to memorize thelist by patiently studying it.
(Author’s translation)
These comments from Excerpt 1 indicate that listening to English speech sounds is a usefulstrategy by which high school students can study English vocabulary. According to previous
studies (Hatori, 1977; Hayashita, Ikemura, and Togo, 2005; Kohno, 1984; Kohno et al., 2007;
Palmer, 1921), learning both the pronunciation and meaning of each English and Japanese word
enables third-grade Japanese high school students to memorize English vocabulary for their
university entrance examinations.
5. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONSThis study investigated how many oral repetitions of each English word/idiom, using TTS
speech sounds, third-grade high school students thought to be sufficient. In order to conduct thisresearch, two research questions were addressed.
RQ1: How many oral repetitions of each English word/idiom—using TTS speech sounds—in
one lesson are sufficient for third-grade high school students?
The results of the three questionnaires in Modules 1, 2, and 3 (see Figures 5, 6, and 7) revealed
that the third-grade high school students in this study believed that repeating a vocabulary item
twice, continuously, was sufficient to learn the vocabulary. They repeated one target word/idiom
six times in total. According to previous studies (Tinkham, 1993; Webb, 2008), repeating aword/idiom six times appears to be an appropriate and valid result.
RQ2: Apart from improving learners’ English proficiency, are there any additional effects?
The results of the nine items (see Table 3) and the comments in the free description column (seeExcerpt 1) for the third questionnaire in Module 3 revealed the following three facts.
First, TTS speech sounds are useful for English language learning. According to the resultsOral Repetitions of English Vocabulary Using Text-To-Speech Synthesis Sounds:
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summarized in Table 3 and Excerpt 1, it is clear that some students prefer to repeat target English
vocabulary using TTS speech sounds during lessons. Some also reported that this oral repetition
helped them to memorize the vocabulary (see S2, S4, S5, and S6 in Excerpt 1).
Second, each student was able to recognize his learning strategy (see S7 in Excerpt 1). During
the 33 classes, all the students tried to find out the best self-learning strategy to boost vocabulary
test scores. Through this, students finally realized the importance of knowing their own learning
styles.
Finally, the interaction among students was vital to change their perspectives on English
language learning (see S6 in Excerpt 1). During this study, students gradually changed and tried tocommunicate with each other. They discovered the importance of collaborative learning, alearning style followed in schools around the world (Bruner, 1985; Sano, 2005; Sato, 2006; vanLier, 1996; Vygotsky, 1978). The results of this study also showed the importance of learning inclass, referred to as “collaborative learning.” These findings suggest that scaffolding by teachers
can expand learners’ English language acquisition and foster their metacognition for language
learning.
Before concluding, two limitations of this study should be pointed out (1) the results of theeight English vocabulary tests were the comparison of different tests, and (2) students could not be
divided into two groups—a control group and an experimental group. A follow-up study will benecessary to confirm the validity of the above findings between the two groups.
The results of this study show that TTS speech sounds are useful for both Japanese EFL learners
and English language teachers. Using the TTS system, teachers could create a TTS audio CD thatstudents could use to prepare for private university entrance examinations during regular English
lessons in high school.
In case of no audio CDs, learners can study only two aspects of vocabulary: (1) spelling, and (2)meaning contained in the Akahon English vocabulary list. However, through oral repetition using
TTS speech sounds, the high school students in this study could learn three aspects of vocabulary:(1) spelling, (2) meaning, and (3) pronunciation.
It will be important for further research into English language learning using TTS technology totake into account the interaction among high school students before creating teaching plans forJapanese high school EFL education.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author gratefully acknowledges the cooperation and support of the high school teachers andstudents to take time for this research. She would like to express her deep gratitude to Dr. Shigeru
Yamane, Kansai University, for his valuable comments on this paper. She also thanks Dr. Eiichi
Yamamoto, Professor Taichi Usami, Professor Takaichi Okuda, Kansai University, and Ms.
Makiko Ito, Osaka Prefectural Kashiwara-higashi High School, for their warm encouragement toher high school English educational studies.
	
 
NOTE

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83

1. According to Field (2009, p.576), Kendall’s W, which is also written (W), shows the agreementof raters. W has a limited range from 0 (no agreement between judges) to 1 (complete agreement
between judges).
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Appendix A.
Target Vocabulary List on Page 75 in Akahon: Kansai University

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Oral Repetitions of English Vocabulary Using Text-To-Speech Synthesis Sounds:
Preparation for University Entrance Examinations

Appendix B.
The First Vocabulary Test