Development of Foreign Language Learning System Focusing on Speaking and Evaluation of the Effectiveness

This is a report on a learning system aimed at improving foreign language speaking skills through memorization of short sentences. The method of the system is as follows: 1. A short sentence in the learner's mother tongue is either displayed on a computer monitor, or is communicated by audio. 2. The learner translates the sentence quickly. 3. The system displays the correct answer. 4. The system then selects and displays another short sentence from the collection. The above steps are repeated. The learner is to memorize all translations. We evaluated the learning effectiveness of the system for improving speaking skills by asking few participants to use the system. We created short sentences and equally divided them into Set A and Set B. Set A contained sentences that are be learned, and Set B contained sentences that are not to be learned. The participants were subjected to pre-test and post-tests containing sentences from both sets. The participants' vocal answers for both pre and post tests were evaluated in terms of fluency. The evaluation revealed that not only did the participants improve their speaking skills for the sentences in Set A (direct effect), they showed improvements toward sentences in Set B (indirect effect). More specifically, indirect effects were observed for 7 out of 9 sentences as a statistical significance.