Students' Perception of Speakometer Application in Supporting Pronunciation Mastery: A Case Study of Eleventh-Grade Students at SMAN 4 Pandeglang

Abstract

Pronunciation remains one of the most persistent challenges for Indonesian EFL senior high school students, and teachers often lack sufficient class time to give individualized corrective feedback. This qualitative descriptive case study (Creswell & Poth, 2018) therefore examined how the Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)-based application Speakometer supported the pronunciation mastery of eleventh-grade students at SMAN 4 Pandeglang in the 2026/2027 academic year. Data were collected from 10 purposively selected students through a 10-word pronunciation checklist, classroom observation, and semi-structured interviews organized around the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Checklist results showed that students accurately pronounced words with regular sound-symbol correspondence (e.g., Music, Lawyer) but frequently mispronounced words containing silent letters (Daughter) and word-final affricates (Allege) a pattern consistent with the influence of Indonesian phonological habits, although this interpretation was not confirmed through a systematic contrastive-phonological analysis. Interview and observation data indicated that Speakometer's immediate ASR feedback, private practice setting, and gamified scoring were perceived by students as supporting their pronunciation practice, reducing speaking anxiety, and increasing motivation for independent learning; because no pre-test/post-test was administered, these gains are reported as students' perceived support rather than a statistically measured improvement in mastery. Across the four TAM constructs, students found Speakometer easy to navigate (PEOU) and useful for correcting pronunciation and building vocabulary (PU); for example, students described the interface as "simple and not confusing" (PEOU) and reported that regular practice "helps in memorizing" vocabulary (PU). These perceptions combined into a favorable attitude (ATU) and a strong intention to continue using the application and recommend it to peers (BI). This study contributes empirical evidence on how an ASR-based application not previously examined in Indonesian senior-high-school contexts can be used as a self-directed pronunciation-learning tool.