Process A | Instructional Design

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Improving Articulatory Phonetics In English:

The Letter 'A'

Project Overview

This concept course, designed in Articulate Rise, focuses on improving pronunciation of long and short vowel sounds of the letter “A” for multilingual learners, addressing a real-world scenario where mispronunciation could impact professional communication and business outcomes.

Drawing on my experience directing English learning programs and facilitating skill development, I structured the course to translate nuanced language skills into actionable workplace capabilities. Learners progress through interactive assessments, reflective exercises, and multimedia content that reinforce application in practical contexts.

The course also incorporates a Google Forms rubric to evaluate learner comprehension and program effectiveness, emphasizing measurable skill development and performance outcomes.

Audience: Multilingual Professionals

Responsibilities: Learning Experience Design, Instructional Design, Content Development, Visual Design, Multimedia Production, Research & Needs Analysis

Tools Used: Articulate Rise, Camtasia, Google Forms

Experience The Full Project

Needs Assessment

Although this project is a concept course, I drew on my experience as an ESL director and facilitator to identify key learner needs. Based on my observations, learners often face difficulties with accurate English vowel pronunciation, particularly when distinguishing between the long and short sounds of the letter “A.”

These pronunciation challenges can significantly impact communication in professional contexts such as sales calls or interviews. With this in mind, I structured the course to target these specific needs and build foundational pronunciation skills.

Storyboard

For this project I did not create a detailed storyboard. Instead, I leveraged Articulate Rise’s built-in structure and layout to guide the organization and flow of the content. Using Rise, I created a logical progression of lessons, beginning with foundational concepts such as an introduction to vowel sounds and moving into more interactive elements, including self-recording exercises and knowledge checks.

The modular design of Rise allowed me to organize content into bite-sized sections, each focused on a specific aspect of pronunciation. I used a combination of videos, quizzes, and interactive knowledge checks to maintain engagement. The course flow was mapped directly within Rise, ensuring a smooth learner experience from start to finish with clear progression between lessons.

This approach streamlined the design process by aligning the course structure with Rise’s capabilities, creating an intuitive learning path that reinforced pronunciation skills progressively.

Design Approach

The instructional design for this course is grounded in Constructivist Learning Theory, which emphasizes that learners develop understanding through active cognitive processing rather than passive reception of information. This approach informed how content was sequenced, reinforced, and contextualized throughout the learning experience.

A key design consideration was ensuring that learners move beyond recognition of pronunciation rules toward internalization and transfer into real-world communication. To support this, the course emphasizes cognitive engagement through structured opportunities for learners to compare, evaluate, and adjust their understanding over time.

The use of contextual scenarios was intended to situate learning within authentic workplace communication challenges, supporting meaning-making and reinforcing the relevance of pronunciation accuracy in professional settings. This helps bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and applied workplace performance.

Overall, the design prioritizes learner autonomy and reflective thinking, encouraging individuals to evaluate their own progress and refine their understanding through repeated cognitive engagement with the material.

Engagement

To ensure learners remain engaged and retain information, I integrated interactive design elements aligned with instructional design best practices.

Knowledge Checks:
At strategic points throughout the course, I included knowledge checks to assess understanding of American English pronunciation concepts. These varied in format:

Flip Cards: Learners interact with words and match them to correct pronunciation categories.
Multiple-Choice Questions: Assess comprehension of vowel sounds in context.
Matching Exercises: Help learners associate sounds with corresponding words in an interactive format.

Self-Recording Activities:
A key feature of the course is the self-recording component, where learners record themselves practicing pronunciation of words, phrases, and short passages. This hands-on activity supports active engagement and allows learners to track progress over time. Learners can then compare their recordings to provided models to evaluate accuracy and improvement.

Reflection Component:
To reinforce learning, I included a reflection activity where learners consider their recording experience, identify areas of strength, and note areas for further practice. This encourages self-assessment and supports ongoing skill development.

Evaluation

To evaluate learner progress and determine the effectiveness of the course, I included multiple forms of assessment throughout.

Formative Assessments:

These include knowledge checks that provide instant feedback as learners progress through the course. They are used to evaluate understanding of key concepts while addressing misconceptions in real time.

Final Assessment:

The final assessment is a cumulative evaluation of all course content. It measures learners’ ability to recall and apply correct pronunciation techniques for long and short vowel sounds, while also providing insight into overall course effectiveness and knowledge retention.

Rubric:

To gather qualitative feedback on learner experience and perceived progress, I designed a Google Forms rubric completed at the end of the course. This rubric evaluates learners’ self-assessed pronunciation development for the letter “A” using a 1–4 scale, where 4 indicates proficiency and 1 indicates an emerging level.

Reflection

Collecting direct feedback from ESL learners is essential to evaluate whether this course effectively improved pronunciation of the letter “A”.

In a real-world implementation, course effectiveness would be assessed through multiple feedback channels to inform iterative improvements:

Learner Feedback: Post-course surveys and interviews to evaluate learner satisfaction, perceived effectiveness, and overall learning experience.

Self-Recorded Pronunciation: Learner recordings reviewed over time to assess changes in pronunciation accuracy, with the option for instructor feedback where applicable.

Rubric Evaluation: A structured Google Forms rubric used to capture learner self-assessment and perceived progress, providing quantitative and qualitative insights to support future course refinement.