The survey consisted of a Likert-type rating scale, composed of 25 Likert-type items, on a five-point continuum. Participants were asked to rate each statement with a response as follows: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = undecided, 4 = agree, and 5 = strongly agree. All five participants completed the survey after spending 60 minutes on the program. The program was run on a PC with a Pentium II processor.

Table 1 shows the survey statements and their corresponding sample mean responses.

Table 1 # -- Survey Statement-- Mean Response
1 -- Directions and instructions are clear -- 5.0
2 -- Text suits your reading ability -- 4.6
3 -- Type and place of requested response is clear-- 5.0
4 -- Feedback after response is fast and helpful-- 4.0
5 -- Evaluation of your performance is given -- 4.0
6 -- Software is easy to operate (user friendly) -- 5.0
7 -- Options, menus, and choices are easily found -- 4.6
8 -- You can review instructions and prior screens -- 4.0
9 -- Instruction can be skipped when appropriate -- 4.0
10 -- You can enter program at different points -- 3.8
11 -- There is a feature to start again where you end -- 3.0
12 -- Moving within program is easy -- 5.0
13 -- Easy exit is available at all times -- 4.0
14 -- Goals and objectives are clear -- 4.6
15 -- Presentation of each topic is logical -- 3.8
16 -- Lessons build on knowledge from last lesson -- 3.0
17 -- There are choices for different student levels -- 3.0
18 -- Subjects are explained with appropriate details -- 4.0
19 -- Demonstrations are available and clear -- 4.2
20 -- Program re-teaches subjects after errors -- 3.8
21 -- Visual descriptions explain major concepts -- 4.2
22 -- Graphics and audio motivate you -- 4.6
23 -- You can easily find audio and visual aids -- 4.6
24 -- Graphics and audio don't distract from content -- 4.0
25 -- Program is interesting -- 5.0

"Clear Speech Works" was a fun program for the participants to improve their pronunciation. There were few problems with navigating through the exercises as it was entirely mouse and microphone driven in a user-friendly format. Participants were able to work at their own pace and spend as much or little time as they wanted on each section. The professional model voices provided clear examples of native pronunciation, although at times the investigator felt the pronunciation was too perfect and did not reflect natural speech in everyday use.

The program began with a selection of units targeting specific ethnic needs, provoking a participant to say, "Units for Japanese. Score! This is fun. You can pick your language." In the context of playing "Tic Tac Toe" another participant said, "This is nice that they give you direction each time at the bottom." Another commented, "OK! So this practice is homework? This totally depends on my independence. I wouldn't want to do homework."

The investigator did not like the artificially slow-recorded reading of text, which was slower than native speed and could not be sped up. Key words were slowly pronounced. However, a participant said, "I think it's good that you have the sound and text both."

In the context of clicking on words to hear their sounds a participant said, "'technical' words are much harder than 'common' words." The investigator believed this helped both low and high level students to participate. When presented with stress in sentences, a participant said, "We don't have that clear idea in Japanese, or we don't really care in that language." In a section on 'addressing people' a participant said, "We don't put a person's name in a sentence in Japanese. We don't get so personal. That's good to learn in English." Regarding the need for repetition and practice a participant said, "There could be more practice per unit. I wanted more practice on 'intonation and stress.'"

As a final word a participant said, "The graphics explain what I should do and the text supports the clear graphics." When seeing the Statue of Liberty and the Golden Gate Bridge a participant said, "The pictures are beautiful, but I'm not sure how they relate to the units. Does it make me want to go to America? I don't know. Some of the pictures specifically support vocabulary. I think it's good to show all this American stuff. It's motivating."