The purpose of this research is to 1) find out the learners’ experiences of self-directed learning using ELSA Speak to learn pronunciation and 2) find out the effects of ELSA Speak on the participants’ self-directed pronunciation learning based on the learners’ perspectives. This study uses a narrative approach that unveils the thick and rich stories of the participants. The resources of data are the three research participants (primary data) and artifacts (secondary data). The participants are ELSA Speak users and are frequently using the application. The researcher collected the data through written guided reflection (WGR), artifacts, and interviews. Interviews were conducted to gain more answers and artifacts were obtained to enrich the data source. The data analysis process was: 1) preparing the data in the form of field notes, 2) selecting relevant data, 3) coding the data, 4) categorizing the data according to the theory, 5) making themes, and 6) analyzing the data. The research revealed that 1) ELSA Speak helped the participants do self-directed pronunciation learning. The research showed that the participants used ELSA Speak because it is convenient, has many lessons, is personalized, and has instant feedback. Aside from their learning goals, the good features of ELSA Speak made the participants more motivated. From the planning to the evaluating process, the participants also used ELSA Speak. They did learning activities from ELSA Speak, they got feedback that they could interpret, they also got to see their progress and did evaluation from that data. 2) The application affected the participants’ pronunciation improvement, confidence, motivation, and self-awareness. The participants increased their score on ELSA Speak, they also implied to have self-awareness, and the application made them more motivated or eager to learn pronunciation. This research suggests that EFL learners can learn independently with the help of learning tools such as websites or applications, especially Automatic-speech recognition (ASR) applications if the learning focus is on pronunciation skills. It is also recommended for lecturers or teachers to use websites/applications, especially ASR applications/websites like ELSA Speak as additional learning tools in the classroom. Other research could explore this topic further, especially using qualitative studies to analyze more on the experiences of self-directed pronunciation learning.
