Asymmetrical cognitive load Imposed by processing native and non-native speech

Intonation affects information processing and comprehension. Previous research has found that some international teaching assistants (ITAs) fail to exploit English intonation, potentially posing processing difficulties to students who are native English speakers. However, researchers have also found that non-native listeners found it easier to process sentences given by a non-native speaker with a shared language background, leading to an interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit (ISIB). Therefore, how native speaker teaching assistant (NSTA)’s and ITA’s classroom speech affects the processing, comprehension, and attitudes of listeners with different language backgrounds needs to be further investigated. Using a dual-task paradigm, a comprehension questionnaire, and an attitudinal questionnaire, the present study investigates how the pronunciation and intonation of a NSTA and an ITA affect native English speakers’ and Mandarin-speaking English learners’ processing and comprehension of a lecture, and attitudes towards the two instructors. The present study found shared processing advantages when the listeners shared the L1 of the speaker, but overall lecture comprehension and attitude were unaffected. These findings support and extend prior research studies surveying ITAs’ intonational patterns and ISIB. These findings also have implications for research on the teaching of English pronunciation to non-native instructors.Published versio

Acoustic, Morphological, and Functional Aspects of `yeah/ja' in Dutch, English and German

We explore different forms and functions of one of the most common feedback expressions in Dutch, English, and German, namely `yeah/ja' which is known for its multi-functionality and ambiguous usage in dialog. For example, it can be used as a yes-answer, or as a pure continuer, or as a way to show agreement. In addition, `yeah/ja' can be used in its single form, but it can also be combined with other particles, forming multi-word expressions, especially in Dutch and German. We have found substantial differences on the morpho-lexical level between the three related languages which enhances the ambiguous character of `yeah/ja'. An explorative analysis of the prosodic features of `yeah/ja' has shown that mainly a higher intensity is used to signal speaker incipiency across the inspected languages

Speech intelligibility and prosody production in children with cochlear implants

Objectives—The purpose of the current study was to examine the relation between speech intelligibility and prosody production in children who use cochlear implants. Methods—The Beginner\u27s Intelligibility Test (BIT) and Prosodic Utterance Production (PUP) task were administered to 15 children who use cochlear implants and 10 children with normal hearing. Adult listeners with normal hearing judged the intelligibility of the words in the BIT sentences, identified the PUP sentences as one of four grammatical or emotional moods (i.e., declarative, interrogative, happy, or sad), and rated the PUP sentences according to how well they thought the child conveyed the designated mood. Results—Percent correct scores were higher for intelligibility than for prosody and higher for children with normal hearing than for children with cochlear implants. Declarative sentences were most readily identified and received the highest ratings by adult listeners; interrogative sentences were least readily identified and received the lowest ratings. Correlations between intelligibility and all mood identification and rating scores except declarative were not significant. Discussion—The findings suggest that the development of speech intelligibility progresses ahead of prosody in both children with cochlear implants and children with normal hearing; however, children with normal hearing still perform better than children with cochlear implants on measures of intelligibility and prosody even after accounting for hearing age. Problems with interrogative intonation may be related to more general restrictions on rising intonation, and th

Improved status following behavioural intervention in a case of severe dysarthria with stroke aetiology

There is little published intervention outcome literature concerning dysarthria acquired from stroke. Single case studies have the potential to provide more detailed specification and interpretation than is generally possible with larger participant numbers and are thus informative for clinicians who may deal with similar cases. Such research also contributes to the future planning of larger scale investigations. Behavioural intervention is described which was carried out with a man with severe dysarthria following stroke, beginning at seven and ending at nine months after stroke. Pre-intervention stability between five and seven months contrasted with significant improvements post-intervention on listener-rated measures of word and reading intelligibility and communication effectiveness in conversation. A range of speech analyses were undertaken (comprising of rate, pause and intonation characteristics in connected speech and phonetic transcription of single word production), with the aim of identifying components of speech which might explain the listeners’ perceptions of improvement. Pre- and post intervention changes could be detected mainly in parameters related to utterance segmentation and intonation. The basis of improvement in dysarthria following intervention is complex, both in terms of the active therapeutic dimensions and also the specific speech alterations which account for changes to intelligibility and effectiveness. Single case results are not necessarily generalisable to other cases and outcomes may be affected by participant factors and therapeutic variables, which are not readily controllable

Developing Multiple Intelligence-Based English Speaking Supplementary Materials for year 7 Full Day School Students of Islamic Junior High Schools.

This study aimed to develop appropriate multiple intelligence-based English speaking supplementary materials for seventh grade students of Full Day School program of Islamic Junior High School. The study was conducted by following the procedure of research and development proposed by Borg and Gall (2003). To achieve the objectives, this study involved 64 students of Full Day School program of an Islamic Junior High School in Kebumen Regency of Central Java Province, as the sample of study. The data were collected using four techniques including conducting observation, interview, Multiple Intelligence Scale (MIS) test, and spreading questionnaires. The collected data were analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The result of the research was a textbook prototype consisting of six units of multiple intelligence-based English speaking materials for students. The results of expert judgments’ analysis showed the calculation results as follows: the content (4.4 of 5), the materials presentation (4.3 of 5), the language (4.5 of 5), and the graphic design (4.6 of 5). Furthermore, the materials were implemented to and evaluated by the students, resulting the mean value i.e. 4,6 of 5 which is categorized as “very good”. In other words, the developed multiple intelligence-based English speaking supplementary materials for year 7 Full Day School students of Islamic Junior High Schools are appropriate to be used

Automatic sentence stress feedback for non-native English learners

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