Exploring Speech Technologies for Language Learning

The teaching of the pronunciation of any foreign language must encompass both segmental and suprasegmental aspects of speech. In computational terms, the two levels of language learning activities can be decomposed at least into phonemic aspects, which include the correct pronunciation of single phonemes and the co-articulation of phonemes into higher phonological units; as well as prosodic aspects which include  the correct position of stress at word level;  the alternation of stress and unstressed syllables in terms of compensation and vowel reduction;  the correct position of sentence accent;  the generation of the adequate rhymth from the interleaving of stress, accent, and phonological rules;  the generation of adequate intonational pattern for each utterance related to communicative functions; As appears from above, for a student to communicate intelligibly and as close as possible to native-speaker's pronunciation, prosody is very important [3]. We also assume that an incorrect prosody may hamper communication from taking place and this may be regarded a strong motivation for having the teaching of Prosody as an integral part of any language course. From our point of view it is much more important to stress the achievement of successful communication as the main objective of a second language learner rather than the overcoming of what has been termed “foreign accent”, which can be deemed as a secondary goal. In any case, the two goals are certainly not coincident even though they may be overlapping in some cases. We will discuss about these matter in the following sections. All prosodic questions related to “rhythm” will be discussed in the first section of this chapter. In [4] the author argues in favour of prosodic aids, in particular because a strong placement of word stress may impair understanding from the listener’s point of view of the word being pronounced. He also argues in favour of acquiring correct timing of phonological units to overcome the impression of “foreign accent” which may ensue from an incorrect distribution of stressed vs. unstressed stretches of linguistic units such as syllables or metric feet. Timing is not to be confused with speaking rate which need not be increased forcefully to give the impression of a good fluency: trying to increase speaking rate may result in lower intelligibility. The question of “foreign accent” is also discussed at length in (Jilka M., 1999). This work is particularly relevant as far as intonational features of a learner of a second language which we will address in the second section of this chapter. Correcting the Intonational Foreign Accent (hence IFA) is an important component of a Prosodic Module for self-learning activities, as categorical aspects of the intonation of the two languages in contact, L1 and L2 are far apart and thus neatly distinguishable. Choice of the two languages in contact is determined mainly by the fact that the distance in prosodic terms between English and Italian is maximal, according to (Ramus, F. and J. Mehler, 1999; Ramus F., et al., 1999)

A Developmental Study of ASR-Enhanced E-Book Software to Improve on-Task Interaction for First Grade Users

This developmental research study explores the effects of audio-visual feedback and user input mechanisms on user behaviors and satisfaction, through development of a first-grade reading program for the computer. Specific design elements investigated include human vs. synthesized audio feedback, segmented vs. whole-word pronunciation, format of supporting graphic (image vs. animation), use of automatic speech recognition (ASR) to encourage or enforce oral reading of an e-book, and effect of tutorial with mouse-click word identification or ASR-controlled word synthesis games. The study examines a variety of quantitative and qualitative measures including use logs, recorded screen-capture videos of use sessions, one-on-one interviews, and satisfaction surveys. The results of testing for each design element are analyzed and most appropriate design choice is implemented for subsequent design phases in an iterative manner. Design guidelines are given confirm the existing literature\u27s findings of user preference for human speech over computer-synthesized speech (TTS) and that supporting graphics can increase user satisfaction of e-books, but also have the potential for distraction and reduction of active reading tasks. ASR was found to be ineffective as an input mechanism due to user error and low success rate in this study, but was found to be better-suited as a tool for smaller discrete tasks such as word synthesis practice and games, and may be effective for practice or support when offered as an optional tool to be used voluntarily by users. (Keywords: literacy, reading, e-books, CAI, educational technology, elementary education, animation, synthesized speech, TTS, ASR, developmental research

Parents’ Reading-related Knowledge, Literacy Feedback, and Children’s Reading and Writing Performances Across Three Contexts

The role played by children’s social relationships in their development is unequivocal (e.g., Bandura, 1993; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006; Vygotsky, 1978). Often, parents take on the role of children’s first literacy teachers (Hiebert & Adams, 1987) and literacy competence is critical for academic success and beyond. Research supports the significant association between parents’ underlying knowledge of English language (reading-related knowledge [RRK]; e.g., Ladd, Martin-Chang, Levesque, 2011) and children’s reading. However, the means through which this knowledge is conveyed (i.e., parental practices), has yet to be examined. Moreover, whether the same association holds between parental RRK and children’s writing is unknown. Thus, the primary goal of the present research was to fill these important gaps in the literature. To this end, the three manuscripts that comprise the dissertation focus on the relations between (1) parental RRK, parental feedback, and children’s reading; (2) parental RRK and parental feedback on a writing sample; and (3) parental RRK, parental feedback, and children’s writing. The sample consisted of 75 parents. All parents completed Study 2 tasks and their feedback was coded based on pre-established criteria. Seventy of their children participated in the parent-child studies. Therefore, Studies 1 and 3 consisted of 70 parent-child dyads. Dyadic exchanges were videotaped; all verbal and nonverbal exchanges were transcribed and coded for the presence of pre-established criteria specific to each study. Parental RRK was measured by parents’ performances on a series of activities and children’s literacy skills were assessed using reading and spelling subtests of the Wide Range Achievement Test-Fourth Edition (Wilkinson & Robertson, 2006). Results are presented within the framework of the extant teacher and parent RRK literature, with a focus on the novel findings of each investigation. Overall, this corpus of research allows for an understanding of the relations between parental RRK and practice across three different contexts; the data indicate similarities in evaluative feedback and differences in miscue feedback across the three studies. Specifically, in Study 1, RRK was positively associated with praise and letter-sound (graphophonemic) feedback parents provided when listening to their children read. In Study 2, parental RRK was positively associated with the amounts of praise and modeling they provided on a writing sample. In Study 3, parental RRK was positively associated with the amount of praise parents provided their children in the course of writing a thank you note together; RRK was additionally negatively associated with dictation. The implications of these findings are discussed more elaborately in each study section in terms of future research employing different methodologies to gain further insight into parental RRK and literacy practices that can enhance children’s learning

Generating intelligent tutoring systems for teaching reading: combining phonological awareness and thematic approaches

The objective of this thesis is to investigate the use of computers with artificial intelligence methods for the teaching of basic literacy skills to be applied eventually to the teaching of illiterate adults in Brazil.In its development many issues related to adult education have been considered, and two very significant approaches to the teaching of reading were focused on in detail: Phonological Awareness (PA) and Generative Themes. After being excluded from literacy curricula for a long time during the ascendancy of the "Whole Word" approaches, activities for the development of phonological awareness are currently being accepted as fundamental for teaching reading, and are being incorporated in most English literacy programmes. Generative Themes, in turn, were first introduced in Brazil in a massive programme for teaching reading to adults, and have since then been used successfully in a number of developing countries for the same purpose. However, these two approaches are apparently conflicting in their principles and emphasis, for the first (PA) is generally centred on the technical aspects of phonology, based on well controlled experiments and research, whereas the second is socially inspired and focused mainly on meaning and social relationships.The main question addressed in this research, consequently, is whether these two apparently conflicting approaches could be combined to create a method that would be technically PA oriented but at the same time could concentrate on meaning by using thematic vocabularies as stimuli for teaching. Would it be possible to find words to illustrate all the phonological features with which a PA method deals using a thematic vocabulary?To answer this question diverse concepts, languages and tools have been developed as part of this research, in order to allow the selection of thematic vocabularies, the description of PA curricula, the distribution of thematic words across PA curricula, the description of teaching activities and the definition of the teaching strategy rules to orient the teaching sequence.The resultant vocabularies have been evaluated and the outcomes of the research have been assessed by literacy experts. A prototype system for delivering experimental teaching activities through the Internet has also been developed and demonstrated

EVALITA Evaluation of NLP and Speech Tools for Italian Proceedings of the Final Workshop

Editor of the proceedings of EVALITA 2016