A prosody-based vector-space model of dialog activity for information retrieval

Search in audio archives is a challenging problem. Using prosodic information to help find relevant content has been proposed as a complement to word-based retrieval, but its utility has been an open question. We propose a new way to use prosodic information in search, based on a vector-space model, where each point in time maps to a point in a vector space whose dimensions are derived from numerous prosodic features of the local context. Point pairs that are close in this vector space are frequently similar, not only in terms of the dialog activities, but also in topic. Using proximity in this space as an indicator of similarity, we built support for a query-by-example function. Searchers were happy to use this function, and it provided value on a large testset. Prosody-based retrieval did not perform as well as word-based retrieval, but the two sources of information were often non-redundant and in combination they sometimes performed better than either separately.We thank Martha Larson, Alejandro Vega, Steve Renals, Khiet Truong, Olac Fuentes, David Novick, Shreyas Karkhedkar, Luis F. Ramirez, Elizabeth E. Shriberg, Catharine Oertel, Louis-Philippe Morency, Tatsuya Kawahara, Mary Harper, and the anonymous reviewers. This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grants IIS-0914868 and IIS-1241434 and by the Spanish MEC under contract TIN2011-28169-C05-01.Ward, NG.; Werner, SD.; García-Granada, F.; Sanchís Arnal, E. (2015). A prosody-based vector-space model of dialog activity for information retrieval. Speech Communication. 68:85-96. doi:10.1016/j.specom.2015.01.004S85966

Development of speech fluency over a short period of time: effects of pedagogic intervention

This study investigates the effects of a short-term pedagogic intervention on the development of L2 fluency among learners studying English for Academic purposes (EAP) at a university in the UK. It also examines the interaction between the development of fluency, and complexity and accuracy. Through a pre-test, post-test design, data were collected over a period of four weeks from learners performing monologic tasks. While the Control Group (CG) focused on developing general speaking and listening skills, the Experimental Group (EG) received awareness-raising activities and fluency strategy training in addition to general speaking and listening practice i.e following the syllabus. The data, coded in terms of a range of measures of fluency, accuracy and complexity, were subjected to repeated measures MANOVA, t-tests and correlations. The results indicate that after the intervention, while some fluency gains were achieved by the CG, the EG produced statistically more fluent language demonstrating a faster speech and articulation rate, longer runs and higher phonation time ratios. The significant correlations obtained between measures of accuracy and learners’ pauses in the CG suggest that pausing opportunities may have been linked to accuracy. The findings of the study have significant implications for L2 pedagogy, highlighting the effective impact of instruction on the development of fluency

Second language interactional competence and its development: a study of international students in Australia

Recently second language interactional competence has become the central object of much research in the field of Conversation Analysis and Second Language Acquisition. This study contributes towards a better understanding of this construct and offers a substantial definition based on the data collected and past research. To achieve this aim, Conversation Analysis was supplemented with Ethnography to obtain a broader picture. The study focussed on four Non-English-Speaking-Background international students from Asia who came to study in Australia as undergraduate students. Conversation analysis was employed to examine their interactional competence in English as a Second Language, and to show how this competence developed over time by investigating ordinary conversation. Ethnography was used to investigate the students’ perceptions of their oral communication needs in relation to their academic studies and to explore their social networks. A total of eleven second language international students were recruited and interviewed, and four were retained for the longitudinal study. The four focal students were videorecorded over seven months interacting regularly in four dyads and one triad with native speaker local students, and once with other second language international students. Two types of conversation analytic study were undertaken: (1) a cross-sectional study documenting and comparing some of the interactional resources that the focal participants displayed during the observation period, and (2) a case study of one particular focal participant. In the ethnographic study a number of research instruments were employed, and a pilot study was conducted to refine the methodology. The conversation analytic study reveals that to develop second language interactional competence, key conditions need to be met: (a) an orientation to communication, (b) active listening-in-interaction, which includes orienting to the co-conversationalist(s), (c) producing action sequences involving turn expansions, such as expanded responses to questions and storytelling, (d) initiating different and new actions, and (e) having an ongoing social relation with an expert speaker. The focal participant with the most advanced linguistic competence, Akiko, was studied in depth from a conversation analytic perspective because she presented differently to the other focal participants. While they engaged in long turns-at-talk from the outset, Akiko mostly remained a listener. Over time Akiko gradually moved from recipiency to speakership and changed her focus from accuracy to communication. She progressively expanded her responses and engaged in longer storytelling employing an increasing range of sophisticated interactional devices, while her grammar became more complex. The ethnographic study indicates that the students generally perceived speaking skills as important in order to succeed in their academic studies. They also expressed a strong desire to befriend native speaker local students to learn about Australians and their culture, and to improve their spoken English. Developing social networks, particularly in English, had a positive impact on the focal participants’ wellbeing and their second language interactional competence. That social affiliation was an important factor in developing second language interactional competence was confirmed by the conversation analytic study

Second language interactional competence and its development: a study of international students in Australia

Recently second language interactional competence has become the central object of much research in the field of Conversation Analysis and Second Language Acquisition. This study contributes towards a better understanding of this construct and offers a substantial definition based on the data collected and past research. To achieve this aim, Conversation Analysis was supplemented with Ethnography to obtain a broader picture. The study focussed on four Non-English-Speaking-Background international students from Asia who came to study in Australia as undergraduate students. Conversation analysis was employed to examine their interactional competence in English as a Second Language, and to show how this competence developed over time by investigating ordinary conversation. Ethnography was used to investigate the students’ perceptions of their oral communication needs in relation to their academic studies and to explore their social networks. A total of eleven second language international students were recruited and interviewed, and four were retained for the longitudinal study. The four focal students were videorecorded over seven months interacting regularly in four dyads and one triad with native speaker local students, and once with other second language international students. Two types of conversation analytic study were undertaken: (1) a cross-sectional study documenting and comparing some of the interactional resources that the focal participants displayed during the observation period, and (2) a case study of one particular focal participant. In the ethnographic study a number of research instruments were employed, and a pilot study was conducted to refine the methodology. The conversation analytic study reveals that to develop second language interactional competence, key conditions need to be met: (a) an orientation to communication, (b) active listening-in-interaction, which includes orienting to the co-conversationalist(s), (c) producing action sequences involving turn expansions, such as expanded responses to questions and storytelling, (d) initiating different and new actions, and (e) having an ongoing social relation with an expert speaker. The focal participant with the most advanced linguistic competence, Akiko, was studied in depth from a conversation analytic perspective because she presented differently to the other focal participants. While they engaged in long turns-at-talk from the outset, Akiko mostly remained a listener. Over time Akiko gradually moved from recipiency to speakership and changed her focus from accuracy to communication. She progressively expanded her responses and engaged in longer storytelling employing an increasing range of sophisticated interactional devices, while her grammar became more complex. The ethnographic study indicates that the students generally perceived speaking skills as important in order to succeed in their academic studies. They also expressed a strong desire to befriend native speaker local students to learn about Australians and their culture, and to improve their spoken English. Developing social networks, particularly in English, had a positive impact on the focal participants’ wellbeing and their second language interactional competence. That social affiliation was an important factor in developing second language interactional competence was confirmed by the conversation analytic study

Learning to produce expanded responses across time in English as an additional language

Abstract for presentation at ALAA2016 conference

ALAA 2016_Barraja-Rohan_self-presentational sequences in L2.pptx

<p>ALAA Conference December 2016</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Learning to produce expanded responses across time in English as an additional language </p> <p> </p> <p>Anne-Marie Barraja-Rohan</p> <p>Monash University</p> <p> </p> <p>This paper responds to the need of exploring longitudinal interactions in the wild using conversation analysis to increase our understanding of L2 interactional competence. It examines five interactions involving two adult Japanese exchange students in an Australian university. Akiko and Meg were each videoed using English as L2 outside of class in three dyadic and one triadic interactions with two Australian native speakers of English over seven months. Akiko and Meg respectively interacted with one of L1 speaker on a regular basis and met a newcomer in the last triadic interaction. </p> <p>This study documents changes in both Akiko and Meg’s L2 interactional competence by exploring how (1) Akiko gradually produced expanded responses to self-presentational questions and (2) Meg manoeuvred the turn-taking system in responding to a troublesome presentation-eliciting question, which Akiko also experienced. </p> <p>Self-presentational questions occur in first encounters and usually generate a sequence whereby the answerer produces an expanded response (Svennevig, 1999). The aim of these questions is to find common ground to engage in topical talk and usually conversationalists reciprocate these questions to get to know each other as well as self-disclose. In her first interaction with John, Akiko mostly remained in the listener role generally providing short turns. This meant that when answering self-presentational questions, she did not naturally expand and John engaged in active co-construction to achieve a more comprehensive response. This pattern still occurred two months later when she interacted with John for the second time. Five months later, self-presentational questions re-emerged when Akiko interacted with John and a newcomer. After clarifying a misunderstanding, Akiko produced an expanded response with post expansion without active co-construction. In both cases – Akiko and Meg – there is evidence that learning, although different for each focal participant, occurred at a subtle interactional level (Nguyen, 2011). </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>References:</p> <p>Nguyen, H. T. (2011). A longitudinal microanalysis of a second language learner's participation. In G. Pallotti & J. Wagner (Eds.), <i>L2 Learning as Social Practice Conversation-Analytic Perspectives</i> (pp. 17-44). Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i, National Foreign Language Resource Center.</p> <p> </p> <p>Svennevig, J. (1999). <i>Getting Acquainted in Conversation</i>. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p