SLaTE 2019: 8th ISCA Workshop on Speech and Language Technology in Education

This paper presents an autonomous language learning platform which has speech and language technology at its core. An Scealai? (\u27the Storyteller\u27) is a web-based interactive iCALL system that allows learners to compose their own text and correct it by listening to the text spoken with synthetic voices (aural proofing) and by responding to NLP prompts that detect errors. All learner interactions are logged and monitored, allowing researchers to observe the learning processes. A pilot study by 14 learners of Irish in the US was conducted to explore the efficacy of the corrective mechanisms currently implemented in the platform. The results of the pilot study indicate that both mechanisms currently on offer were effective in the development of writing skills but work in rather different ways. Aural proofing appears to generate an immediate corrective response which indicates that it is serving both to develop awareness of specific phonological contrasts as well as basic phonic rules of the language. In the case of the NLP prompts, corrections were also made, although the data suggest that this is a slower process and that learners may, at least initially, merely be satisfying the system\u27s prompts rather than discovering the grammatical basis of the correction. The pilot has been useful in pointing towards future directions for platform development that can take the needs of this type of adult autonomous learner into account

INTERSPEECH 2017

The processes of language demise take hold when a language ceases to belong to the mainstream of life?s activities. Digital communication technology increasingly pervades all aspects of modern life. Languages not digitally ?available? are ever more marginalised, whereas a digital presence often yields unexpected opportunities to integrate the language into the mainstream. The ABAIR initiative embraces three central aspects of speech technology development for Irish (Gaelic): the provision of technology-oriented linguistic-phonetic resources; the building and perfecting of core speech technologies; and the development of technology applications, which exploit both the technologies and the linguistic resources. The latter enable the public, learners, and those with disabilities to integrate Irish into their day-to-day usage. This paper outlines some of the specific linguistic and sociolinguistic challenges and the approaches adopted to address them. Although machine-learning approaches are helping to speed up the process of technology provision, the ABAIR experience highlights how phonetic-linguistic resources are also crucial to the development process. For the endangered language, linguistic resources are central to many applications that impact on language usage. The sociolinguistic context and the needs of potential end users should be central considerations in setting research priorities and deciding on methods