Tongue control and its implication in pronunciation training

International audiencePronunciation training based on speech production techniques illustrating tongue movements is gaining popularity. However, there is not sufficient evidence that learners can imitate some tongue animation. In this paper, we argue that although controlling tongue movement related to speech is not such an easy task, training with visual feedback improves its control. We investigated human awareness of controlling their tongue body gestures. In a first experiment, participants were asked to perform some tongue movements composed of two sets of gestures. This task was evaluated by observing ultrasound imaging of the tongue recorded during the experiment. No feedback was provided. In a second experiment, a short session of training was added where participants can observe ultrasound imaging in real time of their own tongue movements. The goal was to increase their awareness of their tongue gestures. A pretest and posttest were carried out without any feedback. The results suggest that without a priori knowledge, it is not easy to finely control tongue body gestures. The second experiment showed that we gained in performance after a short training session and this suggests that providing visual feedback, even a short one, improves tongue gesture awareness

A year in the life of the EU-CardioRNA COST action: CA17129 catalysing transcriptomics research in cardiovascular disease

The EU-CardioRNA Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action is a European-wide consortium established in 2018 with 31 European country members and four associate member countries to build bridges between translational researchers from academia and industry who conduct research on non-coding RNAs, cardiovascular diseases and similar research areas. EU-CardioRNA comprises four core working groups (WG1-4). In the first year since its launch, EU-CardioRNA met biannually to exchange and discuss recent findings in related fields of scientific research, with scientific sessions broadly divided up according to WG. These meetings are also an opportunity to establish interdisciplinary discussion groups, brainstorm ideas and make plans to apply for joint research grants and conduct other scientific activities, including knowledge transfer. Following its launch in Brussels in 2018, three WG meetings have taken place. The first of these in Lisbon, Portugal, the second in Istanbul, Turkey, and the most recent in Maastricht, The Netherlands. Each meeting includes a scientific session from each WG. This meeting report briefly describes the highlights and key take-home messages from each WG session in this first successful year of the EU-CardioRNA COST Action