scholarly journals Phonetics and Technology in the Classroom: A Practical Approach to Using Speech Analysis Software in Second-language Pronunciation Instruction

Hispania ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Olson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Speech Analysis ◽  
Practical Approach ◽  
Analysis Software ◽  
Technology In The Classroom ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction

The Causes of Learner Pronunciation Problems in English

2019 ◽  
pp. 361-379
Author(s):  
John Rothgerber
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Phonological Representation ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Primary Focus

This chapter will provide the language teacher with an introduction to the theory behind the challenges and problems that learners from a variety of language backgrounds face as they learn to pronounce the sounds of English. The primary focus will be on the influence of the first language in second language phonological acquisition. This will include an overview of the role of perception of non-native sounds, as well as a consideration of phonological representation in the mental lexicon and articulatory constraints, all of which can have an effect on difficulties that learners encounter as they learn to pronounce English sounds. Attention will be given to the various components that make up the phonological system, including segmentals, suprasegmentals, phonotactics, and phonological processes. This theoretical understanding will then be applied to pronunciation instruction within the classroom by addressing what teachers can do to maximize the effectiveness of instruction.

Rhotics of Taos, New Mexico Spanish: Variation and Change

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 215-264
Author(s):  
Donny A. Vigil
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Multivariate Statistical Analysis ◽  
Speech Analysis ◽  
Analysis Software ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Conditioning Factors ◽  
Word Position ◽  
Statistical Analysis Software ◽  
Age And Sex

Abstract Although some researchers report the normative production of the rhotics in Traditional New Mexico Spanish, others have reported variability, including the presence of an English-like vocalized rhotic. In the present study, 29 speakers of Spanish from Taos, a city in northern New Mexico, were interviewed and the rhotics of their speech were categorized, quantified and analyzed using speech analysis and multivariate statistical analysis software. The results show variation and change when compared to previous reports (both recent and of over a century ago). In spontaneous and elicited speech, ten distinct rhotic variants, subsequently recoded into five categories, were observed and quantified. Moreover, approximant and assibilated variants have notable frequencies and conditioning factors. VARBRUL analyses reveal phonological context, stress, word position, age, and sex as significant conditioning factors.

Exploring the effects of instruction on L2 French learner pronunciation, accentedness, comprehensibility, and fluency

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-246
Author(s):  
Solène Inceoglu
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Aloud ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Connected Speech ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Suprasegmental Features ◽  
Post Test

Abstract This study investigates the effects of a 16-week course on the development of second language French pronunciation. The course targeted segmental and suprasegmental features and fluency development, and was administered entirely online. Pre- and post-test tasks (i.e., picture narration, reading-aloud, and conversation simulation) were used to analyze learners’ pronunciation development in terms of segmental errors, connected speech (use of liaisons and enchaînements), and fluency (including pauses and mean length of run). Participants’ accentedness, comprehensibility, and fluency were also judged by five native listeners. Findings revealed a significant decrease in segmental errors and unfilled pause frequency in all the tasks, and improvement in fluency in the reading and conversation tasks. Results also showed a positive trend but no significant improvement in the use of liaisons and enchaînements. There was, however, no significant improvement in the measures of listeners’ ratings. The results are discussed in light of previous research on pronunciation instruction.

scholarly journals S117. DOES ADDING AUTOMATED ANALYSIS OF SPEECH COHESION TO DIMENSIONALIZED R-PAS COGNITIVE CODES IMPROVE OUR ABILITY TO ASSESS DISORGANIZED THINKING?

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S79-S79
Author(s):  
Noelle Warfford ◽  
Gregory J Meyer ◽  
Emily T O’Gorman ◽  
Joshua J Eblin ◽  
Joni L Mihura
Keyword(s):  
Automated Analysis ◽  
International Norms ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Incremental Validity ◽  
Speech Analysis ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Neurocognitive Deficits ◽  
Analysis Software ◽  
Disorganized Speech

Abstract Background Research is increasingly pointing toward the need for a dimensional, rather than categorical, conceptualization of psychopathology. This is particularly true within the literature on psychosis and related disorders. Taking a dimensional approach to conceptualizing psychosis requires deconstructing its components in assessment. The Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS) contains meta-analytically supported scales with international norms that are used to categorically rate signs of disordered thinking and perceptions in individuals’ responses to the Rorschach inkblots. Recently, a new dimensionalized set of scales called the Scales of Problematic Communication and Thinking (SPCT) have been developed for R-PAS with three main components: Disturbed and Confusing Communication, Illogical Verbal Justification, and Incongruous Perceptual Combinations. Research also suggests that linguistic measures of speech cohesion can be used to successfully predict conversion to psychosis in clinical high-risk patients and may be more related to stable neurocognitive deficits than clinical measures of disorganized speech. Coh-Metrix, an automated speech analysis software, provides over 100 specific measures of linguistic cohesion, such as connectivity, syntax simplicity, and referential cohesion. The purpose of this presentation is twofold: (a) to report recent findings showing the SPCT provides incremental validity over the traditional R-PAS measure of disordered thinking in predicting clinician ratings of disorganized thinking on the PANSS and (b) to determine if Coh-Metrix measures of linguistic cohesion provide incremental validity to SPCT ratings in predicting these PANSS ratings. Methods R-PAS protocols from a maximum-security inpatient forensic hospital (N = 91) aged 19 to 80 years (M=40) and predominantly male (89%) were coded for thinking and perceptual disturbances using the R-PAS traditional measure of disordered thinking and the 6-point dimensional SPCT measure. The patients’ primary clinician provided PANSS ratings. Protocols will be coded for speech cohesion using 15 indices from the automated speech analysis software Coh-Metrix, which were chosen based on a literature review. Results Interrater reliability was excellent for the SPCT ratings (ICC = 0.97) and good for the PANSS clinician ratings (ICC = 0.71). In a previous study, SPCT ratings showed significant associations with the clinician ratings of disorganized thinking on the PANSS (r = 0.42, p < 0.01, N = 90); hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated incremental validity over the traditional R-PAS measure of disordered thinking (ΔR = 0.28, p < 0.01). Using hierarchical regression analyses, the Coh-Metrix indices of cohesion are predicted to provide incremental validity to the SPCT ratings. Discussion The SPCT shows promise as a reliable and valid dimensionalized measure for assessing the continuum of clear thinking to psychosis-level disturbances. The measures of linguistic cohesion provided by Coh-Metrix have the potential to offer clinicians a quick, efficient, and objective method for assessing disorganized thinking. The R-PAS international norms are currently being coded for SPCT and, if Coh-Metrix measures provide incremental validity, will be coded for these measures as well. Using these measures in combination with SPCT ratings can provide clinicians with a clearer understanding of this significant component of psychosis.

Taking Technology to Task: Technology-Mediated TBLT, Performance, and Production

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 136-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Technology In The Classroom ◽  
Second Language Development ◽  
Integration Of Technology ◽  
And Performance

ABSTRACTOver the last few decades, task-based language teaching (TBLT) has garnered increasing attention from researchers and educators alike. With a strong and growing body of research demonstrating the efficacy of tasks to support and facilitate second language development and performance (e.g., Keck, Iberri-Shea, Tracy-Ventura, & Wa-Mbaleka, 2006), TBLT has become a leading pedagogical approach. Similarly, computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has also grown as a field, with the use and integration of technology in the classroom continuing to increase (Petersen & Sachs, 2015). As these fields have matured, a reciprocal relationship has developed (Lai & Li, 2011), with the literature on tasks and technology seeking to not only examine how technology might support and facilitate language learning, but how TBLT might serve as a framework to more thoroughly investigate CALL. In light of the expanding research on tasks and technology, this review article aims not only to provide a current state of the art of how technology-mediated TBLT facilitates and supports second language development and performance, but also to describe how technology can contribute to our understanding of how features of TBLT, such as task design features and task implementation, influence the success of second language acquisition. Suggestions for possible research agendas in technology-mediated TBLT are also made.

Review of Poesová & Uličná (2019): Becoming a Pronunciation Teacher

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leticia Quesada Vázquez
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Critical Interpretation

Abstract This review critiques Červinková Poesová and Klára Uličná’s e-book Becoming a Pronunciation teacher. It offers an overview and critical interpretation of the content, together with a display of its convenience as a practical handbook for EFL/ESL teachers and researchers of second language pronunciation instruction. The review will evaluate the authors’ approach as well as its effectiveness as a useful tool to enhance pronunciation teaching in EFL/ESL classrooms.

Segmental error patterns in Finnish-accented English

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilla Søballe Horslund ◽  
Parker F. Van Nostrand
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Error Patterns ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Accented English ◽  
Second Language Speech Production ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Sheer Number

Abstract Research suggests that explicit pronunciation teaching improves second language speech production, but language teachers often lack the relevant knowledge to teach pronunciation. This study examined segmental error patterns in Finnish-accented English and the relationship between segmental errors and foreign accent ratings in two groups differing in amount of second language experience. Our study identified a number of common segmental error patterns in Finnish-accented English, which may guide formal pronunciation instruction. We further found that the sheer number of segmental errors in a sentence affected foreign accent ratings as did the number of vowel errors in a sentence. We speculate that the detrimental effect of vowel errors may be related to the finding that vowel errors resulted in non-English segments more often than consonant errors did. Finally, we found a facilitative effect of second language experience on foreign accent rating that cannot be reduced to number of segmental errors, despite the finding that number of consonant errors was reduced with increased second language experience.

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