Facilitating L2 listening through automatic detection of speech and lexical difficulties

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.14705/rpnet.2021.54.1335 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 214-219

Author(s):

Maryam Sadat Mirzaei ◽

Kourosh Meshgi

Keyword(s):

Automatic Detection ◽

Video Segment ◽

L2 Learners ◽

Standard Rate ◽

Rate Of Speech ◽

L2 Listening

This paper focuses on Partial and Synchronized Caption (PSC) as a tool to train L2 listening and introduces new features to facilitate speech-related difficulties. PSC is an intelligent caption that extensively processes the audio and transcript to detect and present difficult words or phrases for L2 learners. With the new features, learners can benefit from repetition and slowdowns of particular audio segments that are automatically labeled difficult. When encountering high speech rates, the system slows down the audio to the standard rate of speech. For disfluencies in speech (e.g. breached boundaries), the system generates the caption and repeats that video segment. In our experiments, intermediate L2 learners of English watched videos with different captions and functionalities, provided feedback on new PSC features, and took a series of tests. Smart repetition and slowdown components received positive learner feedback and led to significant improvement in L2 listening recognition.

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Exploring which test-taker characteristics predict young L2 learners’ performance on listening and reading comprehension tests

Language Testing ◽

10.1177/0265532221991134 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 026553222199113

Author(s):

Sarah Sok ◽

Hye Won Shin ◽

Juhyun Do

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Reading Comprehension ◽

Test Performance ◽

Test Taker ◽

Phonological Working Memory ◽

Young Learners ◽

L2 Learners ◽

L2 Listening ◽

Comprehension Tests ◽

Reading Comprehension Tests

Test-taker characteristics (TTCs), or individual difference variables, are known to be a systematic source of variance in language test performance. Although previous research has documented the impact of a range of TTCs on second language (L2) learners’ test performance, few of these studies have involved young learners. Given that young L2 learners undergo rapid maturational changes in their cognitive abilities, are susceptible to affective factors in unique ways, and have little autonomy with respect to the context of L2 acquisition, the relationship between their personal attributes and their test performance merit separate research attention. To fill this gap, we investigated the extent to which sixth-grade, Korean-L1, EFL learners’ ( n = 107) TTCs predicted their performance on tests of L2 listening and reading comprehension. The TTCs under investigation included three cognitive characteristics (aptitude, phonological working memory, L1 competence), one affective factor (motivation), and two demographic variables (socioeconomic status and gender). Results showed that aptitude and phonological working memory significantly predicted participants’ performance on both L2 listening and reading comprehension tests, whereas motivation predicted performance on the L2 listening comprehension test only. These findings suggest that higher aptitude, phonological working memory, and motivation contribute positively to young learners’ L2 outcomes.

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L2 Listening Comprehension: Is it a Language Problem or Listening Problem?

English Linguistics Research ◽

10.5430/elr.v6n1p14 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 14 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mostafa El-dali

Keyword(s):

Listening Comprehension ◽

Major Question ◽

First Year Students ◽

Spoken English ◽

Language Problem ◽

L2 Learners ◽

Comprehension Process ◽

Faculty Of Education ◽

L2 Listening ◽

Language Environment

In a foreign language environment, students typically have limited exposure to the language outside formal classrooms. Therefore, their ability to comprehend spoken English may be limited. To add to this problem, L2 learners often regard listening as the most difficult language skill to learn. On the other hand, it is noticeable that L2 listening remains the least researched of all four language skills. Accordingly, the present study is based on the commonly believed premises that (1) investigating the listening comprehension process can provide useful insights into teaching listening and (2) learners who learn to control their listening process can enhance their comprehension, and their overall proficiency may be highly developed.The present study reports on the results of an empirical study on forty-six L2 learners of English. The subjects were equally divided into two groups. The first group (N=23) represents first year students (Beginners) in the Department of English at the Faculty of Education, Menufia University, Egypt. The second group (N=23) represents fourth year students (Advanced) in the same department. The major question that this study attempts to answer is “whether listening comprehension a language problem or listening problem?” The instruments of this study consist of five tasks: pre-test, questionnaire, classroom instruction sessions, post-test, and interviews. The data analysis had a quantitative and a qualitative part. Results were obtained and conclusions were made.

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Smartpens as an Aid for Lecture Notetaking

The Language Teacher - The Language Teacher 39.1 ◽

10.37546/jalttlt45.1-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 11

Author(s):

Michael Crawford

Keyword(s):

Medium Of Instruction ◽

Audio Recording ◽

The World ◽

L2 Learners ◽

English Medium Instruction ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Productive Area ◽

L2 Listening ◽

L1 And L2

With the growth of English Medium Instruction (EMI) in countries around the world, L2 learners face many challenges, one of which is lecture notetaking. Researchers in the field of L2 listening have sought ways to improve learners’ notetaking skills, but one potentially useful tool, the smartpen, has received little attention. With smartpens, learners can take notes on paper, digitize them, then synchronize them with an audio recording of the lecture. They can then tap anywhere in their digitized notes and hear the corresponding audio for that section, greatly facilitating review. With this functionality in mind, this paper examines the potential benefits of smartpens for notetaking. It first provides an overview of the skill of notetaking and a description of smartpens, and then examines research on their use in L1 and L2 contexts. The paper concludes with a call for more research into this potentially productive area. 世界各国では、授業言語としての英語(EMI: English as a Medium of Instruction)の普及に伴い、EFL学習者は様々な課題に直面しており、その一つが講義を聞きながらノートをとるノートテーキングである。これまでもL2リスニング研究者は学習者のノートテーキング・スキルの向上方法を探ってきたが、一つのツール、すなわちスマートペンはあまり注目されてこなかった。スマートペンを利用すると、学習者が手書きでノートを取り、それをデジタル化し、講義の音声と同期させることができる。そうすれば、デジタル化したノートのどこにでも触れられその部分の音声を聞くことができるため、講義の復習を促進する。これを踏まえ、本論では、講義ノートテーキングにおけるスマートペンの潜在的な利点を考察する。講義ノートテーキング・スキルを概観した後、スマートペンの特徴を説明し、L1及びL2環境における研究について述べる。最後に、この潜在的に有益な研究分野において、さらなる研究の必要性を示唆する。

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Is less more? Effectiveness and perceived usefulness of keyword and full captioned video for L2 listening comprehension

ReCALL ◽

10.1017/s0958344013000256 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 21-43 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Maribel Montero Perez ◽

Elke Peters ◽

Piet Desmet

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Listening Comprehension ◽

Meaning Making ◽

Perceived Usefulness ◽

Control Group ◽

Perceived Need ◽

The Third ◽

L2 Learners ◽

University Level ◽

L2 Listening

AbstractThe aim of this study was twofold: we investigated (a) the effect of two types of captioned video (i.e., on-screen text in the same language as the video) on listening comprehension; (b) L2 learners’ perception of the usefulness of captions while watching L2 video. The participants, 226 university-level students from a Flemish university, watched three short French clips in one of three conditions: the control group watched the clips without captions (N = 70), the second group had fully captioned clips (N = 81), the third group had keyword captioned clips (N = 75). After each clip, all participants took a listening comprehension test, which consisted of global and detailed questions. To answer the detailed questions, participants had access to an audio passage of the corresponding clip. At the end of the experiment, participants completed a questionnaire and open-ended survey questions about their perception of captions. Our findings revealed that the full captioning group outperformed both the no captioning and the keyword captioning group on the global comprehension questions. However, no difference was found between the keyword captioning and the no captioning group. Results of the detailed comprehension questions (with audio) revealed no differences between the three conditions. A content-analysis approach to the questionnaire indicated that learners’ perceived need for full captions is strong. Participants consider captions useful for speech decoding and meaning-making processes. Surprisingly, keyword captions were considered highly distracting. These findings suggest that full rather than keyword captioning should be considered when proposing video-based listening comprehension activities to L2 learners.

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Getting Smart about Split Attention

Computer-Assisted Foreign Language Teaching and Learning ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-2821-2.ch012 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 210-229 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rae Lynne Mancilla

Keyword(s):

International Students ◽

Note Taking ◽

Attention Effect ◽

New Findings ◽

L2 Learners ◽

E Learning ◽

Split Attention ◽

L2 Listening ◽

University Settings ◽

Insight Into

This chapter examines second language (L2) listening and note-taking tasks performed by international students in university settings, guided by Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) and the split attention effect. It provides a background of the cognitive aspects of L2 listening processes, academic lecture listening, and note-taking, as they interface with temporal, physical, and affective forms of split attention to compromise information decoding and learning outcomes for L2 learners. While this work does not present new findings in the field, it reviews existing studies that provide insight into the Echo SmartpenTM by Livescribe as a mobile e-learning tool for alleviating the split attention effect, and enhancing the encoding and external storage functions of note-taking for L2 learners.

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Effects of modality preference and working memory capacity on captioned videos in enhancing L2 listening outcomes

ReCALL ◽

10.1017/s0958344020000014 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 213-230

Author(s):

Emily Fen Kam ◽

Yeu-Ting Liu ◽

Wen-Ta Tseng

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Working Memory Capacity ◽

Memory Capacity ◽

L2 Learners ◽

Visual Aid ◽

Visual Learners ◽

L2 Listening ◽

Modality Preference ◽

The Impact

AbstractCaptioned video is widely used to enhance second language (L2) learners’ exposure to oral input beyond the classroom setting, and captioning has been found to provide an instantaneous, useful visual aid for parsing and understanding L2 oral discourse. Nevertheless, a meta-analysis has shown that captioning exerts a selective effect on L2 learners with different profiles. This study investigated whether L2 learners’ modality preferences (visual vs. auditory) and working memory capacity (high vs. low) would modulate the effect of full captions on L2 listening outcome. Results from 60 participants revealed that both cognitive variables affected their L2 listening to different extents. Notably, working memory capacity modulates the impact of L2 learners’ preferred modality on their listening outcome. Modality preference did not exert any significant impact on the listening outcome of L2 learners with lower working memory capacity. For L2 learners with high working memory capacity, their modality preference played a pivotal role in modulating their listening outcome; in this case, auditory learners had the best listening performance viewing the video without captions, whereas visual learners did best when watching the captioned video. These findings speak to the need for taking individual differences into consideration when employing captioned videos.

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Automatic detection of frequent pronunciation errors made by L2-learners

10.21437/interspeech.2005-488 ◽

2005 ◽

Author(s):

Khiet P. Truong ◽

Ambra Neri ◽

Febe de Wet ◽

Catia Cucchiarini ◽

Helmer Strik

Keyword(s):

Automatic Detection ◽

L2 Learners

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Temporal Characteristics of Speech in Simultaneous Communication

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/jshr.3805.1014 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 38 (5) ◽

pp. 1014-1024 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Robert L. Whitehead ◽

Nicholas Schiavetti ◽

Brenda H. Whitehead ◽

Dale Evan Metz

Keyword(s):

Pause Duration ◽

Vowel Duration ◽

Vowel Perception ◽

Temporal Characteristics ◽

Spoken English ◽

Temporal Features ◽

Before And After ◽

Word Duration ◽

Rate Of Speech ◽

Speech Condition

The purpose of this investigation was twofold: (a) to determine if there are changes in specific temporal characteristics of speech that occur during simultaneous communication, and (b) to determine if known temporal rules of spoken English are disrupted during simultaneous communication. Ten speakers uttered sentences consisting of a carrier phrase and experimental CVC words under conditions of: (a) speech, (b) speech combined with signed English, and (c) speech combined with signed English for every word except the CVC word that was fingerspelled. The temporal features investigated included: (a) sentence duration, (b) experimental CVC word duration, (c) vowel duration in experimental CVC words, (d) pause duration before and after experimental CVC words, and (e) consonantal effects on vowel duration. Results indicated that for all durational measures, the speech/sign/fingerspelling condition was longest, followed by the speech/sign condition, with the speech condition being shortest. It was also found that for all three speaking conditions, vowels were longer in duration when preceding voiced consonants than vowels preceding their voiceless cognates, and that a low vowel was longer in duration than a high vowel. These findings indicate that speakers consistently reduced their rate of speech when using simultaneous communication, but did not violate these specific temporal rules of English important for consonant and vowel perception.

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