USING POP SONGS IN TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE TO STUDENTS MAJORING IN MUSIC ARTS. PHONOLOGICAL ASPECT

In the process of foreign language acquisition, students can face various obstacles, which can prevent them from achieving the desired goal. English pronunciation is traditionally considered one of the most challenging issues, which require special approach and teaching techniques to tackle. Teaching English language using popular songs appears to be a very effective method as songs provide students with plethora of pronunciation patterns they can master in an effective and at the same time enjoyable way. Moreover, music influences students' feelings thus developing their emotional intelligence, ensure relaxed atmosphere in the classroom, thus motivating them to learn various aspects of English language. Another indisputable argument for using songs and music in the process of EFL/ESL teaching is that these two notions have a lot in common. Both language and music have acoustic parameters like pitch, duration, stress and intonation. Having analyzed the research works of domestic and foreign scholars and practitioners, it was concluded that popular songs can be used to practice all language skills – grammar, vocabulary, reading, listening, writing and most importantly, pronunciation skills. It is clear that inadequate phonetic interpretation of the vocal text can cause deviation from the original (authentic) content and result in total misunderstanding or spoilt aesthetic perception of a song. In the process of mastering pronunciation with vocalists, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of vocal speech too. The article focuses on the methodological value of popular songs in the development of phonetic abilities in students majoring in music arts. The article also outlines the difficulties students face in the process of honing phonological skills such as certain consonant sounds and diphthongs as well as connected speech and provides the methodological approach to using songs in the classroom. It is strongly advised that language instructors carefully select the songs, taking into account many factors such as the students' level of English, age, and interests, as well as the complexity of the songs and their rhythm. It is recommended to follow a certain sequence of activities when working on the song material in order to facilitate the process of improving pronunciation of English sounds

Intuitive Cognition-Based Method for Generating Speech Using Hand Gestures

Muteness at its various levels is a common disability. Most of the technological solutions to the problem creates vocal speech through the transition from mute languages to vocal acoustic sounds. We present a new approach for creating speech: a technology that does not require prior knowledge of sign language. This technology is based on the most basic level of speech according to the phonetic division into vowels and consonants. The speech itself is expected to be expressed through sensing of the hand movements, as the movements are divided into three rotations: yaw, pitch, and roll. The proposed algorithm converts these rotations through programming to vowels and consonants. For the hand movement sensing, we used a depth camera and standard speakers in order to produce the sounds. The combination of the programmed depth camera and the speakers, together with the cognitive activity of the brain, is integrated into a unique speech interface. Using this interface, the user can develop speech through an intuitive cognitive process in accordance with the ongoing brain activity, similar to the natural use of the vocal cords. Based on the performance of the presented speech interface prototype, it is substantiated that the proposed device could be a solution for those suffering from speech disabilities.

“Vocal Form” as a Music-Phonetic Speech Genre: Aspects of Study

Vocal music is a form of existence and realization of a language. Primarily, it is oral speech of a specific type. Prosodic features of vocal music, as well as its rhythm and intonation, are formed as a result of direct music-language interaction. Therefore, intonational language-music correlation provides possibility of linguistic description of national vocal music and confirms the necessity to develop theoretical foundation for studying this issue. We consider vocal speech of any genre (song, aria or choral singing) in view of its prosodic features. Correspondingly, we consider intonational realization of a vocal text as related to distinctive features of intonation within phonetic system of a given language. In the present article, the authors term vocal-music speech phenomenon as a vocal form of a language, and specify the rationale that it could be related to elements of various levels of oral text. Several aspects of the vocal form are defined, namely phonatory, phonetic, rhythmic and intonational, and considered in the following branches of linguistics: phonostylistics, intonology and speech studies. The paper presents the concept of vocal form of a language within the research prospect. According to structure-based phonological approach, the vocal form as a music-language object is interpreted as a system component, its elements being defined as language units.

A Tale of Two Modalities: Sign and Speech Influence Each Other in Bimodal Bilinguals

Bimodal bilinguals are hearing individuals fluent in a sign and a spoken language. Can the two languages influence each other in such individuals despite differences in the visual (sign) and vocal (speech) modalities of expression? We investigated cross-linguistic influences on bimodal bilinguals’ expression of spatial relations. Unlike spoken languages, sign uses iconic linguistic forms that resemble physical features of objects in a spatial relation and thus expresses specific semantic information. Hearing bimodal bilinguals ( n = 21) fluent in Dutch and Sign Language of the Netherlands and their hearing nonsigning and deaf signing peers ( n = 20 each) described left/right relations between two objects. Bimodal bilinguals expressed more specific information about physical features of objects in speech than nonsigners, showing influence from sign language. They also used fewer iconic signs with specific semantic information than deaf signers, demonstrating influence from speech. Bimodal bilinguals’ speech and signs are shaped by two languages from different modalities.

Analysis and typology of phonetic errors in the vocal speech of Italian speaking students

The relevance of the undertaken research is explained by the fact that phonetic skills and the absence of the phenomenon of errors at this level are important when teaching Russian as a foreign language to Italian speaking students. Researchers M.N. Shutov and I.A. Orekhova paid attention to this importance in their in-depth studies and other scientists. The purpose of this re-search is to analyze and typology of the phenomenon of errors at the phonetic level of Italian speaking students when teaching Russian as a foreign language. We concluded that, in practice, a B1 level student in monologue and dialogical speech, faced with difficulty in placing stress in a word, tries to find an analogue in his native language in consciousness (uses pure interlingual in-terference at the phonetic level) or tries to stress a word (in Russian), taking into account familiar rules (depending on the level of proficiency in Russian as a foreign language).

The Effect of the PECS Alternative Communication System on Vocal Speech Acquisition in Children with Autism

This article describes the positive effect of teaching the PECS (Picture exchange communication system) alternative communication system on vocal speech acquisition in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Materials from an empirical study of three children with ASD and other mental disorders aged 2—4 years are presented. Measurements were made of the number of communication initiatives in children, in the form of requests using PECS pictures for three months. As a result of teaching communication using the PECS system, two out of three children had vocalization responses, in the form of words and phrasal speech. All three children demonstrated a decrease in the number of challenging behavior episodes as they learned functional communication. It was found out that learning to ask with the help of PECS has a positive effect on the vocalizations in children with autism and other mental disorders. Children trained to communicate using the PECS alternative communication system demonstrate less challenging behavior, acquire functional communication skills, which, in general, improves the quality of life of the child’s family

Digital phenotyping of negative symptoms: the relationship to clinician ratings

Negative symptoms are a critical, but poorly understood, aspect of schizophrenia. Measurement of negative symptoms primarily relies on clinician ratings, an endeavor with established reliability and validity. There have been increasing attempts to digitally phenotype negative symptoms using objective biobehavioral technologies, eg, using computerized analysis of vocal, speech, facial, hand and other behaviors. Surprisingly, biobehavioral technologies and clinician ratings are only modestly inter-related, and findings from individual studies often do not replicate or are counterintuitive. In this article, we document and evaluate this lack of convergence in 4 case studies, in an archival dataset of 877 audio/video samples, and in the extant literature. We then explain this divergence in terms of “resolution”—a critical psychometric property in biomedical, engineering, and computational sciences defined as precision in distinguishing various aspects of a signal. We demonstrate how convergence between clinical ratings and biobehavioral data can be achieved by scaling data across various resolutions. Clinical ratings reflect an indispensable tool that integrates considerable information into actionable, yet “low resolution” ordinal ratings. This allows viewing of the “forest” of negative symptoms. Unfortunately, their resolution cannot be scaled or decomposed with sufficient precision to isolate the time, setting, and nature of negative symptoms for many purposes (ie, to see the “trees”). Biobehavioral measures afford precision for understanding when, where, and why negative symptoms emerge, though much work is needed to validate them. Digital phenotyping of negative symptoms can provide unprecedented opportunities for tracking, understanding, and treating them, but requires consideration of resolution.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Communication Intervention for Individuals with Complex Communication Needs

Individuals with complex communication needs are likely to experience considerable difficulties and challenges with everyday communication interactions due to limited use and understanding of natural speech. In this editorial, we review the nature of complex communication needs, describe the wide range of individuals who may experience such needs, and provide a brief history of behavioral approaches to addressing these needs. We also highlight the six papers in this special issue that contribute to the further understanding of the use of behavioral intervention approaches for addressing complex communication needs. These papers include one conceptual overview of aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions for individuals with complex communication needs, four intervention studies addressing a range of communicative topographies (i.e., vocal speech, AAC, and a social messaging app), and one systematic review examining interventions that promote communicative response variability. These six papers highlight the diversity of complex communication needs and emphasize the importance of examining the efficacy of a wide range of individualized behavioral approaches that are matched to specific needs and goals.