scholarly journals Metaphoric Gestures Facilitate Perception of Intonation More than Length in Auditory Judgments of Non-Native Phonemic Contrasts

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer Kelly ◽  
April Bailey ◽  
Yukari Hirata
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Speech Processing ◽  
Speech Sound ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Consistent Pattern ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Hand Gestures ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Phonemic Contrasts

It is well established that hand gestures affect comprehension and learning of semantic aspects of a foreign language (FL). However, much less is known about the role of hand gestures in lower-level language processes, such as perception of phonemes. To address this gap, we explored the role that metaphoric gestures play in perceiving FL speech sounds that varied on two dimensions: length and intonation. English speaking adults listened to Japanese length contrasts and sentence-final intonational distinctions in the context of congruent, incongruent and no gestures. For intonational contrasts, identification was more accurate for congruent gestures and less accurate for incongruent gestures relative to the baseline no gesture condition. However, for the length contrasts, there was no such clear and consistent pattern, and in fact, congruent gestures made speech processing more effortful. We conclude that metaphoric gestures help with some—but not all—novel speech sounds in a FL, suggesting that gesture and speech are phonemically integrated to differing extents depending on the nature of the gesture and/or speech sound.

scholarly journals THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN EFL CLASSROOM

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-118
Author(s):  
Fahri Haswani
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Conceptual Foundation ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Based Instruction

In  response  to  an  appeal  from  Indonesia’s  Ministry  of  Education  and  Culture  to  all universities and colleges to improve the quality of tertiary  education toward regional and international standard, language institutions are making great efforts to further promote the  foreign  language  learning  process.  In  the  last  few  years  there  have  been  dramatic changes  in  the  ways  that  languages  are  taught  by communicative  approach  and  the introduction of technological tools. In recent years, the use of technological aids, especially those related to computers, has increasingly become  a common feature of the classroom. There is no doubt that computer based instruction will occupy a more central role in the foreign language classroom in the future. Information technology has drawn the interest of teachers of English as a second or foreign language in non-English speaking countries. The technology integration into  the curriculum is not a single concept which is generated from one  single  theory  nor  does  it  give  full  guidelines  for  the  implementation  in  practical situation. This issue constitutes ideas from many different theories. This paper  discusses the issue of technology contributions in EFL classroom. The question raised in this paper is how technology facilitates  the attainment of course goals.  The answer of the question will help  English  teachers  to  clarify  the  real  problems  of  the  initiative  so  that  the  innovation and possible changes can be aligned with the need of the students. However, this literature review  only  covers  limited  issues  related  with  the  role  of  technology  in  EFL  classroom. Further  discussion  from  other  different  points  of  view  is  still  needed  to  create  more complete description of conceptual foundation of the innovation.

Perceptual Fusion Tendency of Speech Sounds

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 1003-1014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Huang ◽  
Jingyu Li ◽  
Xuefei Zou ◽  
Tianshu Qu ◽  
Xihong Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Speech Processing ◽  
Speech Sound ◽  
Amplitude Fluctuation ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Sound Sources ◽  
Reflected Waves ◽  
Sound Image ◽  
Grouping Strategy ◽  
Nonspeech Sounds ◽  
Reverberant Environment

To discriminate and to recognize sound sources in a noisy, reverberant environment, listeners need to perceptually integrate the direct wave with the reflections of each sound source. It has been confirmed that perceptual fusion between direct and reflected waves of a speech sound helps listeners recognize this speech sound in a simulated reverberant environment with disrupting sound sources. When the delay between a direct sound wave and its reflected wave is sufficiently short, the two waves are perceptually fused into a single sound image as coming from the source location. Interestingly, compared with nonspeech sounds such as clicks and noise bursts, speech sounds have a much larger perceptual fusion tendency. This study investigated why the fusion tendency for speech sounds is so large. Here we show that when the temporal amplitude fluctuation of speech was artificially time reversed, a large perceptual fusion tendency of speech sounds disappeared, regardless of whether the speech acoustic carrier was in normal or reversed temporal order. Moreover, perceptual fusion of normal-order speech, but not that of time-reversed speech, was accompanied by increased coactivation of the attention-control-related, spatial-processing-related, and speech-processing-related cortical areas. Thus, speech-like acoustic carriers modulated by speech amplitude fluctuation selectively activate a cortical network for top–down modulations of speech processing, leading to an enhancement of perceptual fusion of speech sounds. This mechanism represents a perceptual-grouping strategy for unmasking speech under adverse conditions.

Separating the Novel Speech Sound Perception of Lexical Tone Chimeras From Their Auditory Signal Manipulations: Behavioral and Electroencephalographic Evidence

2021 ◽  
pp. 003151252110497
Author(s):  
Fuh-Cherng Jeng ◽  
Breanna N. Hart ◽  
Chia-Der Lin
Keyword(s):  
Speech Processing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Speech Sound ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Pitch Perception ◽  
Auditory Signal ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Lexical Tone ◽  
Sound Perception ◽  
Processing Strategies

Previous research has shown the novelty of lexical-tone chimeras (artificially constructed speech sounds created by combining normal speech sounds of a given language) to native speakers of the language from which the chimera components were drawn. However, the source of such novelty remains unclear. Our goal in this study was to separate the effects of chimeric tonal novelty in Mandarin speech from the effects of auditory signal manipulations. We recruited 20 native speakers of Mandarin and constructed two sets of lexical-tone chimeras by interchanging the envelopes and fine structures of both a falling/yi4/and a rising/yi2/Mandarin tone through 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32, and 64 auditory filter banks. We conducted pitch-perception ability tasks via a two-alternative, forced-choice paradigm to produce behavioral (versus physiological) pitch perception data. We also obtained electroencephalographic measurements through the scalp-recorded frequency-following response (FFR). Analyses of variances and post hoc Greenhouse-Geisser procedures revealed that the differences observed in the participants’ reaction times and FFR measurements were attributable primarily to chimeric novelty rather than signal manipulation effects. These findings can be useful in assessing neuroplasticity and developing speech-processing strategies.

Speech perception in individuals with auditory dys-synchrony

2010 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 236-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
U A Kumar ◽  
M Jayaram
Keyword(s):  
Speech Processing ◽  
Speech Sound ◽  
Just Noticeable Difference ◽  
Auditory Information ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Transition Duration ◽  
Processing Strategies ◽  
Temporal Cues ◽  
Speech Segments ◽  
Difference Time

AbstractObjective:This study aimed to evaluate the effect of lengthening the transition duration of selected speech segments upon the perception of those segments in individuals with auditory dys-synchrony.Methods:Thirty individuals with auditory dys-synchrony participated in the study, along with 30 age-matched normal hearing listeners. Eight consonant–vowel syllables were used as auditory stimuli. Two experiments were conducted. Experiment one measured the ‘just noticeable difference’ time: the smallest prolongation of the speech sound transition duration which was noticeable by the subject. In experiment two, speech sounds were modified by lengthening the transition duration by multiples of the just noticeable difference time, and subjects' speech identification scores for the modified speech sounds were assessed.Results:Subjects with auditory dys-synchrony demonstrated poor processing of temporal auditory information. Lengthening of speech sound transition duration improved these subjects' perception of both the placement and voicing features of the speech syllables used.Conclusion:These results suggest that innovative speech processing strategies which enhance temporal cues may benefit individuals with auditory dys-synchrony.

scholarly journals OBSERVING AND PRODUCING DURATIONAL HAND GESTURES FACILITATES THE PRONUNCIATION OF NOVEL VOWEL-LENGTH CONTRASTS

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 1015-1039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Li ◽  
Florence Baills ◽  
Pilar Prieto
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Vowel Length ◽  
Hand Gestures ◽  
Minimal Pairs ◽  
Disyllabic Words ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Phonological Contrasts

AbstractWhile empirical studies have shown the beneficial role of observing and producing hand gestures mimicking pitch features in the learning of L2 tonal or intonational contrasts, mixed results have been obtained for the use of gestures encoding durational contrasts at the perceptual level. This study investigates the potential benefits of horizontal hand-sweep gestures encoding durational features for boosting the perception and production of nonnative vowel-length contrasts. In a between-subjects experiment with a pretest–posttest design, 50 Catalan participants without any knowledge of Japanese practiced perceiving and producing minimal pairs of Japanese disyllabic words featuring vowel-length contrasts in one of two conditions, namely with gestures or without them. Pretest and posttest consisted of the completion of identical vowel-length identification and imitation tasks. The results showed that while participants improved equally at posttest across the two conditions in the identification task, the Gesture group obtained a larger improvement than the No Gesture group in the imitation task. These results corroborate the claim that producing hand gestures encoding prosodic properties of speech may help naïve learners to learn novel phonological contrasts in a foreign language.

scholarly journals Children’s Third-Party Understanding of Communicative Interactions in a Foreign Language

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Narges Afshordi ◽  
Kathleen R. Sullivan ◽  
Lori Markson
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Significant Development ◽  
Successful Communication ◽  
Shared Language ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Spanish Speaker ◽  
Communicative Context

Two studies explored young children’s understanding of the role of shared language in communication by investigating how monolingual English-speaking children interact with an English speaker, a Spanish speaker, and a bilingual experimenter who spoke both English and Spanish. When the bilingual experimenter spoke in Spanish or English to request objects, four-year-old children, but not three-year-olds, used her language choice to determine whom she addressed (e.g. requests in Spanish were directed to the Spanish speaker). Importantly, children used this cue – language choice – only in a communicative context. The findings suggest that by four years, monolingual children recognize that speaking the same language enables successful communication, even when that language is unfamiliar to them. Three-year-old children’s failure to make this distinction suggests that this capacity likely undergoes significant development in early childhood, although other capacities might also be at play.

scholarly journals The The Role of Tongue Twister to Improve the Students’ Speaking Skill

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-345
Author(s):  
Yuni Yuniar ◽  
Muhammad Reza Pahlevi ◽  
Nia Hoerniasih
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Tongue Twister ◽  
Main Language

Recently the ability to English speaking is very necessary since English has become a foreign language in Indonesia. A correct speech is become crucial to avoid misunderstanding conveying the information to the listener. Therefore, teaching English speaking is very necessary to the teacher in improving the students’ speaking skills. The main reason why learning to speak English is very difficult for the students is because students often use the Indonesian language (mother tongue) as the main language and are not accustomed to speaking in English in their daily life. One of the alternatives technique that can be used by the teacher is using tongue twister. The aims of this study is to explore about what are the problems that faced by the students while learning English speaking in Tongue Twister assisted. The classroom action research is a method that conducted in this research. There are two Cycles in this research and both of cycles showed of 77.14% of students has obtained a score of 75 and 77.13%. This result shows that the students have met the success criteria of the research and the students actively participate in the teaching and learning processes during English-speaking class.

Position and combination of sounds in speech

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-185
Author(s):  
Dilafruz Izzatilloyevna Khodjayeva ◽  
Parvina Ulugbek qizi Mustafoyeva
Keyword(s):  
Speech Sound ◽  
Speech Sounds

This article examines position and combination of speech sound in Phonology. As a result of different factors in speech, sounds interact. These factors depend on the role of bin volume, its proximity to other sounds, the nature of the combination of sounds and the emphasis.

scholarly journals Toddlers learn words in a foreign language: the role of native vocabulary knowledge

2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 322-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
MELISSA KOENIG ◽  
AMANDA L. WOODWARD
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Target Object ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
English Speaker ◽  
Conventional System ◽  
English Speaking

ABSTRACTThe current study examined monolingual English-speaking toddlers' (N=50) ability to learn word–referent links from native speakers of Dutch versus English, and second, whether children generalized or sequestered their extensions when terms were tested by a subsequent speaker of English. Overall, children performed better in the English than in the Dutch condition; however, children with high native vocabularies successfully selected the target object for terms trained in fluent Dutch. Furthermore, children with higher vocabularies did not indicate their comprehension of Dutch terms when subsequently tested by an English speaker whereas children with low vocabulary scores responded at chance levels to both the original Dutch speaker and the second English speaker. These findings demonstrate that monolingual toddlers with proficiency in their native language are capable of learning words outside of their conventional system and may be sensitive to the boundaries that exist between language systems.

Role of Massed Versus Distributed Practice in Learning Novel Foreign Language Utterances

Motor Control ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-38
Author(s):  
Ramesh Kaipa ◽  
Bethany Howard ◽  
Roha Kaipa ◽  
Eric Turcat ◽  
Laurielle Prema
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Retention Test ◽  
Speech Disorders ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Distributed Practice ◽  
Massed Practice ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking

The current study compared the role of massed versus distributed practice in learning novel foreign language utterances. Fifty healthy native English-speaking participants were randomly assigned to either massed or distributed practice groups. All participants practiced eight novel French utterances 25 times each for a total of 200 times, with the spacing of practice sessions differing between the two groups. Both the groups completed an immediate retention as well as a delayed retention test. Participants’ learning was evaluated based on phonetic accuracy and naturalness of the French utterances. The findings revealed that participants involved in distributed practice demonstrated better learning over participants involved in massed practice. Future research should aim to extrapolate these findings in treating speech disorders.

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