Support system for pronunciation instruction and practice in special education classes for language-disabled children enrolled in conventional schools

Abstract

We developed two types of support systems for pronunciation instruction and practice in special education classes for language-disabled children: a stand-alone system and a web application system. The aims of the systems were (1) to encourage students to practice the pronunciation they learned in their classes repeatedly and (2) to promote cooperation between teachers and the speech-language-hearing therapists (STs) who support the teachers. The teachers registered practice words and their probable error pronunciations into the system, taking into account individual pronunciation needs, and the students were encouraged to read these practice words aloud. Three speech evaluation methods were prepared: automatic speech recognition, phonemic discrimination between the correct and probable error pronunciation of a consonant period, and articulation tests from STs. The web application system simplified access to the students’ speech and exercise records for the STs. Practical field test results demonstrated th...