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

Abstract

Two types of support systems were developed 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 such outside experts as speech-languagehearing therapists who support the teachers. The teachers registered practice words and their probable error pronunciations into the system, based on 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 speech-language-hearing therapists. Practice logs and speech sounds were recorded in a database. The speech-language-hearing therapists listened to the recorded speech to understand student situations and then advised the teachers. The web application system simplified access to the students’ speech and exercise records for the speech-language-hearing therapists. Practical field test results demonstrated that all of the teachers found that the system helped improve their students’ pronunciation, the speech-language-hearing therapists felt that it simplified not only articulation tests, but also observation of the students’ pronunciation improvement process, and the speech-language-hearing therapists and the teachers believed that the system promoted mutual cooperation for more effective instruction.