Spoken Communication Skills Research Articles

Developing Learners’ English-Speaking Skills using ICT and AI Tools

This study aims to examine the benefits of using ICT and AI technologies to aid the improvement of students' spoken communication skills, as well as the factors that contribute to students' difficulties with speaking. The study's primary goal is to provide useful recommendations for students, teachers, and learners that will facilitate better English language instruction and learning. Different studies were analyzed, and elements related to difficulties with communication were separated into three distinct groups: linguistic, social, and affective. We looked into numerous information and communication technology (ICT), Apps, and artificial intelligence (AI) resources that help in teaching and learning English. We conducted an experiment with 100 students, who were placed into two groups: ICT and Non-ICT. Taught English for the Non-ICT group using traditional methods and for the ICT group using ICT and AI tools. When compared to non-ICT students, ICT students demonstrate superior performance in all parameters of the speaking test. ESL students will see significant improvements in their communication skills with the use of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for teaching and learning language.

Improving Speaking Communication Skills in English through Self-Directed Strategy

The purpose of this study was to explore the importance of Self-Directed Learning technique in improving the communication skills in English of students. Sixteen sophomore BS Education majors in English were chosen on purpose. Focus groups were conducted to obtain the necessary information. The analysis of information yielded five themes: increasing language competency, encouraging independent learning, learning through the internet, and becoming more reading focused. Each theme were discussed. It was concluded that regardless of the good implications that Self-Directed Learning brings to learners, the truth remains that students who use Self-Directed Learning requires the guidance and monitoring of teachers in order for students to completely appreciate the significant effects and benefits of the technique. Giving students complete control over their learning can lead to inaccuracy and danger. The results implicate the current situation of COVID 19 where academic institutions are adapting the blended and flexible modalities.

Time Series Data Processing for Classifying Wandering Patterns in People With Dementia

As the population ages, dementia has become one of the main health issues worldwide affecting the elderly. It is a disease related to the damage of the brain cells, causing memory loss, impairing of written and spoken communication skills, difficulty in performing previously routine tasks, as well as personality and mood changes. There is no cure for dementia, but if diagnosed correctly, providing the proper treatment and support allows for a better quality of life for those affected by this disease. People with dementia tend to wander, and a relationship between the wandering pattern and the level of dementia has been established. In this paper, two-time series techniques, the autocorrelation function and the partial autocorrelation function used in conjunction with the machine learning algorithms, including linear discriminant analysis, multivariate Gaussian, adaptive boost, and k-nearest neighbors, were evaluated to classify wandering patterns in people affected by dementia. The main contribution of this work is the use of time-series data techniques and machine learning algorithms to classify wandering patterns. The use of smoothing filters and time series feature extraction techniques, used in combination with ML algorithms, showed a very good performance, with an accuracy greater than 90%.

The Influence of Storytelling Method on the Public Speaking Communication Skills among the Students of Mercu Buana University Meruya West Jakarta

The study aims at identifying the public speaking communication skills among the students of Mercu Buana University Meruya, West Jakarta, before and after the implementation of the storytelling method. In addition, the study also aims at identifying the presence or the absence of the impact of the storytelling method on the public speaking communication skills of the Mercu Buana University students in Meruya, West Jakarta. By using the SPSS Version 20, 40 students have been gathered as the samples of the study and these students come from all faculties in the Mercu Buana University. After the data have been gathered, the data are analyzed using the descriptive statistical test and the hypothesis test. In this regard, the researchers have implemented the normality test and the hypothesis test. The hypotheses within the study are tested using the following criteria: (1) if the rate of significance < a (sig. value < 0.05) then Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted; and (2) if the rate of significance > a (sig. value > 0.05) then Ho is accepted and Ha is rejected. The results of the study show that the students of Mercu Buana University have understood the concept and the implementation of the storytelling method. From the results of the analysis toward the assessment category of the storytelling method, out of 8 assessment variables 3 variables do not have significant influence on the storytelling method that the students of Mercu Buana University have implemented and the three variables are Pressure, Material Disclosure, and Participant Gesture. In addition, the results of the paired sample t-test there are significant differences between the pre-test results and the post-test results. These findings show that the storytelling method is highly influential for the changes on the public speaking communication skills that the students of Mercu Buana University perform.

Culture-Creation Component of Architectonics of Humanities Information and Education Spaces: Value Context of Postmodern Era

There is no shortage of research materials intended to meet the teachers’ need for continuing/life-learning professional development as a creator of the social and educational activities in the national public school spaces in terms of Pedagogy and Knowledge Content Efficacy. The purpose of this manuscript is to stand back from the surface detail of formal education of the teacher and to provide an overall perspective on the teacher’s creative mission as a communicator, a person of high language and communication culture, for harmony and psychological balance within intercultural communication created via different devices. Concept and methodology of this research, based in the main on the principles of humanism which reflect on the ideas of axiological and process approaches that concern the concepts of engaging teachers in a process of recurrent professional development. Results of this research include the comprehensive model that consists of three value concepts for a) creating the humanities educational spaces via acculturation; b) teaching the four skills and spoken communication skills via current devices of language teaching and ideological trend of acculturation; c) involving participants into ‘genuine’ communication via bringing social oriented and language learning activities reflected on the creative mission of national public school education that works its way up through culture experience in the classroom. In conclusion this article presents a handful of arguments of the significance of the growth and level of multilingual culture to affect the diversity of the personality’s vital forces, its development providing opportunities for professional and social self-realization, adaptation, and increasing creative potential in the process of critical thinking and creative communication via Technology, Pedagogy, and Knowledge Content Efficacy of current methodology of teaching and learning in the classroom. By the same token we have grounds for clarifying and verifying our vision on the Concept of “Humanities environment/spaces” in the frameworks of the comprehensive model of its architectonics, i.e. a harmony of the culture-creation elements via languages of education, the polyphony of knowledge, technology, spheres of recurrent professional development of a current educator.

Business Communication Skills Required by Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development in Oyo State, Nigeria

This study x-ray business communication skills acquisition required by entrepreneurs for sustainable development in Oyo State, Nigeria. Four (4) research questions guided the study. A survey design was adopted. The population was 2600 entrepreneurs registered with Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIIMA) in Oyo State while 10% totalling 260 respondents were randomly selected using simple random sampling techniques formed the sample size for this study. A-35 item structured questionnaire validated by 4 experts was used for data collection. The pilot study conducted yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.78 which was high enough for the instrument to be considered reliable. Mean and the standard deviation was used to analyze the findings. The findings revealed among others that listening and speaking communication skills are highly required by entrepreneurs for sustainable development. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that in house training should be conducted for entrepreneurs to address communication skill gap for sustainable development.

Brief Report: Associations Between Autism Characteristics, Written and Spoken Communication Skills, and Social Interaction Skills in Preschool-Age Children on the Autism Spectrum.

We used parent-report data from a prospective longitudinal study to better understand the early strengths in written skills often observed in preschoolers on the spectrum. Consistent with previous research, children demonstrated relative strengths in standardized written communication compared to spoken communication scores on the VABS-II. We found no significant links between children's performance on the written communication subdomain and their autism characteristics or the Social Interaction Deviance Composite score on the CCC-2. Our results emphasize the need for further research into the early strengths in written skills of preschoolers on the spectrum. From a clinical viewpoint, we highlight the need for a comprehensive emergent literacy assessment in this group of children who are at high risk of persistent literacy difficulties.

СOMMUNICATION COMPETENCE OF A PEDAGOGUE AS A DOMINANT VALUE: POSTMODERN CONTEXT

The problem of this article concerns the value of the communication skills and competence that has steadily risen on the Communicative Stock Exchange over the past ten years due to both global challenges of the modernity, and the current status of Russian public education development in terms of introducing culture of communication into everyday lessons. The purpose of this study is to substantiate the need for the required competence of teachers across all subjects at Regional Destination of cross-border characteristics, and to fill in the gap in the management of current professional education of a pedagogue. Scientific exposition and introduction to the problem will set out the theoretical background of technology, pedagogy and knowledge content of culture of communication and the rational for using it not just in language learning, but in all learning that is based on the ideas and principles of regional and axiological approaches to improving the methodology and scientific support of the tutorials intended for in-service teachers and teaching staff of regional consulting centers. The results of this research cover a) the constructs of the regional project the focus of which is on three main areas of supplementary techniques for doing, being and facing daily difficult situations of communication with others within the routine of the Regional Methodology Centers; b) the answer to the question of how to improve language education, both teaching and learning, spoken communication skills, understanding of text, etc; c) the tutorial practice support for the management of which the Institute Departments are responsible. This comprehensive model of the management of the Regional Methodology Centers presents a number of practical pieces of advice which have focused on the creation of the right atmosphere, both on the role of the pedagogue and the role of the most cooperative students/teachers, on the need of careful planning, timing and preparation during lessons using modern techniques (drama, project works, online and offline activities, business games, modern lesson and its criteria, etc ) for improving the presentation of activities in the regional development spaces, etc. In conclusion the article presents some ideas for further research of the possibilities of the Regional Consulting Centers in improving teachers’ presentation activities in terms of languages for special purposes in the communicative professional spaces.

Can subject matter experts rate the English language skills of customer services representatives (CSRs) at work in Indian contact centre?

ABSTRACTMillions of customer services representatives are assessed each year by subject matter experts (e.g., recruiters, team leaders) in Asian contact centres to ensure good spoken communication skills when serving customers on the phones. In other workplace contexts, language experts are employed to do this work but in Asian contact centres, a successful transfer of language expert assessment knowledge and skills to subject matter experts is preferred for practical and cost reasons. To date however, no studies have been carried out to demonstrate that subject matter experts can do this language assessment in a reliable way. This study explores how a linguistically-informed spoken assessment rubric, called the Business Performance Assessment Scale (BUPLAS), is used by subject matter experts to assess the English communication skills of customer service representatives employed in an India-based contact centre. After a week-long training programme on how to use BUPLAS, the results revealed that the subject matter experts had high intra-rater and inter-rater reliability when they scored real calls. They also understood, interpreted, and ‘indigenously scored’ the linguistically-informed criteria. The implications of these results in deferring to subject matter experts to conduct language assessments in this workplace are discussed.

Практическая реализация компетентностного подхода в процессе обучения младших школьников

The article discusses the use of the competence-based approach in primary general education, which allows you to meet the need of younger students in socialization. The practice-oriented aspect of socialization provides different types of functional literacy: language, mathematical, informational, household. The ways of formation of these types of functional literacy through school subjects are revealed. Examples are given of creative tasks that allow developing by younger schoolchildren to have spoken communication skills, concrete practical skills of working with incomplete texts, to find solutions in quasi-lifelong learning situations that are as close as possible to those arising in life itself and meaningful for children of this age group.

Early Communication Development of Children with Auditory Brainstem Implants

The auditory brainstem implant (ABI) is an auditory sensory device that is surgically placed on the cochlear nucleus of the brainstem for individuals who are deaf but unable to benefit from a cochlear implant (CI) due to anatomical abnormalities of the cochlea and/or eighth nerve, specific disease processes, or temporal bone fractures. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has authorized a Phase I clinical trial to determine safety and feasibility of the ABI in up to 10 eligible young children who are deaf and either derived no benefit from the CI or were anatomically unable to receive a CI. In this paper, we describe the study protocol and the children who have enrolled in the study thus far. In addition, we report the scores on speech perception, speech production, and language (spoken and signed) for five children with 1-3 years of assessment post-ABI activation. To date, the results indicate that spoken communication skills are slow to develop and that visual communication remains essential for post-ABI intervention.

Cochlear Implantation in X‐linked Mixed Deafness

Objective: 1) Describe important points of consideration when planning cochlear implant surgery for patients at risk for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) gusher on cochleostomy. 2) Report successful cochlear implantation in patients with X-linked mixed deafness. Method: Fraternal twins with X-linked mixed deafness were enrolled in an observational study at a tertiary academic medical center from 2010 to 2011. Subjects underwent cochlear implantation and were followed during recovery and auditory rehabilitation. Main outcome measures included successful placement of electrode arrays into the cochlea, adequate control of leaking CSF, incidence of postoperative complications, and development of listening and speaking communication skills in children with implants. Results: Electrode arrays were successfully placed despite challenging middle and inner ear abnormalities. Leaking CSF was controlled without the use of lumbar drains. No perioperative or postoperative complications occurred. Both patients progressed rapidly in the development of hearing, listening, and speaking skills after successful cochlear implantation. A new surgical instrument was designed and used to aid in electrode insertion into gushing CSF. Conclusion: Cochlear implantation in patients with X-linked mixed deafness requires careful planning and execution, but may result in excellent communicative outcomes.

Migration and Education

This Special Edition of Power and Education on the subject of Migration and Education could not come at a more critical time. There is no ‘agreed’ definition for migration (International Organisation for Migration, 2005); however, it is commonly held that migration is the physical movement from one place to another. This may be in small or large groups. Education, which has been used synonymously to schooling, is similarly problematic to define, and has been suggested by Gregory (2002) to be concerned primarily with equipping minds to makes sense of the physical, social and cultural worlds. From these definitions, a close relationship between migration and education can be seen, which is being bolstered by the increased pace of globalisation. The relationship between these two concepts – education and migration – one can deduce, is as interrelated as they are dynamic. Nevertheless, interrelatedness is perhaps most noticeable in terms of world trade, although less noticeable forms of interrelatedness such as government policies and written and spoken communication skills are at play. The resulting interplay is a plethora of opportunities and challenges, often premised on a shifting borderland narrative and manifested in discourses around curricula and qualifications comparability, educational accreditation, social justice and identity trajectories. Concomitantly, notions of ‘North’ and ‘South’ are being replaced by a new social international order in which a ‘world citizen’ is constructed as possessing a developed understanding of the world and making the world their home through travel. But education, making sense of physical, social and cultural worlds, makes the process and act of migration easier to understand by offering a range of models (Ravenstein, 1878; Stouffer, 1960) and discourses (Todaro, 1969; International Organisation for Migration, 2005) through which the movement of individuals can be debated, if not explained. Conversely, migration presents education with opportunities for the production and dissemination of knowledge and the sharing of skills and expertise. That is, migration presents opportunities for culture sharing and for cultural literacy to develop and to be embedded in lifestyle and practice among individuals, communities and even societies. Additionally, the challenges migration brings to education systems and to different actors within such systems cannot be ignored. Fundamentally, education can be thought of as a vehicle which aids our understanding of these issues. The intricate relationship between migration and education can therefore be explained by this metaphor: if migration is a seed, then education is the soil which gives effect to this seed both in terms of its development and in terms of our understanding of the process of its development. The migratory experience is inexorably fraught (Lee, 1966). Individuals, communities and countries alike can expect possibilities and challenges. Sending countries lose skilled labour and some have even experienced a brain drain (Ochs, 2003); receiving countries face challenges in terms of population growth, the results of which have been further challenges to social security, medical

Listening in Color: An Audiologist’s CI Journey

Listening in Color: An Audiologist’s CI Journey

Audiologic Rehabilitation and Speech-Language Therapy for Prelingually Deaf Young Adults

Aural rehabilitation and speech-language therapy is described for severe-to-profoundly deaf, college-age students. Students in therapy are often cochlear implant users and are quite variable in spoken communication skills. Individual therapy rationale, techniques, materials, and computer resources are illustrated by 2 audiologists and a speech-language pathologist whose work is collaborative. An illustrative case history is provided.

Brain metabolism of children with profound deafness: a visual language activation study by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography

Conclusion. The use of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) with a visual language task provided objective information on the development and plasticity of cortical language networks. This approach could help individuals involved in the habilitation and education of prelingually deafened children to decide upon the appropriate mode of communication. Objectives. To investigate the cortical processing of the visual component of language and the effect of deafness upon this activity. Subjects and methods. Six prelingually deafened children participated in this study. The subjects were numbered 1–6 in the order of their spoken communication skills. In the time period between an intravenous injection of 370 MBq 18F-FDG and PET scanning of the brain, each subject was instructed to watch a video of the face of a speaking person. The cortical radioactivity of each deaf child was compared with that of a group of normal- hearing adults using a t test in a basic SPM2 model. Results. The widest bilaterally activated cortical area was detected in subject 1, who was the worst user of spoken language. By contrast, there was no significant difference between subject 6, who was the best user of spoken language with a hearing aid, and the normal hearing group.

Hearing-Impaired Children in the United Kingdom, I: Auditory Performance, Communication Skills, Educational Achievements, Quality of Life, and Cochlear Implantation

The objectives of this study were to identify variables that are associated with differences in outcome among hearing-impaired children and to control those variables while assessing the impact of cochlear implantation. In a cross-sectional study, the parents and teachers of a representative sample of hearing-impaired children were invited to complete questionnaires about children's auditory performance, spoken communication skills, educational achievements, and quality of life. Multiple regression was used to measure the strength of association between these outcomes and variables related to the child (average hearing level, age at onset of hearing impairment, age, gender, number of additional disabilities), the family (parental occupational skill level, ethnicity, and parental hearing status), and cochlear implantation. Questionnaires were returned by the parents of 2858 children, 468 of whom had received a cochlear implant, and by the teachers of 2241 children, 383 of whom had received an implant. Across all domains, reported outcomes were better for children with fewer disabilities in addition to impaired hearing. Across most domains, reported outcomes were better for children who were older, female, with a more favorable average hearing level, with a higher parental occupational skill level, and with an onset of hearing-impairment after 3 years. When these variables were controlled, cochlear implantation was consistently associated with advantages in auditory performance and spoken communication skills, but less consistently associated with advantages in educational achievements and quality of life. Significant associations were found most commonly for children who were younger than 5 years when implanted, and had used implants for more than 4 years. These children, whose mean (preoperative, unaided) average hearing level was 118 dB, were reported to perform at the same level as nonimplanted children with average hearing levels in the range from 80 dB to 104 dB, depending on the outcome measure. When rigorous statistical control is exercised in comparing implanted and nonimplanted children, pediatric cochlear implantation is associated with reported improvements both in spoken communication skills and in some aspects of educational achievements and quality of life, provided that children receive implants before 5 years of age.

Considering response efficiency in the selection and use of AAC systems.

Abstract Individuals with severe disabilities whose speech is either ineffective or inefficient for meeting their communicative needs have benefited from augmentative and alternative modes of communication (AAC). However, despite the evidence supporting the use of AAC with individuals with severe disabilities, practitioners still encounter challenges in implementing AAC interventions. These challenges be due, in part, to problems related to contextual fit. This paper (a) examines the importance of contextual fit in the design and implementation of AAC interventions, (b) explores the potential role of response efficiency for enhancing contextual fit, (c) presents a framework for examining the response efficiency of AAC interventions, and (d) provides a discussion of needed research. Keywords: Augmentative and Alternative Communication, AAC, Contextual Fit, Response Efficiency. Introduction Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) refers to the use of devices or techniques that supplement or replace an individual's spoken communication skills (Mustonen, Locke, Reichle, Solbrach, & Lindgren, 1991). AAC includes unaided modes of communication (e.g., gestures, sign languages/systems, and facial expressions) as well as aided modes of communication (e.g., line drawings on a communication board, written words on a pad of paper, laptop computers with synthesized speech output, dedicated AAC devices with digitized speech output). Individuals with severe disabilities whose speech is either ineffective or inefficient for meeting their communicative needs have benefited from augmentative and alternative modes of communication (e.g., Cafiero, 1998; Johnston, McDonnell, Nelson, & Magnavito, 2003; Johnston, Nelson, Evans, Palazolo, 2003; Marcus, Garfinkle, & Wolery, 2001; Mirenda & Ericson, 2000; Quill, 1997; Rowland & Schweigart, 2000; Schopler, Mesibov, Shigley, & Hearsey, 1995). However, as promising as the evidence supporting the use of AAC with individuals with severe disabilities has been, practitioners still encounter challenges in implementing AAC interventions. These challenges be due, in part, to problems related to contextual fit. This paper (a) examines the importance of contextual fit in the design and implementation of AAC interventions, (b) explores the potential role of response efficiency for enhancing contextual fit, (c) presents a framework for examining the response efficiency of AAC interventions, and (d) provides a discussion of needed research. Importance of Contextual Fit in the Design and Implementation of AAC Interventions The term contextual fit refers to the compatibility between an intervention and a variety of variables, including characteristics of the person for whom the intervention was developed, characteristics of the individuals who will implement the plan, and features of the environment within which the intervention will be implemented (Albin, Lucyshyn, Horner, & Flannery, 1996). Albin et al (1996) posit that an intervention may be theoretically well designed and solidly grounded in both behavior theory and documented practice, and yet still not be a good fit for the people and the environments involved (p.83). An intervention lack strong contextual fit for a variety of reasons. For the AAC user, the AAC intervention require too much effort and/or not consistently result in interactions that fulfill their communication wants/needs. For communication partners, the AAC intervention be cumbersome or time consuming to design and implement, conflict with existing priorities, or fail to meet their own communicative needs. Personal experience suggests that many AAC users and their communication partners have participated in interventions that lack a good contextual fit. For example, consider Jane, a preschool aged child who was taught to use sign language to communicate her wants and needs. …

Criterion validity of the Language Background Questionnaire: A self-assessment instrument

The present investigation examined relationships between the Language Background Questionnaire (LBQ) self-assessed sign language skills, LBQ self-assessed spoken communication skills, and formal independent sign and spoken communication skills assessments of young adults who are deaf or hard of hearing. Results indicated a high degree of congruence between self-assessed communication skills and formal independent assessments of communication skills. The findings establish reasonable criterion validity for the LBQ regarding self-assessed sign language and spoken communication skills.

Speech Production and Speech With a Phrenic Nerve Pacer

A phrenic nerve pacer is a neural prosthesis used by some individuals with ventilatory insufficiency. This report provides a description of the phrenic nerve pacer and contains a case study of a young man in whom speech production during phrenic nerve pacing was examined and contrasted to that during mechanical (positive-pressure) ventilation. Results revealed that the physical mechanisms used to produce speech and the resultant speech output differed under these two ventilatory conditions. Listener judgments indicated that speech produced with a phrenic nerve pacer was strongly preferred over that produced with a mechanical ventilator, primarily because it was more continuous and contained fewer and shorter pauses. This continuity was due, in part, to a conservation-of-air strategy employed by the speaker. These observations have important clinical implications for speech-language pathologists responsible for enhancing spoken communication skills in clients requiring ventilatory support.