Spoken Tasks Research Articles

초등학생의 읽기유창성과 언어능력과의 관계

Objectives This study aimed to explore the connections between language skills (vocabulary, syntactic ability, expressive sentence pattern production) and reading fluency in elementary school students. Methods The research involved 51 children from grades 1 to 6 in elementary schools across Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Chungcheong. Various tools, such as the text reading fluency test, receptive vocabulary test, and syntatic comprehension test, were utilized. Additionally, tasks evaluating written and spoken expressive sentence patterns were carried out through a fill-in-the-blank test and a discourse completion task. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze performance across different grade levels (low, middle, and high), examining significant differences between the groups. Correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between each variable, and multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the factors influencing reading fluency. Results The study revealed variations in reading fluency and language skills (vocabulary, syntactic ability, scores on written tasks assessing expressive sentence patterns, and the number of expressive sentence types in oral tasks) among different grades. Correlation analysis indicated that scores on written tasks assessing expressive sentence patterns, receptive vocabulary, and the number of expressive sentence types in spoken tasks were correlated with reading fluency. As a result of multiple regression analysis, the explanatory power of linguistic variables on reading fluency was 51.9%. Conclusions In this study, we identified linguistic variables that are correlated with reading fluency in school-age children. Specifically, we found that the ability to produce expressive sentences was correlated with reading fluency. The results of this study suggest new implications for future reading fluency interventions.

Data‐Driven Learning for Pronunciation: Perception and Production of Lexical Stress and Prominence in Academic English

AbstractIssues of intelligibility may arise amongst English learners when acquiring new words and phrases in North American academic settings, perhaps in part due to limited linguistic data available to the learner for understanding language use patterns. To this end, this paper examines the effects of Data‐Driven Learning for Pronunciation (DDLfP) on lexical stress and prominence in the US academic context. 65 L2 English learners in North American universities completed a diagnostic and pretest with listening and speaking items before completing four online lessons and a posttest on academic words and formulas (i.e., multi‐word sequences). Experimental group participants (n = 40) practiced using an audio corpus of highly proficient L2 speakers while comparison group participants (n = 25) were given teacher‐created pronunciation materials. Logistic regression results indicated that the group who used the corpus significantly increased their recognition of prominence in academic formulas. In the spoken tasks, both groups improved in their lexical stress pronunciation, but only the DDLfP learners improved their production of prominence in academic formulas. Learners reported that they valued DDLfP efforts for pronunciation learning across contexts and speakers. Findings have implications for teachers of L2 pronunciation and support the use of corpora for language teaching and learning.

The involvement of inhibition in word and sentence reading.

Individual differences in reading performance between children appear from the onset of literacy acquisition. One possible explanation for this variability is the influence of inhibition in reading ability, a topic that has received very little research attention. Nevertheless, children often make guessing errors characterized by replacing a word with an orthographic neighbor, possibly linked to failing inhibition. The present study aims to evaluate the role of inhibition during word and sentence reading and compare its effects in spoken and motor tasks. Participants comprised 25 children in Grades 2 and 3 (Mage = 8; 2). The children performed five inhibition tasks in reading (words, sentences), spoken (words, sentences) and motor modalities. Within the two reading tasks, inhibition demands were assessed using pairs of orthographic neighbors for which the frequency was manipulated. Accuracy, types of errors, latency, and response times were measured. GLMM analyses demonstrated that children were sensitive to the inhibitory demands of both spoken tasks and of the sentence reading task regarding accuracy, latency, and response times. Indeed, children made more mistakes and were slower when inhibitory demands were augmented. They also made more guessing errors in the word reading task. No such inhibitory effect was found in the motor task. Moreover, correlational analyses revealed that children who showed better inhibitory skills were able to read words and texts more accurately. These findings suggest that children need to utilize inhibitory resources when processing words or sentences and that these inhibitory skills are involved in overall reading ability.

EFL Learners’ Perception of Task Experience Through Flow Outlook: Task Complexity and Modality in Focus

Regardless of the appreciation of language learners’ achievement in task-based language teaching, not much has been hinged upon learners’ perception and reception of various elements. This study examined task complexity and modality effects on Iranian EFL learners’ comprehension of task difficulty, competencies, and difficulty-skill balance as well as the learners’ task experience. The Flow Outlook features were also applied to investigate how difficulty-skill balance anticipated flow experience. Via a repeated-measures design, and with a focus on task complexity (simple vs. complex) and task modality (written vs. spoken), 49 EFL learners carried out four argumentative tasks (two simple written and spoken vs. two complex written and spoken tasks); then, they ticked the flow questionnaire to gauge their perception of task difficulty, competence, and task experience. Repeated-measures MANOVA revealed although task complexity influenced task difficulty and difficulty-skill balance significantly, the skill was not affected significantly; task modality influenced task difficulty and skill significantly while difficulty-skill balance received no significant effect. The follow-up post hoc test indicated that complexity and modality significantly influenced flow, attention, and control, but not interest. Linear regression revealed difficulty-skill balance was a predictor for learners’ flow experience for both writing tasks and simple speaking task but not for complex speaking tasks. Pedagogically, the findings of this research may have some implications for English language teachers, learners, and materials developers.

Cepstral Measures in the Fado Voice: Gender, Age and Phonatory Tasks

This study aimed to characterize cepstral peak prominence (CPP) and cepstral peak prominence smoothed (CPPS) in the Fado singing voice and to determine if there were significant differences in CPP and CPPS measures between spoken and sung tasks, as well as due to singers' gender and age. Forty seven males and 57 females Fado singers, ranging from 18 to 70 years participated in this study. Spoken voice tasks were sustained [a] and reading aloud the phonetically balanced text "O Sol". Sung tasks were sustained [a] of the word [ɐfinaɫ] and the Fado chorus song "Nem às paredes confesso". Acoustic measures included CPP and CPPS. CPP was measured using Analyses of Dysphonia in Speech and Voice software, of Multi-Speech program, Model 3700, by KayPENTAX. CPPS was measured using Praat software (4.2.1/2003). Statistical analysis was performed with an IBM SPSS Statistics version 22 program. CPP and CPPS mean differences of spoken and sung tasks were analyzed using paired samples t-test, with α at .05. CPP and CPPS values of singers' voice changed according to the gender, age and phonatory tasks. There were significant differences between CPP and CPPS measures (P < 0.05). Generally, young male singers, in their sung task, presented the highest CPP and CPPS values. The highest CPP mean was obtained by older males in sustained spoken [a] and the lowest was obtained by younger males in their reading aloud task. For CPPS, the highest mean value was obtained by younger males during sung [a] and the lowest was by younger males in the reading aloud task. Males presented higher cepstral measures than females. Young singers presented higher cepstral measures than older. Sung tasks had higher cepstral measures than spoken tasks. CPPS means are overall higher than CPP means. This study reinforces the need for a clinical prevention approach directed at potential vocal disorders in Fado singers.

Designing and implementing a corpus-based online pronunciation learning platform for Cantonese learners of Mandarin

ABSTRACTAs an international financial centre, Hong Kong is a metropolitan city that has given rise to multilingual characteristics in recent years. In addition to Cantonese and English, which serve mostly as first and second languages, Hong Kong residents have increasingly begun to develop a third or even a fourth language. The biliteracy and trilingualism language (兩文三語) policy encourages Mandarin as the third language. This paper introduces a corpus-based online pronunciation learning platform for Mandarin teachers, learners, and researchers to better understand the major problems encountered by Hong Kong learners of Cantonese in learning Mandarin pronunciation. A phonological corpus was established and analysed in order (a) to identify learners’ recurring difficulties in accurately and appropriately using Mandarin segmental and suprasegmental features and (b) to suggest possible solutions to reduce or eliminate such difficulties. The phonological corpus contains recorded data of four spoken tasks (reading of monosyllabic words, reading of multisyllabic words, reading of a passage, and free speech) from Hong Kong Cantonese college students. The phonological annotations of the recordings mainly focus on two areas of segmental features (vowels and consonants), two areas of suprasegmental features (tone and retroflex finals), and mispronunciation. In addition to the corpus, a pronunciation learning website was developed for learners to (a) practice segmental and suprasegmental aspects of pronunciation through a variety of perception and production exercises and (b) discover the possible causes of common Mandarin pronunciation features found in the corpus. Based on the corpus, 40 datasets were analysed, and a checklist of common Mandarin pronunciation errors made by Cantonese learners was made available for teachers and learners. The use and the evaluation of the pronunciation learning platform will also be introduced and discussed.

Reciprocal Effect Between Fossilization of the Lexi Cogrammatical Error and Linguistic Focus Within Professional EFL Learners

Fossilization has become the focus of many L2 studies since its introduction in 1972 as many learners fail to achieve native-speaker competence. Researchers have tried to unravel the causes of fossilization, among which focusing has been claimed to be of great importance. This study aimed to explore the effect of focusing on fossilization. To achieve this aim, a mixed-methods approach was utilized. Sixty advanced L1 Persian learners of English studying in Iran were chosen to perform two written and three spoken tasks twice. Qualitative data included the content analysis of the participants’ performance on the written and spoken tasks while the quantitative data included percentages of focused errors and recurrent erroneous forms. The errors observed in both performances were counted and classified. Three main categories named Grammatical Errors, Lexical Errors, and Cohesive Errors were identified. The observed errors were further classified into 36 subcategories. When learners’ ability in focusing their errors was investigated, it was found that they could focus 37.4% of the 3,796 fossilized forms they had produced. Most of the errors observed were categorized in the category of grammatical errors. Focusing affected the number of errors produced. It can be concluded that becoming aware of ones fossilized forms, one will produce fewer fossilized forms. The results of the current study have implications for English language teachers and learners. By being informed of the errors learners make while learning a language and how their focusing affects fossilization, teachers can improve their teaching practice which in turn enhances learning.

Objective Analysis of Motor Speech Performance in Children with Cochlear Implants

Objectives: Objectively analyze speech and articulation in children with longstanding experience using unilateral cochlear implants. Methods: Cross-sectional study design at a tertiary pediatric hospital. Sixteen subjects (aged 8-17 years) using unilateral cochlear implants were studied. The subjects had a median of 7 years of cochlear implant experience, with excellent audiogram and speech perception scores. Speech was objectively assessed with the Motor Speech Profile (MSP) software and Computerized Speech Lab model 4500 (KayPentax, Lincoln NJ). Results were compared to previously published normative pediatric data. Results: Diadochokinetic rates were within normal limits for 69% of children with /pa/pa/pa/ and 73% of children with /pa/ta/ka/ spoken tasks. The magnitude and rate of the second formant transition were within normal limits for 56% and 83% of children, respectively. The variability in amplitude of intonation stimulability was within normal limits for 100% of children, but variability in frequency was within normal limits in 44% of children only. The syllabic rate and duration were both within normal limits for 88% of children. Overall, subjects demonstrated excellent articulation and timing but poor frequency intonation stimulability. Conclusions: Although the majority of the measured characteristics of speech were normalized after cochlear implantation, variability in frequency during intonation stimulability testing remained outside of the normal range in 56% of subjects even with long term cochlear implant use. This limitation may be perceived as a dampening of emotional expression during speech. Novel cochlear implant software programming and auditory verbal therapy strategies may be needed to address this finding.

Developmental relationships between speech and writing: Is verb‐phrase anaphora production a special case?

Young children's speech is typically more linguistically sophisticated than their writing. However, there are grounds for asking whether production of cohesive devices, such as verb-phrase anaphora (VPA), might represent an exception to this developmental pattern, as cohesive devices are generally more important in writing than in speech and so might be expected to be more frequent in children's writing than in their speech. The study reported herein aims to compare the frequency of children's production of VPA constructions (e.g., Mary is eating an apple and so is John) between a written and a spoken task. Forty-eight children participated from each of two age groups: 7-year-olds and 10-year-olds. All the children received both a spoken and a written sentence completion task designed to elicit production of VPA. Task order was counterbalanced. VPA production was significantly more frequent in speech than in writing and when the spoken task was presented first. Surprisingly, the 7-year-olds produced VPA constructions more frequently than the 10-year-olds. Despite the greater importance of cohesion in writing than in speech, children's production of VPA is similar to their production of most other aspects of language in that more sophisticated constructions are used more frequently in speech than in writing. Children's written production of cohesive devices could probably be enhanced by presenting spoken tasks immediately before written tasks. The lower frequency of VPA production in the older children may reflect syntactic priming effects or a belief that they should produce sentences that are as fully specified as possible.

القواعد النحوية للمتعلمين وكفاءاتهم الإنجليزية المنطوقة: دراسة تجريبية

الهدف من هذه الدراسة الحالية هو التحقيق في الفرضية الصفرية القائلة بأن طلاب المستوى الرابع من أقسام اللغة الإنجليزية وكلية التربية وكلية الآداب بجامعة ذمار &lt;اليمن&gt; ليس لديهم علاقة ذات مغزى في اكتسابهم لقواعد اللغة وكفاءاتهم الشفوية. وبلغ العدد الإجمالي لعينة السكان 105 طالبًا وطالبة في كلية التربية و 91 طالبًا و 14 طالبًا في كلية الآداب. تراوحت أعمارهم بين 24 و 27 سنة. اللغة التي يتحدثونها هي العربية. يتكون اختبار الاختيار من متعدد من 27 عنصرًا نحويًا تم تقسيمها وتصنيفها إلى 8 عناصر ، Wh-Word ، Verb To Be ، Verb to Do ، Perfect Tense ، Modals ، Future Tense ، Clauses (That-Clause، Complement Wh- الجمل) ، الجملة الشرطية. بالإضافة إلى أداء اختبار الاختيار من متعدد الذي يعتمد على المهام النحوية والمحادثة التي تم تدريسها للطلاب في المستويين الأول والثاني من العامين الأكاديميين 2002/2003 و 2003/2004 ، فقد طُلب منهم وصف القاعدة النحوية لكل عنصر من عناصر الاختبار لمعرفة ما إذا كان هناك ارتباط أم لا بين اكتساب المتعلمين لقواعد اللغة ومهاراتهم الشفوية. بالإضافة إلى ذلك ، كان من المتوقع أن يكون الطلاب قد تعلموا قواعد اللغة الإنجليزية بنجاح وفي الوقت نفسه كان من المتوقع أن يجيبوا على معظم ، إن لم يكن كل ، العناصر النحوية الـ 27 في اختبار الاختيار من متعدد الذي أجروه في الفصل الدراسي الأول للعام الدراسي 2005/2006. إن نتائج وصف القواعد النحوية واختبار الاختيار من متعدد تقبل وتدعم الفرضية الصفرية للبحث بينما ترفضها قيمة اختبار t (p &lt;0.05) وقيمة F (p. &lt;0.05) وتشير إلى ذلك في قسمان للغة الإنجليزية في الكليتين ، وحققت الطالبات نتائج أفضل من الطلاب الذكور ، وأثبت طلاب كلية الفنون في الواقع أنهم أكثر وعيًا باستخدام القواعد في المهام الاجتماعية المختلفة و / أو المواقف الاجتماعية المختلفة من التعليم. طلاب الكلية.

Case StudyImpairment to phonological processes in a Cantonese‐speaking brain‐damaged patient

Background: Previous studies have shown that brain‐damaged patients with selective deficits to phonological processes produced frequent phonological errors and similar error patterns in all spoken tasks, exhibited the effects of word frequency, grammatical class, and imageability, and were unable to make rhyming judgements, due to impaired lexical retrieval and/or phonological representations.Aims: This paper describes a Cantonese‐speaking brain‐damaged patient, LKK, whose performance patterns in spoken tasks indicate impairment to both the lexically mediated non‐semantic and semantic pathways of oral production, as well as the phonological output buffer.Methods & Procedures: A range of tasks was conducted including repetition, reading aloud, oral naming, written/spoken word–picture matching, non‐verbal semantic tests, written lexical decision, and homophone judgements.Outcomes & Results: LKK performed normally on written lexical decision, word–picture matching, and non‐verbal semantic tests, but he was unable to make homophone judgements and showed impaired production in all oral tasks. He was better able to read aloud names of objects than to name them. He also made more semantic errors in naming than reading. His accuracy in reading single words was affected by word frequency and form class. Further observations of his oral production included better (but nevertheless impaired) performance on repetition than reading and naming, a consistent effect of word length across tasks, and a tendency for phonological errors to occur on the coda compared with the onset.Conclusions: There was sufficient evidence for deficits of the phonological lexicon and/or the access to it along the non‐semantic route and the semantic pathway at the post‐semantic level in LKK. The effect of word length and comparable patterns of error distribution across spoken tasks suggested additional impairment to the phonological output buffer. The different levels of accuracy in repetition, reading, and naming, as well as the differential rates of semantic errors in these tasks were consistent with predictions of the summation hypothesis.

Representation of Grammatical Categories of Words in the Brain

We report the performance of a patient who, as a consequence of left frontal and temporoparietal strokes, makes far more errors on nouns than on verbs in spoken output tasks, but makes far more errors on verbs than on nouns in written input tasks. This double dissociation within a single patient with respect to grammatical category provides evidence for the hypothesis that phonological and orthographic representations of nouns and verbs are processed by independent neural mechanisms. Furthermore, the opposite dissociation in the verbal output modality, an advantage for nouns over verbs in spoken tasks, by a different patient using the same stimuli has also been reported (Caramazza & Hillis, 1991). This double dissociation across patients on the same task indicates that results cannot be ascribed to "greater difficulty" with one type of stimulus, and provides further evidence for the view that grammatical category information is an important organizational principle of lexical knowledge in the brain.