Archive
“"Mira, mamá! Sin manos!". Can speech recognition tools be soundly applied for L2 speaking practice?” FLEAT VI, August 11-15 at Harvard University
Sample learner speech recognition speaking practice task assignments and screencast completions
- My initial test of W7ASR mV8MRY used an end-of-chapter web quest from a 1st-year German textbook. From reading for the gist to pronouncing an authentic target culture text is a challenge – make it extra credit.
- Turn existing writing exercises into speaking/ reading/ corrective writing exercises: Free form writing during note taking, e.g. when answering comprehension or short essay questions, fits the continuous speech optimization of W7ASR.
- You will likely see reduced recognition accuracy and less proofing feedback, but gain wider applicability for (grammar, but especially vocabulary) drills that use discrete writing, e.g. filling in cloze exercises (navigation need not be done by voice), even in a web browser from your LMS or online textbook.
- Turn “flipped classroom” homework preparation fill-in-the-blank conversation suggestions into more hands-on phrase dictations before your in-class communicative practice.
- Similarly, my Spanish screencasts, e.g. qK9fKV, flips our Spanish for Law Enforcement: If W7ASR can ”understand” your Miranda warning, a suspect likely can also.
- Finally, the most advanced language learners can replace writing of essay tasks from their textbooks by speaking them – use of only ASR for editing is optional.
- All above tasks are based on existing textbook and/or syllabus which are easily extended by Windows 7 “open response” speech recognition.
Calendaring can improve instruction
It’s coming: “An Interactive On-line Course Calendar for Multi-Section Courses, by María Paredes Fernández (University of Pennsylvania): The interactive online course calendar was project that received funding from the Penn Language Center at the University of Pennsylvania in early 2012 to streamline class preparation for fellow colleagues, promote transparency for the students, and ensure continuity and quality instruction of the Accelerated Elementary Spanish Course, Spanish 121. The day’s lesson plans organized and uploaded on an interactive webpage on the course management systems Blackboard and Canvas. The lesson plans were comprehensive, as it featured the links, PDF documents and PowerPoint presentations of the day in one convenient location, and were easily shared with students to aid in their preparation. This talk will focus on how the interactive syllabus shaped this course and how it could work for other programs.”
Moodle can ICS exporting, which students and teaches can subscribe to in their NINERMAIL.
LRC Faculty Showcase: Enhancing reading fluency in Spanish through Online Courses
- The videos of the presentation by Maria Mahaffey, Emily Kristoff and Shaun Stone on SPAN2200, using Hot Potatoes exercises in Moodle, and the ensuing discussion, are available on the intranet:
- PowerPoint screencast with audio: “S:\CLAS\LCS\MYDEPT\mahaffey\span2200\showcase\SLP_2014_PowerPoint.wmv” (size: 130MB).
- Video with presenter and PowerPoint on projector: “S:\CLAS\LCS\MYDEPT\mahaffey\span2200\showcase\showcase-SLP-2014.mp4” (size:410MB).