• Title/Summary/Keyword: English Speaking

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A Study on the Utilization of Speech Recognition Technology in Foreign Language Learning Applications - Focusing on English and French Speech - (외국어 학습용 어플리케이션의 음성 인식 기술 활용 현황 - 영어와 프랑스어 말하기 학습을 중심으로 -)

  • Kim, Sunhee;Jung, Hyunhoon
    • Journal of Digital Contents Society
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.621-630
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    • 2018
  • This paper presents a case study on foreign language learning applications based on the speech recognition technology, aiming to grasp their current status and limitations of the technology applied to the foreign language speaking education, especially for English and French. As a result of examining the characteristics of the selected English and French applications by drawing on speech learning, it is shown that the use of speech recognition technology has the advantage of creating a speaking practice environment and giving feedback. However, in the case of feedback, there is a lack of appropriate calibration feedback which can help learners correct errors by themselves.

A Corpus-based Lexical Analysis of the Speech Texts: A Collocational Approach

  • Kim, Nahk-Bohk
    • English Language & Literature Teaching
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    • v.15 no.3
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    • pp.151-170
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    • 2009
  • Recently speech texts have been increasingly used for English education because of their various advantages as language teaching and learning materials. The purpose of this paper is to analyze speech texts in a corpus-based lexical approach, and suggest some productive methods which utilize English speaking or writing as the main resource for the course, along with introducing the actual classroom adaptations. First, this study shows that a speech corpus has some unique features such as different selections of pronouns, nouns, and lexical chunks in comparison to a general corpus. Next, from a collocational perspective, the study demonstrates that the speech corpus consists of a wide variety of collocations and lexical chunks which a number of linguists describe (Lewis, 1997; McCarthy, 1990; Willis, 1990). In other words, the speech corpus suggests that speech texts not only have considerable lexical potential that could be exploited to facilitate chunk-learning, but also that learners are not very likely to unlock this potential autonomously. Based on this result, teachers can develop a learners' corpus and use it by chunking the speech text. This new approach of adapting speech samples as important materials for college students' speaking or writing ability should be implemented as shown in samplers. Finally, to foster learner's productive skills more communicatively, a few practical suggestions are made such as chunking and windowing chunks of speech and presentation, and the pedagogical implications are discussed.

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Is ChatGPT a "Fire of Prometheus" for Non-Native English-Speaking Researchers in Academic Writing?

  • Sung Il Hwang;Joon Seo Lim;Ro Woon Lee;Yusuke Matsui;Toshihiro Iguchi;Takao Hiraki;Hyungwoo Ahn
    • Korean Journal of Radiology
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    • v.24 no.10
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    • pp.952-959
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    • 2023
  • Large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT have garnered considerable interest for their potential to aid non-native English-speaking researchers. These models can function as personal, round-the-clock English tutors, akin to how Prometheus in Greek mythology bestowed fire upon humans for their advancement. LLMs can be particularly helpful for non-native researchers in writing the Introduction and Discussion sections of manuscripts, where they often encounter challenges. However, using LLMs to generate text for research manuscripts entails concerns such as hallucination, plagiarism, and privacy issues; to mitigate these risks, authors should verify the accuracy of generated content, employ text similarity detectors, and avoid inputting sensitive information into their prompts. Consequently, it may be more prudent to utilize LLMs for editing and refining text rather than generating large portions of text. Journal policies concerning the use of LLMs vary, but transparency in disclosing artificial intelligence tool usage is emphasized. This paper aims to summarize how LLMs can lower the barrier to academic writing in English, enabling researchers to concentrate on domain-specific research, provided they are used responsibly and cautiously.

Certification of English proficiency, proficiency-based curriculum, and College English program: A consideration of students' and teachers' perceptions (영어능력 인증제, 능력별 교과과정, 그리고 대학 교양영어 교육: 학생과 교사의 인식에 대한 고찰)

  • Bang, Young-Joo
    • English Language & Literature Teaching
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    • v.9 no.2
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    • pp.193-211
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    • 2003
  • This study aims to illustrate students' and teachers' perceptions towards certification of English proficiency and proficiency- based curriculum, and to investigate their needs for developing college English program. A total of 597 students and 28 teachers participated in the survey. The findings showed that both groups acknowledged the usefulness of the certification of English proficiency and proficiency-based curriculum. However, both groups showed a negative response to 'waive test' (testing for the replacement of English required class). They also expressed high level of needs in increasing the number of courses and credit hours, reducing the class size, and improving facilities. Both groups perceived speaking and listening as more important skills, while students showed various preferences for effective language practice activities. The findings of this study suggest t hat the introduction of certification of English proficiency should he supplemented with follow-ups both in pedagogical aspect and on administrative level.

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Production of English final stops by Korean speakers

  • Kim, Jungyeon
    • Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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    • v.10 no.4
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    • pp.11-17
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    • 2018
  • This study reports on a production experiment designed to investigate how Korean speaking learners of English produce English forms ending in stops. In a repetition experiment, Korean participants listened to English nonce words ending in a stop and repeated what they heard. English speakers were recruited for the same task as a control group. The experimental result indicated that the transcriptions of the Korean productions by English native speakers showed vowel insertion in only 3% of productions although the pronunciation of English final stops showed that noise intervals after the closure of final stops were significantly longer for Korean speakers than for English speakers. This finding is inconsistent with the loanword data where 49% of words showed vowel insertion. It is also not compatible with the perceptual similarity approach, which predicts that because Korean speakers accurately perceive an English final stop as a final consonant, they will insert a vowel to make the English sound more similar to the Korean sound.

An Experimental Study on the English Vowel Lengths Using the Praat Software Program (Praat소프트웨어 프로그램을 이용한 영어모음 길이에 관한 실험적 연구)

  • Park, Hee-Suk
    • Journal of Digital Contents Society
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    • v.13 no.3
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    • pp.279-290
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    • 2012
  • The purpose of this experimental study is to investigate and compare the vowel lengths of the English diphthongs, /eɪ/ and /aɪ/, and the front low vowel /æ/ among English-speaking natives with Korean college students using the Praat software program. To do this English sentences were uttered and recorded by twelve subjects, six Korean subjects and six English-speaking native subjects. All the subjects are female and their age ranges from 23 to 35. Acoustic features(duration) were measured from a sound spectrogram with the help of the Praat software program and analyzed through statistical analysis. Results showed that the vowel lengths of the English diphthongs and the front low vowel between native English speakers and Korean collegians were different. In the pronunciation of the diphthongs /eɪ/ and /aɪ/, Korean subjects pronounced longer than native subjects did, but the difference was not significant. However, in the pronunciation of the English front low vowel /æ/, native subjects pronounced significantly longer than Korean subjects did. From the data of the overall sum of words and vowels between the two subject groups, we were able to find out that the differences of lengths of both the three words and the two diphthongs /eɪ/ and /aɪ/ were not significant, but those of /æ/ were significant.

English Anxiety among Thai Nursing Students of Boromarajonani College of Nursing, Nakhon Lampang, Thailand

  • Palaleo, Jona Jean Pinas;Srikrajang, Janthila
    • Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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    • v.5 no.3
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    • pp.250-265
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    • 2018
  • Thailand is one of the ASEAN countries and is said to be the most visited country in Southeast Asia. Despite its development, Thailand falls as one of the countries with the lowest rates of English proficiency. This article is written to describe one of the possible factors of Thailand's low English proficiency, which is the foreign language anxiety of students. This article outlines references regarding the English language anxiety of Thai students and uses them as a basis in distinguishing English language anxiety among nursing students in Boromarajonani College of Nursing Nakhon Lampang, Thailand (BCNLP). A survey was conducted using a questionnaire based on the FLCA Scale by Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope, (1986) with a focus group consisting of 80 participants randomly selected from $1^{st}$ year to $4^{th}$ year nursing students of BCNLP. As found in the survey there were two sources of English language anxiety among nursing students: 1. Fear of negative evaluation due to unpreparedness, and feeling and thinking that others are better in language learning as the main factors; and 2. Communicating apprehension, where in speaking without preparation, speaking in the foreign language in front of other students, and self-doubt about one's ability to speak in the foreign language are the highest ranked causes of anxiety. The results indicate two main problems: unpreparedness and self-concept. Therefore, it is recommended that English Language classes should be taught with the learner-centered approach and that instructors should put importance in preparing the students during class, and encouraging them to increase a positive self-concept towards English language learning.

The Prosodic Changes of Korean English Learners in Robot Assisted Learning (로봇보조언어교육을 통한 초등 영어 학습자의 운율 변화)

  • In, Jiyoung;Han, JeongHye
    • Journal of The Korean Association of Information Education
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    • v.20 no.4
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    • pp.323-332
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    • 2016
  • A robot's recognition and diagnosis of pronunciation and its speech are the most important interactions in RALL(Robot Assisted Language Learning). This study is to verify the effectiveness of robot TTS(Text to Sound) technology in assisting Korean English language learners to acquire a native-like accent by correcting the prosodic errors they commonly make. The child English language learners' F0 range and speaking rate in the 4th grade, a prosodic variable, will be measured and analyzed for any changes in accent. We compare whether robot with the currently available TTS technology appeared to be effective for the 4th graders and 1st graders who were not under the formal English learning with native speaker from the acoustic phonetic viewpoint. Two groups by repeating TTS of RALL responded to the speaking rate rather than F0 range.

Factors Influencing ESL Learners' Use of English Phrasal Verbs

  • Yook, Cheongmin
    • English Language & Literature Teaching
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    • v.17 no.4
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    • pp.273-291
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    • 2011
  • This study investigates factors that influence ESL learners' use/avoidance of English phrasal verbs. It especially focuses on two factors, topic difference and group membership. For the purpose, 60 ESL students who took the University English Proficiency Test (UEPT) were selected, and the 60 essays they wrote for the UEPT were analyzed. All the students were with non-Germanic first language backgrounds. Among the 60 essays, 30 essays were selected from the essays written for the International Students UEPT (IS UEPT), which was required of all new international students. Another 30 essays were selected from the essays written for the Regents' UEPT, which was required of all non-native English speaking undergraduate students as a graduation requirement. Results indicate that the length of residency in the U.S. and/or academic status and semantic complexities of English phrasal verbs but not topic difference nor English proficiency affected the use of English phrasal verbs. The study ends with a discussion of pedagogical implications of the findings.

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ENGLISH RESTRUCTURING AND A USE OF MUSIC IN TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION

  • Kim, Key-Seop
    • Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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    • 2000.07a
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    • pp.117-134
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    • 2000
  • Kim, Key-Seop(2000). English Restructuring and A Use of Music in Teaching English Pronunciation. JSEP 2000 voU This study has two-fold aims: one is to clarify the restructuring of English in utterance, and the other is to relate it to teaching English pronunciation for listening and speaking with a use of music and song by suggesting a model of 10-15 minute pronunciation class syllabus for every period in class. Generally, English utterances are restructured by stress-timed rhythm, irrespective of syntactic boundaries. So the rhythmic units are arranged in isochronous groups, of which the making is to attach clitic(s) to a host or head often leftwards and sometimes rightwards, which results in linking, contraction, reduction, sound change and rhythm adjustment in utterance, just as in music and song. With English restructuring focused on, a model of English pronunciation class syllabus is proposed to be put forward in class for every period of a lesson or unit. It tries to relate the focused factor(s) in pronunciation to the integrated, with teaching techniques and music made use of.

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