Ultrasound-Enhanced Multimodal Approaches to Pronunciation Teaching and Learning

Authors

  • Jennifer Abel University of British Columbia
  • Blake Allen University of British Columbia
  • Strang Burton University of British Columbia
  • Misuzu Kazama University of British Columbia
  • Bosung Kim University of British Columbia
  • Masaki Noguchi University of British Columbia
  • Asami Tsuda University of British Columbia
  • Noriko Yamane University of British Columbia
  • Bryan Gick University of British Columbia

Abstract

Second language (L2) pronunciation is one of the most challenging skills to master for adult learners. Accented pronunciation is part of the expression of speakers’ identity, but it could potentially give issues in comprehensibility. Explicit pronunciation instruction from language instructors is often unavailable due to limited class time. Imitating native speakers’ utterances can be done independently from classroom learning, but the absence of feedback makes it difficult for learners to improve their skills. This project takes a multidisciplinary, multimodal approach to pronunciation teaching and learning through a series of video resources, available at  http://enunciate.arts.ubc.ca/. These videos combine external images of a speaker’s head with ultrasound images of their tongue to demonstrate the pronunciation of various sounds. In addition to examples of sounds in isolation, a strong focus to this point has been on the pronunciation of Japanese sounds, with pronunciation instruction incorporating explicit awareness of tongue movements and insights from articulatory phonology. Further stages of the project will include real-time interactive ultrasound tongue visualization and comparative prosody visualization, both of which provide biovisual feedback to L2 learners.

Additional Files

Published

2015-09-08

How to Cite

1.
Abel J, Allen B, Burton S, Kazama M, Kim B, Noguchi M, Tsuda A, Yamane N, Gick B. Ultrasound-Enhanced Multimodal Approaches to Pronunciation Teaching and Learning. Canadian Acoustics [Internet]. 2015 Sep. 8 [cited 2024 Mar. 29];43(3). Available from: https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/2805

Issue

Section

Proceedings of the Acoustics Week in Canada

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