STiLL - Speech Technology in Language Learning May 25-27, 1998 Marholmen, Sweden

An Intelligent Tutor for the Acquisition of French Pronunciation within the Communicative Approach to Language Learning. The Secondary and Tertiary Solutions

Philippe Delcloque, Claire Campbell

Division of Languages, School of Management, University of Abertay Dundee, Dundee, UK

After relating the findings of a field-testing survey of pedagogues' attitudes to the place of French pronunciation acquisition by Anglophones, taking a look at previous work, and examining some intelligent tools, the main features of two projects are examined: L.A.P.A.R.O.L.E. (Listen Assess Practise Analyse Record Observe Learn Evaluate) is a prototype for adult learners of French using speech recognition and screen representation.

T.H.R.I.L.L.I.N.G. (Total Heightened Reality Interface for Language Learning Interaction using Natural Games) is a proposed speech-enabled games-orientated virtual reality prototype designed as a motivational metaphor to assist the acquisition by children of production and comprehension skills in a total immersion environment.

To conclude, a description of the empirical framework of investigation used to determine the impact of the new approach on pronunciation acquisition and its incidental/consequential effects on the improvement of higher level linguistic skills is presented.

Full Paper

Bibliographic reference.  Delcloque, Philippe / Campbell, Claire (1998): "An intelligent tutor for the acquisition of French pronunciation within the communicative approach to language learning. the secondary and tertiary solutions", In STiLL-1998, 9-12.