Feedback is an important concern in Computer-Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT), inasmuch as it bears on a system's capability to correct users' input and promote improved L2 pronunciation performance in the target language. In this paper, we test the use of synthetic voice as a corrective feedback resource. A group of students used a CAPT tool for carrying out a battery of minimal-pair discrimination-production tasks; to those who failed in production routines, the system offered the possibility of undergoing extra training by using synthetic voice as a model in a round of exposure exercises. Participants who made use of this resource significantly outperformed those who directly repeated the previously failed exercise. Results suggest that the Text-To-Speech systems offered by current operating systems (Android in our case) must be considered a relevant feedback resource in pronunciation training, especially when combined with efficient teaching methods.
Cite as: Tejedor-García, C., Escudero, D., González-Ferreras, C., Cámara-Arenas, E., Cardeñoso-Payo, V. (2017) Evaluating the Efficiency of Synthetic Voice for Providing Corrective Feedback in a Pronunciation Training Tool Based on Minimal Pairs. Proc. 7th ISCA Workshop on Speech and Language Technology in Education (SLaTE 2017), 25-29, doi: 10.21437/SLaTE.2017-5
@inproceedings{tejedorgarcia17_slate,
author={Cristian Tejedor-García and David Escudero and César González-Ferreras and Enrique Cámara-Arenas and Valentín Cardeñoso-Payo},
title={{Evaluating the Efficiency of Synthetic Voice for Providing Corrective Feedback in a Pronunciation Training Tool Based on Minimal Pairs}},
year=2017,
booktitle={Proc. 7th ISCA Workshop on Speech and Language Technology in Education (SLaTE 2017)},
pages={25--29},
doi={10.21437/SLaTE.2017-5}
}