Schedule: 2009-09-12 (12:00 - 12:45)
Parallel Session 5 (Room A-35)

Title: Dynamic speech corpus and dialogic fluency
Authors: Dermot Frederick Campbell, Marty Meinardi, Bunny Richardson, Yi Wang, Ciaran McDonnell
Abstract: This presentation will make a distinction between monologic fluency, which is what examiners tend to look for in EFL oral exams, and dialogic fluency, which is what happens in the real world, and for which our students are ill-prepared.

Monologic fluency is characterised by a lack of pauses, a smooth oral delivery and complete sentences. Dialogic fluency in L1-L1 unscripted speech, however, is characterized by a seeming 'dis-fluence' of unfinished sentences, hesitations, false starts etc. Yet L1 speakers in these dialogues make perfect sense to each other.

The presenters will outline relevant features of the Dynamic Speech Corpus (DSC) currently being developed under the FLUENT project and how it can throw light on the zig-zag dynamic of L1 interlocutors as they weave their way towards ‘confluency’.

In dialogue, language represents only one of the communication channels at play in what is a dynamic, unscripted social interchange rather than a stand-alone linguistic performance. The language stream is supplemented by pragmatic considerations and a greater emphasis on prosody.

The Dynamic Speech Corpus is based on natural, native-to-native dialogues and recorded at a high level of audio quality which will permit instrumental analysis. The corpus is being developed mainly for autonomous learners, but will also serve the needs of teachers, materials and coursebook writers and researchers. It will afford access to a unique audio resource based on unscripted dialogues between friends and acquaintances, exemplifying informal, native-speaker speech and natural turn-taking, rather than scripted interactions.

The presentation will demonstrate how users can locate and study interesting samples of L1-to-L1 speech (in various L1 varieties), such as specific topics or speaker intentions, as well as various phonetic phenomena such as speed-induced elisions, co-articulations and reductions. Users will also be able to study sequences of interest in their full, pragmatic context, since each example originates in a dialogue. They will be able to listen to and contrast what Brown (1990) and Cauldwell (2002) call the ‘blur of natural speech’ with its orthographic, ‘static’ counterpart in the transcripts provided. This will allow the learner user to focus on the manner in which native speakers produce those reduced forms which learners find so difficult to decode. At all stages they will be able to slow down sequences to study how native speakers utter them.

The corpus will be a rich resource for users who wish to study the communicative value of prosody and formulaic sequences, and particular attention will be paid to turn-taking strategies, along with other forms of interaction, which some researchers see as a ‘fifth skill’ which needs to be learned, in addition to the traditional four linguistic skills of speaking, listening, writing and reading.

The DSC is being designed to be used in conjunction with any course materials and the presentation will outline how a scaffolded approach – using scripted dialogues and outline scenarios – might be used to lead into and exploit the audio and linguistic assets of the corpus.

Bibliography:

Brown, G. (1990). Listening to Spoken English. 2nd ed. Harlow: Longman
Brown, G. & Yule, G. (1983). Teaching the Spoken Language: an approach based on the analysis of conversational English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Campbell, D.F., Wang, Y., McDonnell, C. (2008). FS ≠ FS (Formulaicity and Prosody), BAAL 2008, Swansea, UK
Campbell, D.F., Wang, Y., McDonnell, C. (2007). A Prototype Speech Corpus, EuroCALL 2007, Coleraine, N. Ireland
Carter, R. & McCarthy, M. (1997). Exploring Spoken English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cauldwell, R. (2002). Phonology for listening: relishing the messy, www.speechinaction.net
Cruttenden, A. (1997). Intonation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Holmes, J. (1988). ‘Doubt and certainty in ESL textbooks’. Applied Linguistics 9: 21-44.
Field, J. (1998). Skills and strategies: towards a new methodology for listening. ELT Journal, 52 (2): 110-118
Kirk, J. (1994). ‘Teaching and language corpora: the Queen’s approach’. In A. Wilson and T. McEnery. (eds.). 1994. Corpora in Language Education and Research: A Selection of Papers from Talc94, Unit for Computer Research on the English Language Technical Papers 4 (special issue), Lancaster University: 29-51.
Knowles, G. (1991). ‘Prosodic labelling: the problem of tone group boundaries’. In S. Johansson and A.B. Strenström. (eds.). 1991. English Computer Corpora: Selected Papers and Research Guide. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter: 149-63.
McCarthy, M. (1988). Some vocabulary patterns in conversation. In: R. Carter and M. McCarthy, ed. 1988. Vocabulary and Language Teaching. London: Longman: 181-200.
McCarthy, M. (2006). Fluency and confluence: what fluent speakers do. In: M. McCarthy, ed. 2006. Explorations in Corpus Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ch.1.
McCarthy, M. (2008). Profiling spoken fluency. The Language Teacher, 32 (7): 32-34.
McEnery, T. and Wilson, A. (2001). Corpus Linguistics. (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
O’Keeffe, A., McCarthy, M., Carter, R. (2007). From Corpus to Classroom, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Sinclair, J. McH. (1991). Corpus, Concordance, Collocation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tatham, M. & Morton. K. (2006). Speech Production and Perception. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Towell, R. Hawkins, R. & Bazergui, N. (1996). The development of fluency in advanced learners of French. Applied Linguistics, 17 (1): 84-119.
Walsh, S. (2006). Investigating Classroom Discourse. London: Routledge.
Wichmann, A. (1993). ‘Gradients and categories in intonation: a study of the perception and production of falling tones’. In C. Souter and E. Atwell. (eds.). 1993. Corpus Based Computational Linguistics. Amsterdam: Rodopi: 71-84.
Wilson, A. (1989). ‘Prepositional phrase modifiers of nominals and their prosodic boundaries: some data from the Lancaster Spoken English Corpus’. MA Thesis, Lancaster University.
Wray, A. (2002). Formulaic Language and the Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Keywords: speech, corpus, fluency, dialogue, interaction, slow-down

Main topic: Innovative e-learning solutions for languages

Biodata: Dermot F. Campbell is Head of Department of Applied Languages at DIT and Senior Researcher in the Digital Media Centre at DIT. His research interests centre around the prosody of natural dialogues and the construction of a Dynamic Speech Corpus. Marty Meinardi is a lecturer of English in the DIT's School of Languages. She also works part-time on the FLUENT project, which is developing the Dynamic Speech Corpus. Her post-doctoral research revolves around the use of natural speech in teaching and she also has a professional interest in drama. Bunny Richardson works full-time in DIT on the FLUENT project and is completing a PhD in the use of English for International Communication. Her research interests include aspects of L2-L2 communication in English and in investigating recommendations for L1 users of English as a lingua franca. Yi Wang is completing a PhD at DIT on the use of technology in improving naturalness in spoken delivery by Chinese learners of English. Her research centres on the prosody of formulaic sequences. Ciaran McDonnell is Head of Research at the Digital Media Centre in DIT. He leads an interdisciplinary team of linguists, audio specialists and computer scientists. He is Principal Investigator on several European and national research projects and, to date, has supervised more than 10 PhDs.
Type of presentation Paper presentation

Paper category Research & Development

Target educational sector Higher education

Language of delivery English

EU-funded project No

Schedule:	2009-09-12 (12:00 - 12:45) Parallel Session 5 (Room A-35)
Title:	Dynamic speech corpus and dialogic fluency
Authors:	Dermot Frederick Campbell, Marty Meinardi, Bunny Richardson, Yi Wang, Ciaran McDonnell
Abstract:	This presentation will make a distinction between monologic fluency, which is what examiners tend to look for in EFL oral exams, and dialogic fluency, which is what happens in the real world, and for which our students are ill-prepared. Monologic fluency is characterised by a lack of pauses, a smooth oral delivery and complete sentences. Dialogic fluency in L1-L1 unscripted speech, however, is characterized by a seeming 'dis-fluence' of unfinished sentences, hesitations, false starts etc. Yet L1 speakers in these dialogues make perfect sense to each other. The presenters will outline relevant features of the Dynamic Speech Corpus (DSC) currently being developed under the FLUENT project and how it can throw light on the zig-zag dynamic of L1 interlocutors as they weave their way towards ‘confluency’. In dialogue, language represents only one of the communication channels at play in what is a dynamic, unscripted social interchange rather than a stand-alone linguistic performance. The language stream is supplemented by pragmatic considerations and a greater emphasis on prosody. The Dynamic Speech Corpus is based on natural, native-to-native dialogues and recorded at a high level of audio quality which will permit instrumental analysis. The corpus is being developed mainly for autonomous learners, but will also serve the needs of teachers, materials and coursebook writers and researchers. It will afford access to a unique audio resource based on unscripted dialogues between friends and acquaintances, exemplifying informal, native-speaker speech and natural turn-taking, rather than scripted interactions. The presentation will demonstrate how users can locate and study interesting samples of L1-to-L1 speech (in various L1 varieties), such as specific topics or speaker intentions, as well as various phonetic phenomena such as speed-induced elisions, co-articulations and reductions. Users will also be able to study sequences of interest in their full, pragmatic context, since each example originates in a dialogue. They will be able to listen to and contrast what Brown (1990) and Cauldwell (2002) call the ‘blur of natural speech’ with its orthographic, ‘static’ counterpart in the transcripts provided. This will allow the learner user to focus on the manner in which native speakers produce those reduced forms which learners find so difficult to decode. At all stages they will be able to slow down sequences to study how native speakers utter them. The corpus will be a rich resource for users who wish to study the communicative value of prosody and formulaic sequences, and particular attention will be paid to turn-taking strategies, along with other forms of interaction, which some researchers see as a ‘fifth skill’ which needs to be learned, in addition to the traditional four linguistic skills of speaking, listening, writing and reading. The DSC is being designed to be used in conjunction with any course materials and the presentation will outline how a scaffolded approach – using scripted dialogues and outline scenarios – might be used to lead into and exploit the audio and linguistic assets of the corpus. Bibliography: Brown, G. (1990). Listening to Spoken English. 2nd ed. Harlow: Longman Brown, G. & Yule, G. (1983). Teaching the Spoken Language: an approach based on the analysis of conversational English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Campbell, D.F., Wang, Y., McDonnell, C. (2008). FS ≠ FS (Formulaicity and Prosody), BAAL 2008, Swansea, UK Campbell, D.F., Wang, Y., McDonnell, C. (2007). A Prototype Speech Corpus, EuroCALL 2007, Coleraine, N. Ireland Carter, R. & McCarthy, M. (1997). Exploring Spoken English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Cauldwell, R. (2002). Phonology for listening: relishing the messy, www.speechinaction.net Cruttenden, A. (1997). Intonation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Holmes, J. (1988). ‘Doubt and certainty in ESL textbooks’. Applied Linguistics 9: 21-44. Field, J. (1998). Skills and strategies: towards a new methodology for listening. ELT Journal, 52 (2): 110-118 Kirk, J. (1994). ‘Teaching and language corpora: the Queen’s approach’. In A. Wilson and T. McEnery. (eds.). 1994. Corpora in Language Education and Research: A Selection of Papers from Talc94, Unit for Computer Research on the English Language Technical Papers 4 (special issue), Lancaster University: 29-51. Knowles, G. (1991). ‘Prosodic labelling: the problem of tone group boundaries’. In S. Johansson and A.B. Strenström. (eds.). 1991. English Computer Corpora: Selected Papers and Research Guide. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter: 149-63. McCarthy, M. (1988). Some vocabulary patterns in conversation. In: R. Carter and M. McCarthy, ed. 1988. Vocabulary and Language Teaching. London: Longman: 181-200. McCarthy, M. (2006). Fluency and confluence: what fluent speakers do. In: M. McCarthy, ed. 2006. Explorations in Corpus Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ch.1. McCarthy, M. (2008). Profiling spoken fluency. The Language Teacher, 32 (7): 32-34. McEnery, T. and Wilson, A. (2001). Corpus Linguistics. (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. O’Keeffe, A., McCarthy, M., Carter, R. (2007). From Corpus to Classroom, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Sinclair, J. McH. (1991). Corpus, Concordance, Collocation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Tatham, M. & Morton. K. (2006). Speech Production and Perception. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Towell, R. Hawkins, R. & Bazergui, N. (1996). The development of fluency in advanced learners of French. Applied Linguistics, 17 (1): 84-119. Walsh, S. (2006). Investigating Classroom Discourse. London: Routledge. Wichmann, A. (1993). ‘Gradients and categories in intonation: a study of the perception and production of falling tones’. In C. Souter and E. Atwell. (eds.). 1993. Corpus Based Computational Linguistics. Amsterdam: Rodopi: 71-84. Wilson, A. (1989). ‘Prepositional phrase modifiers of nominals and their prosodic boundaries: some data from the Lancaster Spoken English Corpus’. MA Thesis, Lancaster University. Wray, A. (2002). Formulaic Language and the Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Keywords:	speech, corpus, fluency, dialogue, interaction, slow-down
Main topic:	Innovative e-learning solutions for languages
Biodata:	Dermot F. Campbell is Head of Department of Applied Languages at DIT and Senior Researcher in the Digital Media Centre at DIT. His research interests centre around the prosody of natural dialogues and the construction of a Dynamic Speech Corpus. Marty Meinardi is a lecturer of English in the DIT's School of Languages. She also works part-time on the FLUENT project, which is developing the Dynamic Speech Corpus. Her post-doctoral research revolves around the use of natural speech in teaching and she also has a professional interest in drama. Bunny Richardson works full-time in DIT on the FLUENT project and is completing a PhD in the use of English for International Communication. Her research interests include aspects of L2-L2 communication in English and in investigating recommendations for L1 users of English as a lingua franca. Yi Wang is completing a PhD at DIT on the use of technology in improving naturalness in spoken delivery by Chinese learners of English. Her research centres on the prosody of formulaic sequences. Ciaran McDonnell is Head of Research at the Digital Media Centre in DIT. He leads an interdisciplinary team of linguists, audio specialists and computer scientists. He is Principal Investigator on several European and national research projects and, to date, has supervised more than 10 PhDs.
Type of presentation	Paper presentation
Paper category	Research & Development
Target educational sector	Higher education
Language of delivery	English
EU-funded project	No