AN EXPERIMENT WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF PHONEME DISCRIMINATION TRAINING UPON THE ABILITY OF SUBJECTS TO DISCRIMINATE AMONG FRENCH PHONEMES AND TO DISCRIMINATE FRENCH PHONEMES FROM THEIR ENGLISH NEAR-EQUIVALENTS, TO IMITATE THE PRONUNCIATION OF FRENCH PHONEMES, AND TO MAKE VALID JUDGMENTS OF THEIR OWN PRONUNCIATION. THREE GROUPS OF…

This paper begins with a brief account of the development of automatic speech recogniton (ASR) and then proceeds to an examination of ASR systems typical of the kind now in operation. It is stressed that such systems, although highly developed, do not recognize speech in the same sense as the human being does, and that they can not deal with a…

Presenting minimal pairs in context to the student of English as a foreign language requires him to discriminate between two phonemes that may sound the same. Methodology for student exercises with minimal sentences is presented. (SW)

The effects of a Title III program on the reading and auding achievement of first- and second-grade pupils in Thompson School District, Colorado, were investigated. Subjects were 85 first graders and 15 second graders in the project rooms and 69 first graders and 20 second graders in control rooms at a neighboring school district. Treatment in the…

Students with low language aptitude have been found to have poor powers of auditory discrimination. To date, programed language instruction has relied on audio confirmation of oral response. A study was conducted to determine the value of adding visual confirmation to the audio model. A total of 170 experimental and 140 control students in second…

This is the first half of a two-part study of psychopedagogical problems in the language laboratory. A study of technical problems will follow. Major attention is directed to divisions of work (unities, elements, and phases), deferred comparison, deferred master control, audio-active feedback, the acquisition of new auditive processes, elimination…

By means of the Kay Elementrics Visi-Pitch and a split screen, students are able to compare their voice traces with the model's, thereby seeing prosodic, phonemic, and allophonic distinctions they were unable to hear. (PMJ)

After finding that the English Pronunciation course required at Regensburg University reduced errors by only 14 percent, a course was developed in recognizing errors (one's own and others'), with emphasis on vowel reduction, speech rhythm, elementary intonation and liaison. As a result, errors were reduced by 67 percent. (IFS/WGA)

The phonetic transcription ability of 78 college students whose transcription instruction was administered by means of pre-programed Language Master cards was compared with that of 81 students whose instruction was non-automated. Ability was measured by seven weekly tests. There was no significant relationship on any of 29 variables with type of…

This paper discusses the importance of listening comprehension in the learning of English as a Second Language (ESL). It is argued that more emphasis needs to be given to the neglected skills of listening comprehension, since most training in oral communication at the secondary and college level focuses on effective speaking. The paper outlines…

An experiment, using College Board Achievement Tests in German Reading and Listening Comprehension, to compare the effectiveness of earphones and loudspeakers in language test presentation is described. Related opinions, implications, and conclusions on the effectiveness of communication media in language teaching and testing are offered. (AF)

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the assumption that auditory discrimination and pronunciation in a foreign language are closely related. If the assumption were to be well-founded, then it might be possible for foreign language students with high auditory discrimination ability to work alone in the language…

NDEA summer institutes at the Universities of Florida and Massachusetts, and at Arcachon, France during 1963 made use of parts of the Audio-Lingual Language Program (ALLP) French Program. Near native pronunciation and intonation habits and a command of the basic speech structures were the goals. Each institute used the Program differently and…