In this paper, a new speech recognition method was proposed, which integrated a VQ distortion measure and a discrete HMM. The VQ HMM uses a VQ distortion measure at each state instead of a discrete output probabili...In this paper, a new speech recognition method was proposed, which integrated a VQ distortion measure and a discrete HMM. The VQ HMM uses a VQ distortion measure at each state instead of a discrete output probability used by a discrete HMM. The VQ HMM is described, and its speech recognition performance is compared with the conventional HMMs through the experiments on speaker independent Chinese spoken digit recognition. The comparisons confirm that the new method over performed traditional HMMs.展开更多
Listening has been considered as the most important language skill by many researchers but in Chinese context it has been overlooked for years.The Foreign Language(FL)listening problems gradually reveal when students ...Listening has been considered as the most important language skill by many researchers but in Chinese context it has been overlooked for years.The Foreign Language(FL)listening problems gradually reveal when students attend to the Listening Course in universities or colleges.This paper at first illustrates the importance of listening in foreign language learning and provides a discussion on the top-down and bottom-up processes with the analysis of Anderson's three-model of language comprehension[9]as well as the factors affecting listening comprehension in Foreign Language in general,aiming at the illustration of the necessity on one of the bottom-up processes-the Spoken Word Recognition(SWR).The analysis of two issued official guiding documents for Chinese university students and the current situation of English listening teaching in Chinese universities are followed,providing a general background on English listening teaching in Chinese context.Three possible foreign language listening problems and their causes are proposed,followed by the pedagogical suggestions to EFL learners who are improving their listening skills and instructors who are advancing their teaching procedures.展开更多
This study explored the distribution of three types of English formulaic language, which involves four categories in L1 Chinese L2 English learners’ speaking performance. In addition, it investigated the relationship...This study explored the distribution of three types of English formulaic language, which involves four categories in L1 Chinese L2 English learners’ speaking performance. In addition, it investigated the relationship between the English learners’ use of formulaic language and their spoken English fluency. A CCA(canonical correlation analysis) was conducted to examine the correlations between two sets of fluency variables(dependent variables) and linguistic variables of English formulaic language use(independent variables). The fluency variable set consists of:(1)temporal indices such as SR(speech rate), AR(articulation rate), MLR(mean length of run), and PTR(phonation time ratio);(2) linguistic variables of English formulaic language like F2 R(twoword formulaic sequences/run ratio, B3 R(three-word lexical bundles/run ratio), and B4 R(fourword lexical bundles/run ratio). These are calculated according to the frequency of the English formulaic language in the speech samples of the participants(n = 86) across three academic levels.The results indicate that the learners’ spoken English fluency is highly related to their use of English formulaic language. Its limitations and future research directions are also discussed.展开更多
This paper investigates the use of idioms in Chinese EFL learners' spoken English by virtue of two corpora, SECCL and COLSEC. The results indicate that there is no difference in the use of idioms between English-m...This paper investigates the use of idioms in Chinese EFL learners' spoken English by virtue of two corpora, SECCL and COLSEC. The results indicate that there is no difference in the use of idioms between English-major and non-English-major learners. The learners are competent at using most of the idioms of high and high-medium frequency. However, they use nearly none of the idioms of medium and below frequency. Based on the findings, we conclude that the learners do not have a good command of the most frequently used idioms in spoken English. Suggestions on syllabus designing and classroom teaching are brought about at the end of the paper.展开更多
文摘In this paper, a new speech recognition method was proposed, which integrated a VQ distortion measure and a discrete HMM. The VQ HMM uses a VQ distortion measure at each state instead of a discrete output probability used by a discrete HMM. The VQ HMM is described, and its speech recognition performance is compared with the conventional HMMs through the experiments on speaker independent Chinese spoken digit recognition. The comparisons confirm that the new method over performed traditional HMMs.
文摘Listening has been considered as the most important language skill by many researchers but in Chinese context it has been overlooked for years.The Foreign Language(FL)listening problems gradually reveal when students attend to the Listening Course in universities or colleges.This paper at first illustrates the importance of listening in foreign language learning and provides a discussion on the top-down and bottom-up processes with the analysis of Anderson's three-model of language comprehension[9]as well as the factors affecting listening comprehension in Foreign Language in general,aiming at the illustration of the necessity on one of the bottom-up processes-the Spoken Word Recognition(SWR).The analysis of two issued official guiding documents for Chinese university students and the current situation of English listening teaching in Chinese universities are followed,providing a general background on English listening teaching in Chinese context.Three possible foreign language listening problems and their causes are proposed,followed by the pedagogical suggestions to EFL learners who are improving their listening skills and instructors who are advancing their teaching procedures.
文摘This study explored the distribution of three types of English formulaic language, which involves four categories in L1 Chinese L2 English learners’ speaking performance. In addition, it investigated the relationship between the English learners’ use of formulaic language and their spoken English fluency. A CCA(canonical correlation analysis) was conducted to examine the correlations between two sets of fluency variables(dependent variables) and linguistic variables of English formulaic language use(independent variables). The fluency variable set consists of:(1)temporal indices such as SR(speech rate), AR(articulation rate), MLR(mean length of run), and PTR(phonation time ratio);(2) linguistic variables of English formulaic language like F2 R(twoword formulaic sequences/run ratio, B3 R(three-word lexical bundles/run ratio), and B4 R(fourword lexical bundles/run ratio). These are calculated according to the frequency of the English formulaic language in the speech samples of the participants(n = 86) across three academic levels.The results indicate that the learners’ spoken English fluency is highly related to their use of English formulaic language. Its limitations and future research directions are also discussed.
文摘This paper investigates the use of idioms in Chinese EFL learners' spoken English by virtue of two corpora, SECCL and COLSEC. The results indicate that there is no difference in the use of idioms between English-major and non-English-major learners. The learners are competent at using most of the idioms of high and high-medium frequency. However, they use nearly none of the idioms of medium and below frequency. Based on the findings, we conclude that the learners do not have a good command of the most frequently used idioms in spoken English. Suggestions on syllabus designing and classroom teaching are brought about at the end of the paper.
