We have developed an automated method that predicts the word accuracy of a speech recognition system for non-native speech, in the context of speaking proficiency scoring. A model was trained using features based on speech recognizer scores, function word distributions, prosody, background noise, and speaking fluency. Since the method was implemented for non-native speech, fluency features, whi...

This  study  examined  the  effects  of  individual  difference  (ID)  factors  on  changing  pragmatic abilities  among  L2  learners  of  English.  Participants  were  48  Japanese  EFL  students  in  an English-medium  university  in  Japan.  They  completed  a  pragmatic  speaking  test  (k=12)  that assessed  their  ability  to  produce  two  speech  acts:  requests  and  opinions,  in  hi...

The objective of this study is to establish the effects of age, gender, and education and to provide preliminary normative data for letter and category fluency tasks in the Egyptian Arabic-speaking population. We evaluated 139 cognitively healthy volunteers aged 20-93 by adapting the letter and category verbal fluency tasks for the Egyptian population. On the letter fluency task, mean number of...

This paper examines a crucial aspect of the assimilation experience of ethnic minority immigrants in the United Kingdom. It explores the determinants of their English language (speaking) fluency and the key role such skills play in their occupational success. Our sample is derived from the Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities undertaken in 1994. Uniquely this data contains an interviewer...

Speaking is a complicating skill for students to master, since they must master all of its components such as grammar, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and pronunciation. As result, most EFL struggle succeed. The purpose this study identify whether or not the speaking club helps improve their skills. subjects were who joined Sixta Speaks Up an English-speaking in Vocational High School by gr...

In transparent orthographies, persistent reading fluency difficulties are a major cause of poor reading skills in primary school. The purpose of the present study was to investigate effects of a syllable-based reading intervention on word reading fluency and reading comprehension among German-speaking poor readers in Grade 4. The 16-session intervention was based on analyzing the syllabic struc...

This study examined metalinguistic awareness in children who were becoming bilingual in an immersion education program. The purpose was to determine at what point in emerging bilingualism the previously reported metalinguistic advantages appear and what types of metalinguistic tasks reveal these developmental differences. Participants were 124 children in second and fifth grades who were enroll...

Researchers have extensively studied phenomena that affect a second language learner’s oral production while there is scant evidence about input-related factors. Accordingly, the present study sought to investigate how variation in oral production is caused by the input they receive from different course materials. To this end, the study included a micro-evaluation study of three course materia...