Web-based, speech-enabled games for vocabulary acquisition in a foreign language

Abstract

In this thesis, I present two novel ways in which speech recognition technology might aid students with vocabulary acquisition in a foreign language. While research in the applied linguistics field of second language acquisition (SLA) increasingly suggests that students of a foreign language should learn through meaningful interactions carried out in that language, teachers are rarely equipped with tools that allow them to provide interactive environments outside of the classroom. Fortunately, speech and language technologies are becoming robust enough to aid in this regard. This thesis presents two distinct speech-enabled systems to assist students with the difficult task of vocabulary acquisition in Mandarin Chinese. At the core of each system is a Mandarin speech recognizer that, when connected to a web-based graphical user interface, provides students with an interactive environment in which to acquire new Mandarin vocabulary.