Twenty ten-minute oral presentations made by Swedish students speaking English have been analyzed with respect to the standard deviation of F 0 over long stretches of speech. Values have been normalized by division with the mean. Results show a strong correlation between proficiency in English and pitch variation for male speakers but not for females. The results also identify monotone and disfluent speakers.

This paper reports on an experimental study comparing two groups of seven Chinese students of English who practiced oral presentations with computer feedback. Both groups imitated teacher models and could listen to recordings of their own production. The test group was also shown flashing lights that responded to the standard deviation of the fundamental frequency over the previous two seconds. The speech of the test group increased significantly more in pitch variation than the control group. These positive results suggest that this novel type of feedback could be used in training systems for speakers who have a tendency to speak in a monotone when making oral presentations. 1.

This paper reports on an experimental study comparing two groups of seven Chinese students of English who practiced oral presentations with computer feedback. Both groups imitated teacher models and could listen to recordings of their own production. The test group was also shown flashing lights that responded to the standard deviation of the fundamental frequency over the previous two seconds. The speech of the test group increased significantly more in pitch variation than the control group. These positive results suggest that this novel type of feedback could be used in training systems for speakers who have a tendency to speak in a monotone when making oral presentations.

Abstract not found

This paper investigates learner response to a novel kind of intonation feedback generated from speech analysis. Instead of displays of pitch curves, our feedback is flashing lights that show how much pitch variation the speaker has produced. The variable used to generate the feedback is the standard deviation of fundamental frequency as measured in semitones. Flat speech causes the system to show yellow lights, while more expressive speech that has used pitch to give focus to any part of an utterance generates green lights. Participants in the study were 14 Chinese students of English at intermediate and advanced levels. A group that received visual feedback was compared with a group that received audio feedback. Pitch variation was measured at four stages: in a baseline oral presentation; for the first and second halves of three hours of training; and finally in the production of a new oral presentation. Both groups increased their pitch variation with training, and the effect lasted after the training had ended. The test group showed a significantly higher increase than the control group, indicating that the feedback is effective. These positive results imply that the feedback could be beneficially used in a system for practicing oral presentations.