Learning of Japanese intonation using speech visualization materials

Abstract

The recent increase in the number of Japanese language learners has placed a greater burden on Japanese language education. Expanding speech education materials can help alleviate the workload of Japanese language teachers. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of an authoring system with visual aids that allows learners to engage in selfstudy and recognize issues in their own pronunciation. Using this system, 13 Japanese language learners practiced Japanese sentence intonation. The results showed that while the system had a slight effect in modifying intonation for the acquisition of sentence-final ascent, it was not effective in facilitating the learning of prosodic downstep throughout entire sentences. These findings suggest that the proposed method may be useful for learning localized prosodic elements, such as sentencefinal ascent. Other potential influencing factors include the number of practice sessions and individual differences in phonetic ability, which remain topics for future research.