| Project/Area Number |
17530700
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Special needs education
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| Research Institution | Tsukuba University of Technology |
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Principal Investigator |
AOKI Kazuko Tsukuba University of Technology, Research and Support Center on Higher Education for the Hearing and Visually Impaired, Professor (30269287)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KATO Hiroshi Tsukuba University of Technology, Research and Support Center on Higher Education for the Hearing and Visually Impaired, Professor (50177466)
NAGAOKA Hideji Tsukuba University of Technology, Research and Support Center on Higher Education for the Hearing and Visually Impaired, Professor (30227996)
KOBAYASHI Makoto Tsukuba University of Technology, Faculty of Health Science, Associate Professor (60291853)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2005 – 2007
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2007)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,750,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000)
Fiscal Year 2007: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000)
Fiscal Year 2006: ¥400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥2,700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,700,000)
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| Keywords | visually impaired / English study / support system / computer / Text-to-Speech / sneech skill / 学習支援 / TTS / 認知心理 / リスニングテスト |
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| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this study was to find some specific problems which visually impaired students usually have when they learn English and to develop appropriate teaching methods for them. To investigate their English proficiency levels we fast developed a 'Word Recognition Test' and 'PC-based Vocabulary Size Test' for the visually impaired. We have found that their word recognition speed is slow and their vocabulary sizes are rather small compared with those of sighted students. Next we developed the reading support software called 'readKON' for the visually impaired. The most distinguished point of this software is utilization of Text-to-Speech (TTS) system to read the text aloud for users. For the last three years we have tried to develop new teaching programs using readKON in real classroom situations, not only for reading classes but in writing and speech lessons. As a result, a lot of valuable findings were extracted in the real classroom situations where teachers and learners were struggling. In fact TTS technology has given us completely new learning environment of EFL learners with visual impairments. Looking at the dramatic changes of the attitudes of our students, especially poor readers of English, we felt certain that this kind of systems should be useful to any students with problems of language learning.
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