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Predicting the oral proficiency levels with machine learning techniques

Research Project

Project/Area Number 26770205
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Research Field Foreign language education
Research InstitutionToyo University (2015-2016)
Ritsumeikan University (2014)

Principal Investigator

Kobayashi Yuichiro  東洋大学, 社会学部, 助教 (00725666)

Project Period (FY) 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2016)
Budget Amount *help
¥3,380,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥780,000)
Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
Keywords自動採点 / 学習者コーパス / 自然言語処理 / 機械学習 / コーパス / スピーキング
Outline of Final Research Achievements

The present study aims to automatically evaluate second language (L2) spoken English using automated scoring techniques. I used the NICT JLE Corpus, a corpus of 1,281 Japanese EFL learners, which is coded into nine oral proficiency levels, for the analysis. The nine levels were used as a criterion variable and linguistic features analyzed in Biber (1988) as explanatory variables. Random forests was employed to predict oral proficiency. As a result, 61.28% of L2 spoken productions were correctly classified. Compared to the baseline accuracy of the simplest possible algorithm of always choosing the most frequent level (37.63%), my random forests model improved prediction by 23.65 points. Predictors that can clearly discriminate oral proficiency levels were prepositions, first person pronouns, adverbs, and contractions in the order of strength. The results of this study can be applied to creating assessments that are more appropriate for scaling oral performances of EFL learners.

Report

(4 results)
  • 2016 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2015 Research-status Report
  • 2014 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (29 results)

All 2017 2016 2015 2014

All Journal Article (11 results) (of which Peer Reviewed: 8 results,  Open Access: 7 results,  Acknowledgement Compliant: 3 results) Presentation (16 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 9 results,  Invited: 4 results) Book (2 results)

  • [Journal Article] Exploring the effectiveness of combined web-based corpus tools for beginner EFL DDL2016

    • Author(s)
      Kiyomi Chujo, Yuichiro Kobayashi, Atsushi Mizumoto, & Kathryn Oghigian
    • Journal Title

      Linguistics and Literature Studies

      Volume: 4(4) Pages: 262-274

    • NAID

      120006408119

    • Related Report
      2016 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
  • [Journal Article] Heat map with hierarchical clustering: Multivariate visualization method for corpus-based language studies2016

    • Author(s)
      Yuichiro Kobayashi
    • Journal Title

      NINJAL Research Papers

      Volume: 11 Pages: 25-36

    • NAID

      120005776831

    • Related Report
      2016 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
  • [Journal Article] Investigating metadiscourse markers in Asian Englishes: A corpus-based approach2016

    • Author(s)
      Yuichiro Kobayashi
    • Journal Title

      Language in Focus: International Journal of Studies in Applied Linguistics and ELT

      Volume: 2(1) Pages: 19-35

    • Related Report
      2016 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Acknowledgement Compliant
  • [Journal Article] Automated scoring of L2 spoken English with random forests2016

    • Author(s)
      Yuichiro Kobayashi & Mariko Abe
    • Journal Title

      Journal of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics

      Volume: 20(1) Pages: 55-73

    • Related Report
      2016 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Acknowledgement Compliant
  • [Journal Article] A corpus-based approach to the register awareness of Asian learners of English2016

    • Author(s)
      Yuichiro Kobayashi & Mariko Abe
    • Journal Title

      Journal of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics

      Volume: 20(2) Pages: 1-17

    • Related Report
      2016 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Acknowledgement Compliant
  • [Journal Article] 語彙多様性とリーダビリティを用いたテキスト分析2015

    • Author(s)
      小林雄一郎
    • Journal Title

      外国語教育メディア学会中部支部外国語教育基礎研究部会2014年度報告論集

      Volume: 2014 Pages: 49-59

    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report
    • Open Access
  • [Journal Article] Rによる英文テキスト処理2015

    • Author(s)
      小林雄一郎
    • Journal Title

      東洋大学社会学部紀要

      Volume: 53 Pages: 51-64

    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report
  • [Journal Article] 語彙指標を用いた流行歌の歌詞の通時的分析2015

    • Author(s)
      小林雄一郎・天笠美咲・鈴木崇史
    • Journal Title

      人文科学とコンピュータシンポジウム論文集―じんもんこんの新たな役割

      Volume: 2015 Pages: 23-30

    • NAID

      170000151226

    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
  • [Journal Article] コーパス言語学研究における頻度差の検定と効果量2015

    • Author(s)
      小林雄一郎
    • Journal Title

      外国語教育メディア学会 (LET) 関西支部メソドロジー研究部会報告論集

      Volume: 6 Pages: 85-95

    • Related Report
      2014 Research-status Report
  • [Journal Article] Computer-aided error analysis of L2 spoken English: A data mining approach2014

    • Author(s)
      Yuichiro Kobayashi
    • Journal Title

      Proceedings of the Conference on Language and Technology 2014

      Volume: - Pages: 127-134

    • Related Report
      2014 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed
  • [Journal Article] An analysis of three collocations dictionaries for learners of English2014

    • Author(s)
      Yasutake Ishii, Satoru Uchida, Kyoko Hayashi & Yuichiro Kobayashi
    • Journal Title

      Lexicon

      Volume: 44 Pages: 24-53

    • NAID

      120006486764

    • Related Report
      2014 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed
  • [Presentation] Variation across L2 speech and writing: A multidimensional study2017

    • Author(s)
      Yuichiro Kobayashi & Akira Murakami
    • Organizer
      Language in Focus 2017
    • Place of Presentation
      Bafra (Cyprus)
    • Related Report
      2016 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] 学習者コーパスと機械学習に基づく自動評価システムの改良2016

    • Author(s)
      小林雄一郎
    • Organizer
      第1回シンポジウム「外国語教育研究におけるスピーキングとライティングの自動採点・評価」
    • Place of Presentation
      早稲田大学(東京都)
    • Year and Date
      2016-03-19
    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report
    • Invited
  • [Presentation] Grammatical, morphological, and lexical errors between careful and vernacular styles2016

    • Author(s)
      Mariko Abe & Yuichiro Kobayashi
    • Organizer
      Language in Focus 2016
    • Place of Presentation
      Kaya Ramada Plaza(トルコ)
    • Year and Date
      2016-03-10
    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] 英語教育研究のためのテキスト分析入門2016

    • Author(s)
      小林雄一郎
    • Organizer
      外国語教育メディア学会 外国語教育基礎研究部会
    • Place of Presentation
      名古屋大学(愛知県)
    • Year and Date
      2016-02-18
    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report
    • Invited
  • [Presentation] Contrastive analysis of L2 speech and writing: A multi-dimensional approach2016

    • Author(s)
      Yuichiro Kobayashi & Akira Murakami
    • Organizer
      Asia Pacific Corpus Linguistics Conference 2016
    • Place of Presentation
      Beijing (China)
    • Related Report
      2016 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] 語彙指標を用いた流行歌の歌詞の通時的分析2015

    • Author(s)
      小林雄一郎・天笠美咲・鈴木崇史
    • Organizer
      じんもんこん2015
    • Place of Presentation
      同志社大学(京都府)
    • Year and Date
      2015-12-19
    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report
  • [Presentation] A contrastive rhetoric analysis of metadiscourse markers in second language writing2015

    • Author(s)
      Yuichiro Kobayashi
    • Organizer
      The 19th Joint Workshop on Linguistics and Language Processing
    • Place of Presentation
      Waseda University(東京都)
    • Year and Date
      2015-12-12
    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Comparing native and non-native English through significance tests and effects sizes2015

    • Author(s)
      Yuichiro Kobayashi
    • Organizer
      Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics (PAAL) 2015
    • Place of Presentation
      Korea University(韓国)
    • Year and Date
      2015-12-05
    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Investigating metadiscourse markers in Asian Englishes: A corpus-based approach2015

    • Author(s)
      Yuichiro Kobayashi
    • Organizer
      Symposium on Second Language Writing 2015
    • Place of Presentation
      Auckland University of Technology(ニュージーランド)
    • Year and Date
      2015-11-19
    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Distinctive and shared linguistic aspects of L2 written production by East Asian learners of English2015

    • Author(s)
      Mariko Abe, Yuichiro Kobayashi & Masumi Narita
    • Organizer
      Second International Symposium on EFL Writing in East Asia
    • Place of Presentation
      University of Tokyo(東京都)
    • Year and Date
      2015-10-31
    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] A statistical analysis of conjunctions in Early Middle Japanese with a focus on deictic expressions2015

    • Author(s)
      Tomoko Okazaki & Yuichiro Kobayashi
    • Organizer
      International Symposium on the Japanese Diachronic Corpora
    • Place of Presentation
      National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics(東京都)
    • Year and Date
      2015-10-04
    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Effects of a writing prompt on L2 learners' essays2015

    • Author(s)
      Masumi Narita, Mariko Abe, & Yuichiro Kobayashi
    • Organizer
      Corpus Linguistics 2015
    • Place of Presentation
      Lancaster University(イギリス)
    • Year and Date
      2015-07-21
    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] 書き手を識別するためのクラスタリング手法の検討2015

    • Author(s)
      小林雄一郎
    • Organizer
      「通時コーパスの設計」研究発表会
    • Place of Presentation
      国立国語研究所(東京都)
    • Year and Date
      2015-04-18
    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report
  • [Presentation] Computer-aided error analysis of L2 spoken English: A data mining approach2014

    • Author(s)
      Yuichiro Kobayashi
    • Organizer
      5th Conference on Language and Technology
    • Place of Presentation
      DHA Suffa University(カラチ・パキスタン)
    • Year and Date
      2014-11-14
    • Related Report
      2014 Research-status Report
  • [Presentation] The similarity and difference between human scoring and automated scoring2014

    • Author(s)
      Yuichiro Kobayashi & Mariko Abe
    • Organizer
      Applied Linguistics Association of Korea (ALAK) 2014
    • Place of Presentation
      Sangmyung University(ソウル・韓国)
    • Year and Date
      2014-09-27
    • Related Report
      2014 Research-status Report
  • [Presentation] Exploring error patterns in L2 spoken English with data mining techniques2014

    • Author(s)
      Yuichiro Kobayashi
    • Organizer
      Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics (PAAL) 2014
    • Place of Presentation
      Waseda University(東京都・新宿区)
    • Year and Date
      2014-08-17
    • Related Report
      2014 Research-status Report
  • [Book] Rによるやさしいテキストマイニング2017

    • Author(s)
      小林雄一郎
    • Total Pages
      240
    • Publisher
      オーム社
    • Related Report
      2016 Annual Research Report
  • [Book] EFL writing in East Asia: Practice, perception and perspectives2016

    • Author(s)
      Kyoko Oi, Beverley Horne, Masumi Narita, Yuko Itatsu, Mariko Abe, Yuichiro Kobayashi, & Mari Tanaka
    • Total Pages
      262
    • Publisher
      Seisen University
    • Related Report
      2015 Research-status Report

URL: 

Published: 2014-04-04   Modified: 2018-03-22  

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