Education system in acoustics of speech production using physical models of the human vocal tract(<Special Issue>Applied Systems)

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In this paper, we present and discuss an educational system in the fields of acoustics and speech science using a series of physical models of the human vocal tract. Because education in acoustics is relevant for several fields related to speech communication, it hosts students from a variety of educational backgrounds. Moreover, we believe that an education in acoustics is important for students of different ages: college, high school, middle school, and even elementary school students. Because of the varied student populations, we develop an educational system that instructs students intuitively and effectively and consists of the following models: lung models, an artificial larynx, Arai's models (cylinder and plate type models), Umeda and Teranishi's model (a variable-shape model), and head-shaped models. These models effectively demonstrate several principal aspects of speech production, such as phonation, source-filter theory, the relationship between vocal-tract shape/tongue movement and vowel quality, and nasalization of vowels. We have confirmed that combining the models in an effective way produces complete education in the acoustics of speech production. The examinations and questionnaire surveys conducted before and after using our proposed system revealed that the learners' understanding of what improves with the use of the system. The system is also effective for voice and articulatory training in speech pathology and language learning. We proposed and discussed an education system in acoustics and speech production using various physical models of the human vocal tract. We confirmed that physical models, when used in a classroom, are particularly effective for increasing students' understanding of the theories of speech production. The combination of the lung models, artificial larynx, Arai's cylinder-type and platetype models, Umeda and Teranishi's model, and the headshaped models with nasal cavities provides the basis for an effective, comprehensive, and systematic education in speech production. When this system is integrated with computer models, learning will be further enhanced. In the future, we can incorporate prosodic aspect into our educational system. If we use a sound source with a time-varying fundamental frequency, we can produce pitch-accented words in Japanese. Our ultimate goal is to make the above-mentioned tools and this comprehensive system of education widely available, so that others can benefit from the models and the educational philosophy we propose in this paper. We hope that our vocal tract models will spread widely throughout the world in an effort to promote education in acoustics and speech science. The audio and visual demonstrations of the education system is partly available at http://www.splab.ee.sophia.ac.jp/Vocal_Tract_Model/ or http://www.splab.net/Vocal_Tract_Model/.
社団法人日本音響学会の論文

Education system in acoustics of speech production using physical models of the human vocal tract(<Special Issue>Applied Systems)

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