AIST Introduces First-of-its-kind Automatic English Teaching System that Provides Correction Advice at the Vocal Apparatus Level.

Tokyo, Japan, Feb 9, 2006 - (JCN) - Technology that can accurately determine the state of a person's vocal apparatus (mouth, tongue, etc.) was developed through joint research between the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and PRONTEST INC. This technology was then used to develop an automated teaching system that can correct the user's pronunciation based on phonetics and English education techniques.

Wanting to improve one's English conversation skills is a natural goal, but it can be difficult to attend English classes regularly, and it is also very challenging to learn on one's own. A number of English learning software systems on the market use voice recognition technology to help overcome potential problems like these. However, the systems that have been developed to this point have only been able to pinpoint certain areas or mistakes and have not been able to provide individualized instruction to the user.

AIST conducts research on highly accurate voice analysis methods, but it was through collaboration with PRONTEST INC. and because of that company's experience with pronunciation correction and knowledge of English phonetics that this system was developed. The system determines the position of the mouth and tongue at the time of pronunciation using voice analysis in order to correct English pronunciation.

Combining knowledge of phonetics and English language instruction with information on the state of the vocal apparatus means that we can now anticipate the creation of learning materials that can be as effective as private lessons.

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