SMART: Speech-enabled Mobile Assisted Reading Technology for Word Comprehension

摘要

In this study, we designed and developed two educational games on mobile phones with support for speech-recognition to examine and train the cognitive underpinnings of word reading in English as a Second Language (ESL) learners in rural India. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that articulating a word aloud will be more advantageous for strengthening the sub-lexical components required for word reading - orthographic, phonologic, and semantic - than silently practicing it. 31 children from grades 4 and 5 learning ESL in rural India participated in the study. The results corroborated the hypothesis, suggesting that production is important for second language word reading development.