Phonetic Transcription Selfstudy Programme

1
Phonetic Transcription Self-study Programme

• Sally Bates
• Department of Language and Cognition
• University College Plymouth St Mark and St John

2
Phonetic Transcription Self-study Programme
(PTSP)

• A database of audio recordings of typical and
  atypical speech data with linked exercises in
  auditory discrimination and phonetic
  transcription
• Accessed via the virtual learning environment
  Blackboard
• Produced in response to student demand for
  increased practice opportunities

3

• Ear-training and phonetic transcription taught in
  Year 1
• Small group (10-12 students maximum), tutor-led
• 46-50 students in cohort
• 1 hr per week
• Some additional practice in Year 2 (10 minutes x
  12)
• Historically, students expected to refine and
  develop skills whilst on
• clinical placement in Years 2 and 3
• However, recent growth in student numbers ?
  increasingly difficult to
• ensure parity of experience on placement with
  respect to
• Range of speech impairments encountered
• Opportunity for transcription practice and
  feedback

4

• Problems
• Impracticable to build further classroom sessions
  into Year 1 (or Years 2 and 3)
• Furthermore difficult transition between
  transcribing speech produced by tutor in
  controlled environment and transcription of
  disordered speech data in clinic
• Lack of appropriate self-study materials
• PTSP initially conceived of as a means of
• Supplying students with additional practice
  opportunities
• Bridging the gap between classroom (Year 1) and
  clinic (Year 2)
• Graded program involving typical and
  atypical data produced
• by different speakers, in different
  contexts ? aid generalisation of
• skills

5

• Further benefits
• Facilitate integration of phonetic transcription
  with teaching on other modules
• Ensure continuity of phonetics teaching
  throughout 3 yrs
• Make explicit links between detailed
  transcription process of clinical management
• Supplement students clinical experience of
  different types of
• speech impairment

6

• Format
• Students
• Print out a transcription sheet specifying
  target words for
• transcription (orthographic form)
• Listen to audio file and transcribe targets
• Check their transcription against indicative
  answers
• Additional features
• Facility for repeated playback of file
• Links to IPA chart and tutorial pages, eg
  overview of vowel classification and comparison
  of vowels across different accent systems

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• Four Fields
• Field 1 Ear-training drills
• Sets of single words (real nonsense) including
  minimal pairs
• Hone discrimination of phonetic features,
  allophonic variation, regional accent differences
• Revise classification of speech sounds
• http//ls.net.marjon.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/institution/
  Coleridge/Media20Data/PTSP2008/home_fs.htm
• Field 2 Longitudinal developmental data
• Spontaneous, connected speech data from
  typically developing
• children
• Enhance appreciation of relationship between
  immature and delayed sound systems

8

• Field 3 Simulated clinical data
• Interactions between SLT and child reproduced by
  adult speakers
• Practice transcribing atypical pronunciation
  patterns produced under controlled conditions
• Models of good practice, eg semantic clues and
  sentence closure this is a lovely big ..
  rather than whats this?
• http//ls.net.marjon.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/institution/
  Coleridge/Media20Data/PTSP2008/home_fs.htm
• Field 4 Authentic clinical data
• Pre-recorded in clinic
• Single words, connected speech, conversation
• Practice transcribing range of different speech
  impairments
• developmental and adult acquired disorders
• phonological impairment, articulatory disorders,
  DVD

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• Issues to consider
• With authentic clinical data, can provide
  indicative answers only. What counts as an
  acceptable transcription?
• Level of phonetic detail required? Arguably
  different for different clinical groups.
• Focus on perceptual skills. How to provide
  extra practise in producing sounds?
• Audio data only, no visual cues to aid
  transcription
• Selection and grading of material to match needs
  of students. Time consuming.

10

• Further development
• Expand database
• speakers with different regional accents
• more examples of specific speech disorders to
  illustrate variation within client groups
• Linked exercises in phonological analysis
• Linked exercises in acoustic analysis
• Exercises in consensus transcription
• Also has potential as a CPD tool for qualified
  SLTs