Clear Talk B.U.R.S.T. TM
Accent Modification
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Background Assessment Instruction Success of B.U.R.S.T.TM
Background of Clear Talk B.U.R.S.T.TM
Many (about 500,000) foreign born persons teach in U.S. universities and colleges. Many others work as teachers in elementary and secondary schools, supervisors or provide services to others (such as law enforcement or retail). Still others work as members of research teams, in multinational corporations or are visiting scholars. While they may have studied English for six to ten years, they find themselves in the United States confronted by frustrated Americans or other international persons who are unable to understand their speech. They have trouble with social communication, oral presentations, in their supervisory capacities, and in career advancement when interviewing for jobs. Statistical research and anecdotal evidence identify a threshold level of understandable pronunciation for non-native speakers of English. If they fall short of this threshold level, they will have oral communication problems no matter how good their control of English grammar and vocabulary.
A question for these international speakers and their employers (whether private or academic departments where they are teaching assistants) is often “how understandable are they to North American listeners?” A second question is: “How can international individuals best improve speech intelligibility so that people understand them?”
To answer these questions and to help international speakers of English overcome their English speech disadvantage, Dr. Antonia Lawrence Johnson has developed a program to assist with oral communication and pronunciation. Clear Talk B.U.R.S.T. TM has the aim of making readily understandable speech habitual. The acronym B.U.R.S.T. stands for “Boost Understandability – Reach Speech Targets. The targets are those found by speech intelligibility investigations in speech science, hearing perception and linguistics to contribute most heavily to making speech readily understandable to North American listeners.
For those individuals who want usable facts about how understandable their spoken English is, an assessment of their speech will provide many answers. In general, American listeners have greater difficulty understanding speakers whose native languages differ from English substantially in speech sounds, syllable stress and voice inflection patterns
Sometimes international individuals or their employer (or a university academic department) will first request a short English speech test to determine approximate speech intelligibility to help them decide about pursuing further assessment and improvement of English speech. Dr. Antonia Lawrence Johnson has developed the Short Clear Talk Test for this purpose. At the time of this short testing (or screening), Dr. Antonia Lawrence Johnson also briefly examines the awareness of individuals of difficulties being understood in their professional or social life. One possible outcome of the Short Clear Talk Test might be an indication that the individual’s speech is highly understandable and he or she is experiencing very little difficulty being understood. Another outcome of this short test might be that the level of intelligibility measured appears inadequate for the individual’s professional role(s). Here the recommendation would be to give this individual a more specific diagnostic test or assessment to determine the reasons for difficulties in being understood.
Diagnostic Assessment Information
The English speech diagnostic assessment developed by Dr. Johnson examines
· Current English speaking needs and perceived difficulties (professional, academic, and social)
· Level of current speech intelligibility or understandability (using the Clear Talk Intelligibility Test) and types of current pronunciation needs
· Other sources of unintelligibility (including speech volume, whether the speaker adjusts sufficiently for background noise, and other voice differences and/or problems).
This diagnostic assessment also:
· Predicts the intelligibility gains the speaker can expect from the B.U.R.S.T.TM program and use of the B.U.R.S.T.TM strategies, the cornerstone set of techniques found to contribute most heavily to making speech readily understandable to American listeners.
· Provides individual consultation with the international speaker regarding the results of the speech diagnostic assessment and recommendations for speech intelligibility skill development.
Jump to information on:
Background Assessment Instruction Success of Clear Talk B.U.R.S.T.TM
Levels of Instruction
Clear Talk B.U.R.S.T. Level 1 instruction deals with the immediate need of international speakers of English to improve their understandability and to attain the biggest gain possible in a short-term intelligibility course. Features unique to this program are:
· Individual instruction or small classes (For better results, no more than 6 people)
· A personalized instruction program based on the speech diagnostic assessment and the individual’s professional and social needs
· Use of the B.U.R.S.T. strategies and systematic practice of speech sounds not immediately remedied by those strategies
· Use of a sound level meter to measure speech volume for in-session and home practice to accelerate learning
· Emphasis on pronunciation rules for the 17 American English vowel sounds
· Emphasis on increasing understanding of speech production principles, the effects of background noise and distance to the listener on perception of speech, and what the American English listener needs in order to understand speech easily
· Repeated evaluation of progress, including a post semester instruction assessment, to document speech intelligibility change and help define further learning goals
· 12 sessions, which meet once a week (since it takes about 70 days of daily practice to change speech or behavior)
Other Levels of Instruction.
Intermediate and advanced levels are also available.
About 90% of students enrolling in B.U.R.S.T. Level 1 decide to return for more skill development in the B.U.R.S.T. intermediate course.
Success of the Clear Talk B.U.R.S.T. TM Program So Far
· Since 1996, more than 450 international individuals have completed assessment and instruction using the Clear Talk B.U.R.S.T. program. They have come from over 36 countries of origin, 34 languages, over 17 college departments, and businesses within Colorado (e.g., Boulder, Denver, Longmont, Aurora, Arvada, Fort Collins). B.U.R.S.T. students have ranged in academic level from high school graduate through “all but dissertation—ABD”, and post doctorate. They have included individuals seeking increased English speech proficiency for career advancement (in current jobs and those seeking new jobs or expanded career opportunities and options).
· Average gain in intelligibility for these individuals for the first semester of instruction (B.U.R.S.T. Level 1): about 34 percentage points both for the condition with no background noise and an environment equivalent to a classroom/staff meeting room. Many people doubled their intelligibility scores.
· The average initial assessment score for intelligibility for the quiet environment was 38% (with a range of 3% to 85%.) At the end of the semester of BURST Level 1 instruction, the average intelligibility for the quiet environment was 71% (with a range of 50% to 95%). The average initial intelligibility assessment score for the environment equivalent to a classroom was 33% (with a range of 15% to 75%). At the end of the semester of B.U.R.S.T. Level 1 instruction, and for the condition equivalent to a classroom, the average intelligibility was 66% (with a range of 45% to 93%).
* Please call or email us if you have any questions or want more information.
(Dr. Antonia Lawrence Johnson offers a free diagnostic consultation.)
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Center for Talk Mastery
1800 30th St., Suite 217A
Boulder, CO 80301
(303) 818-4579 or (303) 499-5117
ALJohnson@ClearTalkCommunication.com
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