音声学と音声分析の能動学習をオンライン学習が容易にする北海道大学の実践事例
河合剛

北海道大学外国語教育センター
goh@kawai.com http://goh.kawai.com/

Case study of how online learning facilitates active learning ofphonetics and speech analysis at Hokkaido University
Goh Kawai
Hokkaido University, Center for Language Learning
Abstract
Hokkaido University offers a 1-semester blended learning course on phonetics and speech analysis
to advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students. The online and face-to-facecomponents of the course correspond to individual and group study. Before class, students learn
online, and can say, record, and analyze speech at places and times of their choosing, instead of
spending long hours at the laboratory together. During class, students present and discuss their lab
work in person. Our course is an example of how online learning reduces the burden of classroomscheduling, and by monitoring assignments ensures that students prepare for class.

1 Introduction
Laboratory courses (i.e., courses involving experiments
and analyses) require considerable hands-on time. In
many cases the equipment is located only at the lab,
forcing students and professors to work there often late
into the night. In some cases, the equipment is moreaccessible. For instance, a laptop computer may suffice.
This paper is a case study of a take-home lab course inphonetics and speech analysis, where the lab component
is taken as an online course so that students can say,record, and analyze speech at places and times of theirchoosing, instead of spending long hours at thelaboratory together. The instructor is freed from tending
to questions as they arise in the lab. Classroom time canbe dedicated to presenting results and discussing
analyses.
The keys to success are to (a) provide step by step
instructions, and (b) assure that each student is preparedfor class by rewarding high quality assignments.
The remainder of this paper describes the course
offering, goals, and assignments of the course (section2), the online, autonomous learning component that isdelivered via an LMS (learner management system)(section 3), and the collaborative, active learningcomponent that takes place face to face in the classroom(section 4). I conclude with my recommendations(section 5).

2 Course offering, goals, and assignments
Hokkaido University offers a 1-semester blended
learning course on phonetics and speech analysis toadvanced undergraduate and beginning graduate
students. The course is taught wholly in English
language, and is considered a CLIL (content language

integrated learning) and STEAM (science technology
arts engineering and mathematics) course if taken tomeet the student's English language requirement.
The course offering describes the course as follows:This is a hands-on course where students acquire thetechnical skills for using computers to analyze
spoken language.
During class, you will use your computers to givepresentations in English. Before and after class, youwill do assignments using the Glexa system [note:the name of our LMS] and speech analysis software.
You may ask for help in English or Japanese, in
person or via email.
This course is suited for students who desire to (a)use technical English, (b) present using computers,and (c) analyze time series.
Required general skills: (a) Students needknowledge of technical English obtained, forinstance, through Hokudai's English II (English
Online) "technical writing" learning tasks. Reading
assignments, software manuals, presentations,questions and answers, CALL assignments, andexplanations on how to learn are in the English
language. You will read, write, and speak technicalEnglish. (b) Students must bring their own computer
to class, and present their assignments using
projectors that I will provide. MacOS, Linux, andWindows are acceptable. Smart phones and tablets
are not acceptable, because they do not run thesoftware we will use in this course.
Preferred skills: Knowledge of linguistics, statistics,
experiment design, Fourier transforms, and spectral
analyses are advantageous but not essential. We will

explain in class what you need to know.
Unimportant skills: Speaking or writing English
language accurately is not important. What you wantto say is more important than how you say it. No
matter how many mistakes you make in words,
phrases, or syntax, as long as you have an interesting
message you will succeed. By the end of this course,
you will learn how to communicate in English.
The course offering states that, after completing thiscourse, students will be able to do the following (this isa partial list):
(1)

(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)

Explain basic characteristics of spoken
language (e.g., the differences between readspeech and spontaneous speech; features ofclose-talking microphones; features oftelephone-bandwidth speech).
Display and interpret narrow-band and wideband spectrograms, spectra, formants, and F0
tracks.
Record read speech and spontaneous speech.
Label speech at the word and phone levels.
Measure speech rate using various methods(e.g., the number of phones, syllables, orwords per unit time considering filled and/or
unfilled pauses).

The course offering describes assignments:
Each week, you will receive assignments. Examplesof assignments include installing software, reading
instructions,collecting
speech,analyzing
waveforms, and preparing presentations.
Assignments are structured incrementally, andrequire substantial hands-on effort. You need towork on your own computer, because you will bringit to class to give your presentation.
Students are encouraged to work together outside ofclass to complete assignments. Learning together
helps you understand why and how you do
assignments. Working with friends prepares you forworking in the real world, because most scientists
and engineers work in teams.
You will use the freely available, excellent software
package http://www.praat.org/.
Class meets for 90 minutes, 1 time per week, for 15
weeks. The classroom has multiple projectors forpracticing different presentations simultaneously.

3 Online, autonomous learning componentof the course
Autonomous learning requires scaffolding. Our classhas 2 autonomous learning tasks: (1) say and analyze
utterances, and (2) document findings by combining
facts and logic. Both are reported by students in class.
Task 1 is specific to this course, while task 2 is suited
for a more general purpose. I will explain 1 first,
followed by task 2.
3.1

Learning to say and analyze speech

We use Praat (http://www.praat.org/), which is a freeand excellent software package for recording, playing,editing, analyzing, and labeling speech. Praat runs on
Linux, MacOS, and Windows.
Showing how to use Praat is straightforward. We show
step-by-step instructions using written explanations andscreenshots (Figures 1, 2, 3). Although preparing thematerial is somewhat tedious, the invested time pays off
because the instructor no longer needs to explain each
step.
Figure 1. Written instructions for installing
software page. This step is part of the assignment
due by the 2nd class session. We indirectly monitor
progress by asking students to write the name of thefile they downloaded. (The filename changes often.)

install praat
Download and install Praat on the computer you willbring to class. Praat is the software package forrecording, playing, displaying, and analyzing sound.
Follow these steps:
1. Go to http://www.praat.org/. Download thelatest version of Praat that matches yourcomputer's operating system and processor.
2. Install praat on your computer. The procedure
is simple. Follow instructions on the praat
website.
Question:
What is the name of file you downloaded andinstalled?
(Examples:
praat1234_mac16.sit,
praat2345_winxp.zip.)Your answer: ________________________

Figure2.
Written
instructions
fordownloading and playing audio files ofspeech. This part of the assignment due by the 2ndclass session. We indirectly monitor progress byasking students to transcribe the audio file they
downloaded.

download audio files
Download audio files, and open them using Praat.
Follow these steps:
1. Download the zip file timit_sample.zip, andunzip it. The archive contains 4 speakers (2females and 2 males).
2. Launch praat, and click "Open", "Read fromfile". Open the audio file "fmgd0/sa1.wav".
3. Click "View & Edit". Select regions of the audio
file with your mouse, and play the regions byeither left-mousing on the time bar above, or byhitting the tab key.
The audio file is faint. Turn up the audio volume on
your computer to hear it.
Question: What did you hear? Type your best guess.
For words and phrases that you cannot hear, type"(unintelligible)".
Examples:"She hazy darkness in gleeful (unintelligible).""She hated your guts all year round."Your answer: _________________________

Next week in class, you will open more files, display
them, and play them.
To prepare for class, follow these steps:
1. Using the same file you opened above, click"Modify", "Scale to peak", new absolute peak =0.99, "ok".
2. Click "View & Edit".
3. Play the file. Notice that the audio is muchlouder. Can you explain why?
4. The zip file that you downloaded contains audio
files for 4 people. Open all audio files named"sa1.wav" and "sa2.wav". Listen to them. Whatdo you notice?
We will ask each other questions and answer them inclass.

Figure 3. Partial written instructions andscreenshot for labeling speech at the word
and phone levels. This step is part of theassignment due by the 4th class session. We monitor
progress by asking students to upload files they
analyzed.
We want our students to ask questions in class.
Creating questions is part of the assignment. For eachanalysis, we ask students to write questions. In ourassignments, we do not expect students to deduce all
the answers (our assignments prepare students for the
next class, where the answers are obtained), but wedo expect students to identify aspects that puzzle
them.

Label speech at the word and phonelevels[... several steps omitted ...]
Last week, you learned the following rules:
1 Each and every word in the utterance must
appear in the "word" tier.
2 Words may not overlap.
3 Every part of the utterance must be labeled. No
gaps, no empty spaces.
This week, add these rules:
4 A word boundary must also be a phoneboundary. That is, where there is a wordboundary, there must be also a phoneboundary.
5 Phones may not overlap.
6 Multiple words or phones that cannot be
separated may be labeled as one unit. For
instance, if you cannot divide the 2 words "ohwow" into "oh" and "wow", you may label themas "oh wow" without a word boundary. Samerule for phones.

[... several steps omitted ...]
Label the utterance "sa2.wav". Choose a talker otherthan the talker you chose last week.
The utterance contains the words "Don't ask me tocarry an oily rag like that.".
When you finish labeling the utterance, upload your"Collection" file [note: a bundle of files showing what
was analyzed how] to Glexa. Click on the file upload
button below.
Bring your file to class.
Bring your computer also, if you wish to practice using
it. You may use my computer if you wish. I
recommend bringing your computer, because it gives
you practice in presentations. The most common
cause of anxiety and failure in presentations isconnecting your computer to the projector andspeakers.
When you label your speech file, you will be puzzled
and mystified. Bring your questions to class. Asking
questions is the most important skill for scientists.
Type your questions in the box below. You may writein English, Japanese, or Dutch (these are thelanguages I understand). ____________________
Questions? Problems? Contact me via GlexaMail[note: LMS's email tool] link towards to upper rightcorner of your browser.

3.2

Learning to document findings

Students document their findings by combining facts
and logic. Students show how they analyzed speech bydemonstrating speech analysis software in class.
Although students already know how to use Microsoft
PowerPoint or Apple Keynote, students do not create
many slides, because the speech analysis software
provides a common platform for sharing ideas, and the
explanations, questions, and answers are mostly oral.
The oral presentation (and scripts, if students want towrite them) do require knowledge of technical writing.
Technical writing is introduced to all Hokudai freshmen
via a required online course in English language (Figure4). In subsequent semesters, we repeat training oftechnical writing so that upperclassmen warn freshmenthat technical writing is used throughout theirundergraduate career. Our teaching technique is basedon our observation that students are not necessarily keenon acquiring skills. They want better grades. Advice
from peers encourages study that indirectly achieves our
objectives -- namely, to enable students to create andgive technical presentations by themselves.

Figure 4. Screenshot of an online task forlearning technical writing. This is part of aseparate course required of all freshmen during their
1st semester at our school.
The rules for technical writing in English language
are rigid and clearly defined. The standards for goodwriting are so widely known that American college
school graduates can judge the quality of writing,even if they cannot produce good writing themselves.
Our students prefer the restrictive, prescriptive,
unambiguous nature of technical writing.

4 Collaborative, active learning component of the course
4.1

What students do

The class is flipped. Students prepare for class bycompleting online assignments that students show or
say in class. Students submit assignments on our LMS
instead of writing on their textbooks (the latter iscommon practice among language educators in Japan).
Online submission allows students to record theirutterances and upload their assignments, so that
instructors can comment before class (instead ofcollecting handwritten material during class to be
returned at the next class session).
Each class begins with presentations by individual
students (Figure 5). We emphasize that asking questions
and answering them is a crucial skill. Students areencouraged (but not required) to prepare slides,
especially slides designed specifically for answering
questions (that is, students are taught not to not show all
slides during their talk). At least half of the time given
to each presenter is allocated for Q&A. Students are
graded based on their presentations they give, thequestions they ask (when they are members of theaudience), and the answers they give. We reward talks
that receive many questions.
Figure 5. Photograph of student presenting.
The photograph has been blurred to conceal theidentities of the students.
Students are encouraged to bring their own laptop
computers to class, so that students can practicegiving technical presentations later in their careers.
Students connect their laptops to our projectors andloudspeakers. Classmates are encouraged to ask
questions at any time.

Each class introduces English language expressions
used in reporting technical procedures and discoveries.
Each student reports in each class. Because each week
the expressions and procedures were repeated (with newones being added), students memorized the phrases andprocess. Our students are not skilled in English
language (typically CEFR A2 or B1), but become adept
at reporting their laboratory findings in class. By the endof the semester, students have repeating tasks so oftenthat they have become a habit.
When the class size is large, we provide a group learningtask, because scientists and engineers often work ingroups, and because group interactions encourage
speaking English and drawing diagrams (Figure 6).

Groups are randomly assigned each class period. Fixedgroups are unpopular (students complain of freeloaders)and unmanageable (absent or late students create
imbalance across groups, particularly in classes where
the same students tend to be absent or late in every
session).
Figure 6. Photograph of classroom in group
work layout. This photograph is from a classsession with 16 students. The photograph has been
blurred to conceal the identities of the students.

The key to training ourselves as teachers is to recognize
and grow our capabilities [14]. Be a good student.
Figure 7. Photograph of (a)-(d) reed, tube,
and plunger for producing vowel-likesounds, and (e) the inventor playing thereed. Takayuki Arai (Sophia University) is
committed to teaching acoustics. His apparatus
visualizes the configuration of the vocal tract withregards to vowel-like sounds.

Sets of 4 desks form inward-facing rectangles. Thislayout facilitates eye contact, talking, writing, anddrawing. The rectangular layout forces students toturn around when watching videos ordemonstrations. Leaving sufficient space around thedesks allows students to rotate their chairs. We do not
move desks during class, although some instructorsof active learning courses assemble and dissolvegroups by placing desks together or apart.

4.2

What instructors do

Instructors demonstrate and motivate during class.
Face-to-face class time is for hand-on experimentation.
A prime example is the reed, tube, and plunger
combination that produces various vowels [1][2][3][4][5][6]. This seemingly simple apparatus cannot bepurchased in quantity because it is rather expensive.
Students take turns trying it in class (Figure 7).
We also use various tools for teaching phonetics [7],although the best method by far is a trained human being
demonstrating while students imitate.

5 Conclusion and recommendations
5.1

Summary

The key to training students is to give all and expect all[8][9]. Giving is good. Babying is bad.
The key to flipping classes by leveraging online
learning is finding repetitive tasks that students can doalone [10][12]. Repeat tasks until they become a habit.
The key to activating classes in flipped classes is to give
students authority and responsibility in directing theclass session [13]. Instructors are coaches. Stay on thesideline.

(e)
5.2

Details

Active learning is not new. In medieval times when
education was accorded to the elite minority, tutors
would teach a small number of students at a time.
Questions from both teacher and student were more
frequent, while lectures were less. Passive learning
became mainstream when education became available
to the masses. Lectures increased; interaction decreased.
School time was divided more rigidly into various
subjects -- 2 class periods a week for mathematics, 4 forlanguage, and so forth -- because teachers started to
specialize in subject matter. As the daily, weekly, andyearly class schedules became inflexible, teachers
became unable to spend much time (or, more
importantly, elastic lengths of time) with eachindividual student. Teachers were faced with a dilemma-- should we target the top students (who arguably havethe most to contribute to society after finishing school),the middle students (who are the most numerous), or thebottom students (who deserve quality education just as
much as anybody)?
Blended, flipped learning provides the means to bringback active learning to the classroom. The passive or
independent learning tasks can take place outside ofclass at times and places of the student's choosing. The
active or interactive learning tasks can take place insideof class. Students happily complete homework as longas they are graded. A typical student is less concernedof learning the subject matter than earning high grades.
The wily instructor guides students towards studying byoffering many tiny rewards to many tiny tasks. Yes,
grading many tasks accurately and fairly is a lot of work.
No, online learning or active learning do not save timeor money. Instead, they help students achieve more by
spending more time and thought. Intentional learning
rewards us.
We have forgotten (or worse, never experienced) how tolearn actively because we are inundated with passive
learning. Few professors at my school feel comfortable
in a classroom without desks or chairs. But elementary
school teachers are perfectly capable of teaching in theschoolyard. We need to relearn active learningtechniques.
One way to become an effective teacher is to become aneffective student. Every several years I start learning
something new. Some learning takes place behind adesk. Much takes place on the field or in the practiceroom. I learn new teaching techniques. I am reminded
what it feels like to be a helpless beginner (I am a klutz
with physical exercise and performing arts). I ponder
how to empathize with students.
One way to improve the student-to-instructor ratio (andperhaps to decrease the workload of grading homework)
is by hiring or giving course credit to upperclassmen as
mentors and courseware developers. We solidify ourknowledge by imparting it to others. Students with highEnglish language proficiency who are exempted fromEnglish language courses are prime candidates forcoaching underclassmen. Freshmen receive quality
training, and sophomores enhance their mentoringskills. Our courses will benefit from courseware
designed by students for students. Learning is a creative
democracy. The best ideas sometimes come from people
closest to the learners.

6 References[1] Takayuki Arai "Mechanical models of the humanvocal tract" Acoustics Today, 9(4)25-30, 2013[2] Takayuki Arai "Education in acoustics and speechscience using vocal-tract models" Journal of the
Acoustical Society of America, 131(3)2444-2454,
2012[3] Takayuki Arai "Simple physical models of the
vocal tract for education in speech science"
Proceedings of INTERSPEECH-2009, 756-759,
Brighton, 2009[4] Takayuki Arai "Education system in acoustics ofspeech production using physical models of thehuman vocal tract" Acoustical Science andTechnology, 28(3)190-201, 2007
[5] Takayuki Arai "Sliding three-tube model as asimple educational tool for vowel production"
Acoustical Science and Technology, 27(6)384388, 2006
[6] Takayuki Arai "The replication of Chiba andKajiyama's mechanical models of the human vocal
cavity" Journal of the Phonetic Society of Japan,
5(2)31-38, 2001
[7] Jacqueline Vaissiere "New tools for teachingphonetics"
ProceedingsofInternational
Conference on Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS),
Barcelona, 2003
[8] Goh Kawai "Description of an online learning
course for English language at Hokkaido
University" Eurocall Conference (Eurocall 2017),
Southampton, UK (2017-08-24)[9] Goh Kawai "Proficiency of college freshmen canchange substantially within an 8-week period"
Japan Association of Language Teachers Special
Interest Group in Computer Aided Language
Learning Conference (JALT-CALL 2017),
Matsuyama, Japan (2017-06-17)[10] Akio Ohnishi and Goh Kawai "Pre-matriculate
mobile-assisted language learning for studying
before entering college" Teaching English to
Speakers of Other Languages Conference (TESOL
2017), Seattle, Washington, USA (2017-03-23)[11] Naomi Suzaki and Goh Kawai "Encouraging
blended learning via a group singalong activity forlearning segmental and prosodic pronunciation
features" Teaching English to Speakers of Other
Languages Conference (TESOL 2017), Seattle,
Washington, USA (2017-03-22)[12] Ivy Chu-hui Lin and Goh Kawai "Identifying andactivating receptive vocabulary by an online
vocabulary survey and an online writing task" in
Salomi Papadima-Sophocleous, Linda Bradley,
and Sylvie Thouësny, editors "CALL communities
and culture – short papers from EUROCALL
2016", 271-276, article PDF https://researchpublishing.net/publication/chapters/
978-1908416-44-5/574.pdf (2016-12-18)[13] Akio Ohnishi and Goh Kawai "Active learning of
languageusing
hand-writtencomments"
Association for the Advancement of Information
and Communication Technology at Universities
Conference (AXIES 2015), Nagoya, Japan (201512-04)[14] Noriaki Katagiri and Goh Kawai "Vocabulary size
limits what middle school non-native Instructors
can say in all-English classes of English language"
Proceedings of the American Association forApplied Linguistics Conference (AAAL 2015),
Toronto, Ontario, Canada (2015-03-21)

7 About the author
Goh Kawai designs and uses online learning systems forautonomous or blended learning. Goh has a BA in
linguistics, an MA in educational technology, and a PhD
in information and communication engineering.