When reading takes off: Children's word learning during independent reading. This project aims to address the major unsolved problem of how children build their knowledge about printed words through their reading. This is important since, once children have been taught the basics of reading, the primary means by which they learn new words is through reading experience. The project will use innovative technology to monitor children’s eye movements as they encounter new words during reading, exami ....When reading takes off: Children's word learning during independent reading. This project aims to address the major unsolved problem of how children build their knowledge about printed words through their reading. This is important since, once children have been taught the basics of reading, the primary means by which they learn new words is through reading experience. The project will use innovative technology to monitor children’s eye movements as they encounter new words during reading, examining factors influencing real-time cognitive processing and ongoing learning. Expected outcomes will be new insights into how to optimise children’s word learning when reading, and the refinement of a new computational model. These will inform policy and practice in reading instruction, to the benefit of Australia's children.Read moreRead less
A behaviour-genetic study of the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results. The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests are designed by educational authorities, are objective, and have been administered Australia-wide since 2008 so are unquestionably the most valuable national database on school achievement available. This project's twin studies of this data will provide a more solid base for public policy debates on educational policy and pr ....A behaviour-genetic study of the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results. The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests are designed by educational authorities, are objective, and have been administered Australia-wide since 2008 so are unquestionably the most valuable national database on school achievement available. This project's twin studies of this data will provide a more solid base for public policy debates on educational policy and practice.Read moreRead less
Lexical access in Australian languages. This project aims to investigate how listeners use cues from the way speech sounds are produced to break the speech stream into individual, recognisable words. The project investigates Australian languages which show unusual patterns in the production of speech sounds to generate new knowledge about speech perception and production. Outcomes will include advances in theories of speech processing, informing the development of speech processing systems, and ....Lexical access in Australian languages. This project aims to investigate how listeners use cues from the way speech sounds are produced to break the speech stream into individual, recognisable words. The project investigates Australian languages which show unusual patterns in the production of speech sounds to generate new knowledge about speech perception and production. Outcomes will include advances in theories of speech processing, informing the development of speech processing systems, and contributions to Indigenous cultural maintenance.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101053
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$364,536.00
Summary
Cracking the code of successful language learning. Mastery of a second language generates economic advantages, especially in English-speaking nations with large immigrant populations, such as Australia. It is not clear why some second-language learners flourish while others struggle in the same educational setting. Successful learners must possess attributes that when combined with the features of the learning situation result in positive learning outcomes, whereas unsuccessful learners are like ....Cracking the code of successful language learning. Mastery of a second language generates economic advantages, especially in English-speaking nations with large immigrant populations, such as Australia. It is not clear why some second-language learners flourish while others struggle in the same educational setting. Successful learners must possess attributes that when combined with the features of the learning situation result in positive learning outcomes, whereas unsuccessful learners are likely mismatched to their training method. In a series of artificial language learning experiments, this project aims to identify the combination of factors that matter most in successful language learning. Ultimately it may be possible to tailor training proactively to maximise learning outcomes.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180101609
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$392,315.00
Summary
Telling the whole story in one sentence. This project aims to produce a framework for analysis of the ultra-long sentences that occur in hundreds of languages and to investigate the processing of these sentences by adults and children. Anticipated outcomes are enhanced models of language structure, mental processing of language, and brain functions. Understanding of drastically-different sentence types in the world’s languages will further benefit foreign language learners, machine translators, ....Telling the whole story in one sentence. This project aims to produce a framework for analysis of the ultra-long sentences that occur in hundreds of languages and to investigate the processing of these sentences by adults and children. Anticipated outcomes are enhanced models of language structure, mental processing of language, and brain functions. Understanding of drastically-different sentence types in the world’s languages will further benefit foreign language learners, machine translators, and immigrants learning English.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100211
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,000.00
Summary
The Big Australian Speech Corpus: An audio-visual speech corpus of Australian English. Contemporary speech science and technology are driven by the availability of large speech corpora. While audio databases exist for languages spoken in America, Europe and Japan, there is currently no large auditory-visual database of spoken language, and certainly not one for Australian English. Here we will establish the Big Australian Speech Corpus, which will support a speech science research and developmen ....The Big Australian Speech Corpus: An audio-visual speech corpus of Australian English. Contemporary speech science and technology are driven by the availability of large speech corpora. While audio databases exist for languages spoken in America, Europe and Japan, there is currently no large auditory-visual database of spoken language, and certainly not one for Australian English. Here we will establish the Big Australian Speech Corpus, which will support a speech science research and development using Australian English and facilitate the development of Australian speech technology applications from automatic speech recognition and text-to-speech synthesis used in taxi and other ordering services, to hearing prostheses and talking head aids for learning-impaired children, and a range of security and forensic applications.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100323
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$417,505.00
Summary
I can't find the word! Reading to maintain communication skills in ageing. This project aims to investigate why, as we age, we have trouble retrieving words when we speak but not when we read aloud. It takes the novel approach of systematically testing both reading and speaking in the same older adults. Through its innovative use of both behavioural research and computational modelling, it will generate new knowledge in spoken word production and reading, areas in which the project team have ack ....I can't find the word! Reading to maintain communication skills in ageing. This project aims to investigate why, as we age, we have trouble retrieving words when we speak but not when we read aloud. It takes the novel approach of systematically testing both reading and speaking in the same older adults. Through its innovative use of both behavioural research and computational modelling, it will generate new knowledge in spoken word production and reading, areas in which the project team have acknowledged expertise. This project will advance theories, achieving understanding of how ageing affects the cognitive systems involved in saying words and reading them aloud. By also investigating whether reading aloud can support word retrieval, it has potential future benefit for improved communication in older adults.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101078
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$424,999.00
Summary
Polysyllables and Emerging Early Literacy . The aims of this research are to determine trajectories of polysyllabic word development in children with and without typical speech sound development, and examine the relationship between polysyllabic word accuracy and early literacy development. This research is significant as it will utilise innovative speech analysis techniques to identify the skills of children during a critical period of development, their transition to school. The expected outco ....Polysyllables and Emerging Early Literacy . The aims of this research are to determine trajectories of polysyllabic word development in children with and without typical speech sound development, and examine the relationship between polysyllabic word accuracy and early literacy development. This research is significant as it will utilise innovative speech analysis techniques to identify the skills of children during a critical period of development, their transition to school. The expected outcomes of this research include: (1) to establish new methods to identify children who are at risk of finding it hard to learn to read, and (2) creating the first longitudinal corpus of polysyllabic words from Australian English-speaking children with and without speech sound disorder.Read moreRead less
Beyond Speech: Towards better communication for children with hearing loss. Despite the benefits of early newborn hearing screening and early intervention programs for children with hearing loss, most still experience academic and social challenges at school. This is partly due to ongoing listening effort, leading to communicative breakdown. This project aims to identify the locus of the communicative challenges these children face during daily discourse interactions. The outcomes will identify ....Beyond Speech: Towards better communication for children with hearing loss. Despite the benefits of early newborn hearing screening and early intervention programs for children with hearing loss, most still experience academic and social challenges at school. This is partly due to ongoing listening effort, leading to communicative breakdown. This project aims to identify the locus of the communicative challenges these children face during daily discourse interactions. The outcomes will identify which levels of language are most compromised and will inform future interventions to reduce children’s listening effort. This will be undertaken by bringing together researchers in basic science with hearing service providers, parents and industry, providing an innovative model for solving multidisciplinary challenges.Read moreRead less