Research for the Developing of Assistive System of the English Learning for Japanese Blind Students and their Cognitive Process of English Learning

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Reading inevitably depends on perception or visual efficiencies of readers. We investigated the word recognition speed of visually impaired college students who studied English as a foreign language to develop assistive software of English learning compensating for their visual problems. The subjects have difficulties in visual acuity and also in their visual field. Compared with good readers we found two types of slow readers in our subjects. Good readers with normal vision and one type of low vision group (LV1) can read words in almost the same time period independent of their length. The rates of lps (letters per second) increased linearly with word length. The lps of the other type of low vision (LV2), however, were constant. This means that their reading time of individual words increases according to the length of words. Reading is stressful work especially for the latter type of low vision students. Then we have developed reading support software called ‘readKON' equipped with a … More speech synthesis device. The readKON was tested for the two groups of low vision readers. The time of decoding each word shortened for both groups, and the number of words they read accurately increased. The results show that the readKON is applicable to English learning of any type of slow readers with visual impairments. Secondly, we conducted a trial study to develop a scholastic test by voice for English, for the visually impaired who lack the skill of Braille reading. Voice tests were given in three versions ; synthesized voice which was automatically transformed from text, narrated digital recording operated by the testees themselves with computer, and DAISY. Subjects could answer tall three types of the test by themselves. Listening strategies, e.g., spelling-out of words, repeat listening, jumping between chapters, multi-language voice synthesis listening, and speed listening were observed. The evaluations by the experimentees, regarding the sound quality, was higher for human voice. Operational performance and the evaluation for the user-friendliness of the tests depended on the skill and experience of the testees. Finally we conducted two types of English listening comprehension test to Braille user. One was EIKEN Japan's Leading Language Assessment for English proficiency, the other was a trial test for English listening comprehension for college applicants by the National Center for University Entrance Examinations. We observed Braille users were weak in parallel processing of listening and reading of English than sighted cause of allocation difficulties of cognitive resource. Less