SBIR Phase I: Using Technology to Promote a Dual-language Approach to Personalizing English-language Learners' Growth in Literacy Ability

该SBIR第一阶段项目将创建一种教育技术，通过个性化的数字学习平台，通过融合英语和西班牙语教学，加速儿童（4至10岁）获得基本英语语言技能。使用最先进的文本到语音和语音到文本引擎，英语学习者（ELL）的学生将在四种语言模式（听、说、读、写）中进行有意识的读写练习。在过去的十年里，公立学校的外语学生人数稳步增加，而双语或认证的外语教师仍然短缺。技术可以帮助这些教师个性化教学，延长上学时间，从而增加投入学习的时间。为大学和职业生涯做好准备对所有学生来说都是经济上的必要条件，尤其是英语专业的学生，因为英语沟通技巧对职业成功很重要。虽然由于现代课堂的性质，开发用于幼儿课堂的技术可能是一个冒险的提议，但回报远远大于风险。该项目将为幼儿提供一种高影响力的技术解决方案，该解决方案整合了最新的文本到语音和语音到文本技术，并以对四种模式下语言技能习得的可靠研究为基础。SBIR第一阶段项目的关键创新是采用多语言（如西班牙语和英语）方法，在四种语言模式（如阅读、写作、口语、听力）中培养读写能力，让年轻学生（4-10岁）沉浸在专门为支持和加速语言发展量身定制的个性化学习体验中。第一个研究目标是测试在幼儿中使用和调整专有的英语和西班牙语文本到语音和语音到文本引擎的可行性。第二个研究目标是检验双语个性化学习平台对儿童的影响。获得基本的听、说、读、写技能。参与者将是母语为西班牙语的ELL学生。本研究基于多语言的第二语言习得框架；研究人员假设，与使用只使用英语的个性化学习应用程序的学生相比，利用学生的第一语言学习英语的双语应用程序在基础读写技能和学习自我效能的独立测量中得分明显更高。成长的一种机制可能是学生沉浸在有意练习读写技能的时间。双语个性化学习平台有可能扩展教师主导的识字教学，增加学生花在学习英语上的时间。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This SBIR Phase 1 project will create an educational technology that accelerates the acquisition of foundational English language skills by children (4 to 10 years old), by melding English and Spanish language instruction, delivered via a personalized digital learning platform. Using state-of-the-art text-to-speech and speech-to-text engines, students that are English Language Learners (ELL) will engage in deliberate literacy practice across the four modalities of language (listening, speaking, reading, writing). Over the last decade, the number of ELL students enrolling in public schools has steadily increased while there remains a shortage of bilingual or certified ELL teachers. Technology can help these teachers to personalize instruction and extend the school day which in turn increases engaged learning time. Achieving college and career readiness is an economic imperative for all students, especially ELL students given the importance of English communication skills to career success. While developing technologies for use in classrooms by young children can be a risky proposition due to the nature of the modern classroom, the reward far outweighs the risk. This project will produce a high-impact technology solution designed for young children that integrates the latest text-to-speech and speech-to-text technologies and is grounded in sound research about language skill acquisition across the four modalities.The key innovation of this SBIR Phase 1 project is a plurilinguistic (e.g., Spanish and English) approach to literacy development across the four modalities of language (e.g., reading, writing, speaking, listening) where young students (aged 4-10 years old) are immersed in personalized learning experiences specifically tailored to support and accelerate language development. The first research goal is to test the feasibility for using and adapting proprietary English and Spanish language text-to-speech and speech-to-text engines with young children. The second research goal is to examine the impact of a dual-language personalized learning platform on children?s acquisition of foundational listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Participants will be ELL students whose first language is Spanish. The research is based on a plurilinguistic framework for second language acquisition; researchers hypothesize that a dual-language application that leverages students' first language to learn English will score significantly higher on independent measures of foundational literacy skills and self-efficacy for learning compared to students who are using an English-only personalized learning application. A mechanism of growth may be the amount of time students are immersed in deliberate practice of literacy skills. A dual-language personalized learning platform has the potential to extend teacher-led literacy instruction and increase the amount of time students spend engaged in learning English.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.