Pitch visualization for prosody acquisition: Online study with English-speaking learners of Italian

Resumo

We have developed a simple online app for L2 prosody practice, using pitch traces to provide learners with a visualization of natives peakerintonation as well as feedback on how their own productions compare. To test the effectiveness of this training method, we are conducting a randomized experiment investigating whether visual representations of the target intonation and the learner’s own production provide additional benefits over simple auditory feedback. Learning is assessed at multiple time - points using a DTW-based similarity measure as well as a native speaker perception task. Pilot testing has confirmed that the pitch plotting system is robust and the training is enjoyable and engaging for participants. Data collection for the randomized experiment is not yet complete.