Digital storytelling (DST) is a novel approach that uses modern computer technology to amplify language learning and teaching. The present study aims to review how the published DST research utilizes visuals and audio to influence the learning environment and engage adolescent and adult language learners. This was measured through their…

Purpose: Recovery and relapse relating to stuttering are often defined in terms of the presence or absence of certain types of speech disfluencies as observed by clinicians and researchers. However, it is well documented that the experience of the overall stuttering condition involves more than just the production of stuttered speech disfluencies.…

The purpose of the study is to explore and describe how to implement a pedagogical ASR-based intelligent computer-assisted speaking learning (iCASL) system to support adult learners with a private, flexible and individual learning environment to practice English pronunciation. The iCASL system integrates multiple levels of corrective feedback and…

The aim of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy group intervention program for adults who stutter (N = 20). The program consisted of 2-h therapeutic sessions conducted weekly for eight consecutive weeks. It was an integrated program designed to improve: (a) psychosocial functioning, (b)…

Purpose: To investigate the effects of 4 fluency-inducing (FI) conditions on self-rated speech effort and other variables in adults who stutter and in normally fluent controls. Method: Twelve adults with persistent stuttering and 12 adults who had never stuttered each completed 4 ABA-format experiments. During A phases, participants read aloud…

Purpose: In this study, the author examined the following questions: What proportion of adult persons who stutter (PWS) choose fluency and what proportion choose to be free from a need to be fluent in managing their stuttering? What demographic and stuttering-related variables influence their choice, and how consistent are they in their choice?…

Purpose: To assess the effects of short- and long-term changes in auditory feedback on vowel and sibilant contrasts and to evaluate hypotheses arising from a model of speech motor planning. Method: The perception and production of vowel and sibilant contrasts were measured in 8 postlingually deafened adults prior to activation of their cochlear…

This investigation sought to answer two questions: (1) Do children who receive cochlear implants (CIs) by 3;0 (years; months) improve speech intelligibility significantly during their third year of cochlear implant use? (2) How do the intelligibility scores of young CI recipients compare to those reported in the literature for children who receive…

Seven esophageal adult speakers recorded multiple choice intelligibility lists loaded with words beginning with +BACK consonants and clusters. Speakers then independently practiced their errors. Intelligibility improved significantly from prepractice to postpractice. (Author/DB)

A fundamental problem for those interested in human communication is to determine how ideas and the various units of language structure are communicated through speaking. The physiological concepts involved in the control of muscle contraction and movement are theoretically distant from the processing levels and units postulated to exist in…

The study of 20 adult stutterers participating in a 32-hour program of fluency training found that results were consistent with the hypothesis that improvements in fluency during response-contingent stimulation may occur when stutterers access extant fluent speech that is not otherwise being fully utilized. (Author/DB)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of recovery from stuttering based on the experiences of adults who recovered without treatment. Using a semi-structured, open-ended interview format, 15 speakers verified as persons who recovered without treatment were asked to describe their status as everyday speakers. Seven speakers…

Purpose: To investigate the effect of repeated exposure to delayed auditory feedback (DAF) during a 3-month period outside a clinical environment and with only minimal clinical guidance on speech fluency in people who stutter. Method: A pretest-post-test design was used with repeated exposure to DAF during 3 months as the independent variable.…

The speech of 12 adults in prolonged speech treatment was assessed prior to treatment and after discharge. Results showed that stuttering was eliminated without using unusually slow or unnatural speech patterns, and many clients maintained stutter-free speech at high rates of speech. Speech rate correlated to perceived posttreatment speech…

Testing of 17 adult and 25 adolescent stutterers during a 12-month to 24-month postintensive treatment phase revealed that 69% of subjects maintained satisfactory fluency on surprise phone calls at home/work and 80% of subjects rated their speech fluency as good or fair on the Speech Performance Questionnaire. (Author/JDD)