Facilitating comprehension of non-native English speakers during lectures in English
English is presently the most widely used language in the academic world and it is used as the main communication language in most academic events . However, some participants, for whom English is not a first language, are unable to fully comprehend communication content due to insufficient language proficiency . They usually flounder in delivered speeches, need to make extra efforts to achieve comprehension and usually seldom interact . Facilitating comprehension of non-native English speakers during lectures in English
Moreover, these participants find that such academic events impose a heavy cognitive load and make them feel frustrated and stressful . To address this issue, related studies suggest to apply the speech-to-text recognition (STR) during lectures. It synchronously transcribes text streams from a lecturer’s speech input onto a whiteboard or computer screens. According to earlier research, the STR is a potentially reliable and valuable tool for non-native English speakers and it may assist them to better comprehend English speeches .
However, we identified gaps in related literature: (1) not much attention was paid on testing the effectiveness of STR-texts on learning performance and little is known about how STR-texts can be effective in managing cognitive load and decreasing learning anxiety of different learning ability students. Therefore, in this study, we attempt to fill the void in the literature and we address the following research questions: (1) Does providing STR-texts(Speech To Text Recognition) during lectures affect learning performance? (2) What is the difference in learning performance, cognitive load, and anxiety between students of different learning ability who learn with STR-texts?
During lectures in a foreign language, several factors affect learners’ comprehension. One of them is learning . ability – learners with different learning ability respond differently to particular instructional techniques, resulting in more or less learning . As learning aptitude increases, learner’s ability to correctly use strategies effectively improves, which positively affects learning .