English Pronunciation Practice Method with CG Animations Representing Mouth and Tongue Movements

Method for English pronunciation practice utilizing Computer Graphics: CG animation representing tongue movements together with mouse movements is proposed. Pronunciation practice system based on personalized CG animation of mouth movement model is proposed. The system enables a learner to practice pronunciation by looking at personalized CG animations of mouth movement model , and allows him/her to compare them with his/her own mouth movements. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the system by using personalized CG animation of mouth movement model, Japanese vowel and consonant sounds were read by 8 infants before and after practicing with the proposed system, and their pronunciations were examined. Remarkable improvement on their pronunciations is confirmed through a comparison to their pronunciation without the proposed system based on identification test by subjective basis. In addition to the mouth movement, tongue movement is represented by CG animation. Experimental results show 20 to 40 % improvement is confirmed by adding tongue movements for pronunciations of "s" and "th".