This presentation examines the Speech Chain Model, which conceptualizes speech communication through three interconnected components: the speaker, the listener(s), and the air as the transmission medium. It further identifies three operational levels within the speech chain: the linguistic level (mental production and interpretation of speech sounds, aligned with linguistic phonetics), the physiological level (articulation via bodily organs, corresponding to articulatory phonetics), and the acoustic level (sound perception and transmission, related to acoustic and auditory linguistics). This integrative framework effectively accommodates diverse human speech styles. Building on the foundational model by Denes and Pinson (1993) and the extension into machine speech synthesis by Tjandra et al. (2020), this study advances the framework by focusing on reading aloud—the vocalization of visually perceived sentences. Unlike spontaneous speech, reading aloud uniquely integrates visual processing with speech production, presenting distinct challenges and dynamics within the speech chain. The proposed Reading-Aloud Speech Chain Model expands the original framework to capture these interactions, reinterpreting cognitive and articulatory processes specific to reading aloud. This refined model provides a comprehensive lens for analyzing how visual input transforms into spoken output, offering valuable insights for educational contexts where reading aloud plays a critical role in language development and literacy.

Authors:
Hanako Hosaka, Tokai University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Hanako Hosaka is Professor in applied linguistics and Head of the Department of English, Tokai University, Kanagawa, Japan. Born and raised in Kobe, Japan, and studied in Kobe University, Japan, and the University of Birmingham, U.K. She has been active member of the Kanto-Koshinetsu Association of Teachers of English and IATEFL.
She is applied linguist and practitioner of her research in teaching at university. Her research fields cover interdisciplinary studies in speech sounds and applied linguistics, with focus on language acquisition and education. Her recent interests have been L1 bilingual acquisition focusing on the sound aspect, teaching (critical) thinking, and fun/interesting aspects in class.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

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