Kaplan uses Carnegie Speech to assess and train English learners' speaking skills
by Site Staff
November 19, 2012
CARNEGIE SPEECH
To improve their speaking skills, many international students use products from Kaplan Inc., an English language instruction provider. However, the intense requirements to learn such a skill renders classroom instruction alone somewhat ineffective. The company needed an automated tool to provide students with immediate feedback.
The company also needed to offer a consistent level of instruction to train teachers globally on how to teach various verbal skills. Kaplan used Carnegie Speech’s NativeAccent software, which is designed to assess and train English learners’ speaking skills. The software listens to a person’s speech and identifies his or her native language, skills and learning pace, and then personalizes a curriculum for that individual.
The feedback is immediate, and according to some global studies the software has improved some individuals’ speaking skills 100 percent or more with 20 hours of training. Not only does this result in decreased training time, it reduces the cost by up to 50 percent. Another advantage is the anytime, anywhere nature of the training, which is accessible via the Internet.
Carnegie Speech offered sessions to train Kaplan’s teachers and administrators on the software; it also made a website available with information on the pilot, implementation and support resources.
After training, Kaplan and Carnegie Speech conducted various assessments to gauge software effectiveness. It found the pilot to be successful and determined the software could provide Kaplan with consistent training quality, with a tool that could be accessed outside of training centers, and generate greater satisfaction and referral rates among students.