AiRO - an Interactive Learning Tool for Children at Risk of Dyslexia

Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC 2022), pages 4631–4636 Marseille, 20-25 June 2022 © European Language Resources Association (ELRA), licensed under CC-BY-NC-4.0 4631 AiRO - an Interactive Learning Tool for Children at Risk of Dyslexia Peter Juel Henrichsen, Stine Fuglsang Engmose Danish Language Counsil, University College Absalon Adelgade 119B, DK-5400 Bogense, Denmark; Trekroner Forskerpark 4, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark pjh@dsn.dk, stine@pha.dk Abstract This paper presents the AiRO learning tool, which is designed for use in classrooms and homes by children at risk of developing dyslexia. The tool is based on the client-server architecture with a graphical and auditive front end (providing the interaction with the learner) and all NLP-related components located at the back end (analysing the pupil's input, deciding on the system's response, preparing speech synthesis and other feedback, logging the pupil's performance etc). AiRO software consists of independent modules for easy maintenance, e.g., upgrading the didactics or preparing AiROs for other languages. This paper also reports on our first tests 'in vivo' (November 2021) with 49 pupils (aged 6). The subjects completed 16 AiRO sessions over a four-week period. The subjects were pre- and post-tested on spelling and reading. The experimental group significantly out-performed the control group, suggesting that a new IT-supported teaching strategy may be within reach. A collection of AiRO resources (language materials, software, synthetic voice) are available as open source. At LREC, we shall present a demo of the AiRO learning tool. Keywords: dyslexia, spelling acquisition, Danish, CALL, speech synthesis 1. Introduction According to official statistics, analphabetism is now almost eliminated in the industrialized parts of the world. The authors' own country, for example, boasts a literacy rate of 99.0 percent.1 But does this mean that all citizens feel comfortable reading and writing? Far from it. An early, but very influential study2 found that 12 percent of adult Danes had reading difficulties hampering their professional life. Yet the problem of "functional illiteracy" has only rarely been addressed politically in Denmark, in part due to a lack of theoretical knowledge of dyslexia among school teachers. Until recently, dyslexia was studied only superficially in the education system, leaving teachers little prepared to engage proactively (Pihl and Jensen, 2017). As a result, too few reports from the schools on this pervasive societal problem reach the politicians. Adults with low literacy rates are strongly overrepresented among those who have short educations, low-paid jobs or are unemployed (Rosdahl et al., 2013). Among dyslectic 25/26-year-olds, only 69% completed secondary school as opposed to 81% among peers (Egmont, 2018). Early intervention can, however, lessen the problem significantly. Vellutino and Scanlon (2002) report that special training programs for pupils from the age of 7 years can reduce the proportion of bad readers from 9% to 1.5%. Effective intervention should be based on intensive, sustained, and individually tailored courses focused on the relations between letters and sounds (Elbro, 2021; Elbro and Petersen, 2004). Mastering the letter-to-sound rules is the first step on the road to solid reading and spelling skills …

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