Traditionally, assessment of spoken interaction in the context of second language (L2) learning has neither included visual features nor interactional phonetics; although we know, that they are central to the interaction between people. Therefore, more research is needed on verbal and nonverbal features of interaction in L2 Finnish dialogues.

AASIS builds on results and experiences gained in our previous project, DigiTala (Research Council of Finland 2019–2023). In DigiTala, we developed an ASR-based (automatic speech recognition) online tool for assessing L2 Swedish and Finnish learners’ speech automatically and providing automated feedback to the language learners.

In addition to the already measurable features of speech in monologue tasks (e.g. task completion, pronunciation, fluency, range and accuracy), the research interests of the AASIS project include sounds and visuals (interactional phonetic and nonverbal cues, e.g. facial expressions, gestures, head movements, silences, overlapping speech, turn-taking). Furthermore, the main data collected in AASIS will be videoed, as we focus on spoken interaction in dialogue speaking tasks.

The consortium of the Aasis project (Automatic assessment of spoken interaction in a second language, Research Council of Finland 2023–2027) combines expertise in speech and language processing, language education and phonetics at the University of Helsinki (grant number 355586), Aalto University (grant number 355587) and the University of Jyväskylä (grant number 355588). The current project builds on experiences gained during the consortium’s previous project, DigiTala (Academy of Finland 2019–2023, grant numbers 322619, 322625, 322965). 

More information: von Zansen, A. (2023). The Aasis research project: automatically assessing spoken interaction in L2 Finnish. Kieli, koulutus ja yhteiskunta, 14(7). https://www.kieliverkosto.fi/fi/journals/kieli-koulutus-ja-yhteiskunta-joulukuu-2023/the-aasis-research-project-automatically-assessing-spoken-interaction-in-l2-finnish