Modeling an Online Speaker’s Speech Activity Under the Conditions of Uncertainty

Abstract

Introduction. The article describes the requirements for the image of an academic speaker under conditions of uncertainty. Criteria for forming an online speaker’s image in modern information and communication space are considered. The significance of changing the status of an academic speaker-lecturer and student-listener as participants in the communication act in a digital environment is studied. It is concluded that the space of uncertainty has created a new image of an academic speaker with a number of distinctive features and peculiarities. Purpose of Work. The aim of the undertaken research is to identify and describe the fundamental changes that have influenced the formation of a new type of academic speaker and to determine the peculiarities of his perception by the audience in the context of virtual communication. The goal required solving the following interrelated tasks: to investigate the conditions for the formation of an academic online speaker; to identify the distinctive features of the online speaker from other types of speakers; to analyze the process of adapting a new type of academic speaker to the virtual communication environment in the distance learning format. Methodologies and Techniques. To achieve the goal of research and solve the identified problems the following methods were used: the method of system description (as the main one), the method of comparative analysis, the method of linguistic observation and the method of frontal survey. A frontal survey of the second-year students of Department of Law of the Don State Technical University was used as an empirical basis for the study, in which 150 recipients took part. Results. A working definition of the term «online speaker» is given, the conditions of uncertainty in which the speaker has to build up communication with the Internet audience are characterized. The results of observing the unplanned mass transfer of academic communication in higher education to online environment are described. The factors influencing the formation of the online speaker’s image are identified. Practical Significance. The materials and results of the study may be of interest to teachers of higher education, educators and heads of educational institutions working under the conditions of distance learning. Recommendations . The change of the system of interpersonal interaction in the academic environment of higher education requires not only the introduction of new educational online technologies but also a detailed study of the forms of communication behind them, the development of other ones, including professional and image approaches to organizing communication.

University teacher’s speech and self-presentation in e-learning and distance professional communication

“…4) fixed changes in the teachers' voice quality and uncomfortable feelings in the vocal tract: the data received by the scientists in different countries during the pandemic are controversial. When Svetlana Kuzina et al supposes that online lecture allows to preserve teacher's voice without straining vocal chords [1], other researchers have received results demonstrating worsening of voice quality of some part of teachers [8,9]. Though according to the research conducted by Avi Besser, Sari Lotem, and Virgil Zeigler-Hill, only 12% of teachers felt worsening of their voice during pandemic, whereas 58% did not experience any change in their voice quality [8], the teachers cited the following symptoms during the pandemic: dry throat (43%); general feeling of tiredness (27%); more frequent drinking of four to eight glasses of water per day (42%).…”

“…5) The role of speech pauses: though in conventional speech we are not so much aware of pausing in our communication, speech pauses play an important role while online classes as they are usually inserted after rhetorical questions and give a listener the opportunity to think over some answer, memorizing and analysing the information obtained. "In the online environment the ability to use pauses and correctly insert them into the text becomes especially relevant" [1].…”

“…As the study conducted by Svetlana Kuzina et al shown, the opportunity to see only the lecturer's head on the screen and to listen to the monotonous teacher's voice during an hour and a half as well as to try to understand the information delivered by a person who does not use non-verbal means of communication and stops gesturing reduces students' attention and negatively influences their cognitive process [1].…”

“…"Listeners want to see on the screen a smiling person in a good mood and with positive emotions. Students are attracted primarily by a harmonious and integral image that includes intelligence, charm, friendliness and respect for the audience" [1].…”

“…Naturally, the issues of compulsory training of teachers' voice, speech technique, phonation breathing, intonation [1], as well as the problems associated with occupational diseases of the teachers' voice [2][3][4][5], were considered earlier. The importance of using vocal features and head gestures in increasing students' motivation and enhancing their attention was reflected in the robot-mediated learning process, as a result of which online courses, which initially assumed the absence of a teacher, were supplemented with an electronic image simulating the teacher's head, capable of demonstrating various emotions and supporting eye contact with students [6].…”