Valerie Hazan

Status:	BSc, MA, PhD, Professor in Speech Sciences
Address:	Room 315, Chandler House, UCL, Wakefield Street, London.
Phone:	+ 44 (0) 20 7679 4076
Email:	v.hazan@ucl.ac.uk
Home page:	http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/val/home.html
Primary Dept.:	Speech, Hearing and Phonetic Sciences
RAE Research group:	Speech and Hearing
Interests:	Development of phoneme categorisation in normally-hearing and hearing-impaired children and in second-language learners; effects of listener- and speaker-related factors on speech intelligibility; effects of auditory and auditory-visual training for second-language learners.

Research Projects

• Speaker-controlled variability in connected discourse: acoustic-phonetic characteristics and impact on speech perception (2008-2011)
  This project investigates why certain speakers are easier to understand than others. Speech production is highly variable both across and within speakers. This is partly due to differences in the vocal tract anatomy and partly under the control of the speaker. This project examines whether clearer speakers are more extreme in their articulations (as measured from the acoustic properties of their speech) or whether they are more consistent in their production of speech sounds. In order to better model natural communication, the speech to be analysed is recorded using a new task aimed at eliciting spontaneous dialogue with specific keywords. The first study investigates whether 'inherent' speaker clarity is consistent across different types of discourse and whether speaker clarity is more closely correlated with cross-category differences or within-category consistency in production. The second study investigates whether clearer speakers show a greater degree of adaptation to the needs of listeners. This study has implications for models of speech perception. Understanding what makes a 'clear speaker' will also be informative for applications requiring clear communication, such as teaching, speech and language therapy, and the selection of voices for clinical testing and for speech technology applications.
• A UCL Video Data Archive for Human Communication (2007-2008)
• Clarifying the speech perception deficits of dyslexic children (2005-2008)
  This project will investigate how children with specific reading difficulties (dyslexia) and those who are reading normally perceive the sounds of speech. To decode speech, listeners need to be able to ignore ‘irrelevant’ variation in the speech signal that is linked to differences in speaker, speaking style, accent, etc. It is claimed that children with SRD are more sensitive to these variations than other children. We will check this claim using tests in which we can manipulate specific acoustic patterns within the word. We will then test children’s perception of many different consonants to try and better understand what makes some more difficult to identify than others. Finally, we will test children’s ability to adapt to different speakers and speaking styles.
• Acoustic and visual enhancement of speech for computer-based auditory training (2000-2003)
  Does seeing the speaker help in learning tricky aspects of a new language? A synthetic face is used to support modelling of troublesome phonetic gestures by second language learners
• The effect of speaker variability on speech perception in children (1999-2002)

Taught Courses

• SPSC3001 Hearing Sciences, Audiology and Speech Perception
• AUDL2003 Speech Sciences: Acoustics of Speech and Speech Perception
• PLING301 Development of Speech Production and Perception

Selected Publications

2013

• Hazan, V. L. (2013). Speech perception development. In Knight, RA,, Jones, M. J. (Eds.). The Bloomsbury companion to phonetics ( ). Publisher URL
• Hazan, V. L., Kim, J. (2013). Acoustic and visual adaptations in speech produced to counter adverse listening conditions. Proceedings of AVSP 2013. [Accepted]
• Hazan, V. L., Messaoud-Galusi, S., Rosen, S. (2013). The effect of talker and intonation variability on speech perception in noise in children with dyslexia. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 56(1), 44-62 doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2012/10-0107).
• Hazan, V. L., Pettinato, M. (2013). Children’s timing and repair strategies for communication in adverse listening conditions. Proceedings of Interspeech 2013. [Accepted]
• Hazan, V. L., Romeo, R., Pettinato, M. (2013). The impact of variation in phoneme category structure on consonant intelligibility. Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics. ( Vol. 19 ).
• Pettinato, M., Hazan, V. (2013). The development of clear speech strategies in 9-14 year olds. Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics.

2012

• dos Rios, J., Hazan, V. (2012). Speechant: a vowel notation system to teach English pronunciation. ELT Journal 66(2), 156-165 doi:10.1093/elt/ccr019. Publisher URL
• Granlund, S., Hazan, V., Baker, R. (2012). An acoustic–phonetic comparison of the clear speaking styles of Finnish–English late bilinguals. Journal of Phonetics 40(3), 509-520 doi:10.1016/j.wocn.2012.02.006.
• Hazan, V. L., Grynpas, J., Baker, R. (2012). Is clear speech tailored to counter the effect of specific adverse listening conditions? Journal of the Acoustical Society of America - Electronic letters 132(5), EL371-EL377 doi:10.1121/1.4757698. Publisher URL
• van Dommelen, W., Hazan, V. (2012). Impact of talker variability on word recognition in non-native listeners. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 132(3), 1690-1699 doi:10.1121/1.4739447.

2011

• Baker, R., Hazan, V. (2011). DiapixUK: task materials for the elicitation of multiple spontaneous speech dialogs. Behavior Research Methods 43(3), 761-770 doi:10.3758/s13428-011-0075-y. Publisher URL
• Granlund, S., Baker, R., Hazan, V. (2011). Acoustic-Phonetic Characteristics of Clear Speech in Bilinguals. 17th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS). ( pp.763-766).
• Grynpas, J., Baker, R., Hazan, V. (2011). Clear Speech strategies and speech perception in adverse listening conditions. Proceedings of the 17th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS). ( pp.779-782).
• Hazan, V. L., Baker, R. (2011). Acoustic-phonetic characteristics of speech produced with communicative intent to counter adverse listening conditions. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 130(4), 2139-2152 doi:10.1121/1.3623753. Publisher URL
• Hazan, V. L., Baker, R. (2011). Is Consonant Perception Linked to Within-Category Dispersion or Across-Category Distance? Proceedings of the 17th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS). ( pp.839-842).
• Messaoud-Galusi, S., Hazan, V., Rosen, S. (2011). Investigating Speech Perception in Children With Dyslexia: Is There Evidence of a Consistent Deficit in Individuals? Journal of Speech, Hearing and Language Research 54, 1682-1701 doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2011/09-0261). Author URL

2010

• Baker, R., Hazan, V. (2010). LUCID: A corpus of spontaneous and read clear speech in British English. Proceedings of DiSS-LPSS Joint Workshop 2010. ( pp.3-6).
• Hazan, V., Baker, R. (2010). Does reading clearly produce the same acoustic-phonetic modifications as spontaneous speech in a clear speaking style? Proceedings of DiSS-LPSS Joint Workshop 2010. ( pp.7-10).
• Hazan, V., Kim, J., Chen, Y. (2010). Audiovisual perception in adverse conditions: language, speaker and listener effects. Speech Communication 52, 996-1009 doi:10.1016/j.specom.2010.05.003. Publisher URL
• Hazan, V., Kim, Y. H. (2010). Can we predict who will benefit from computer-based phonetic training? Proceedings of L2WS 2010.
• Kim, Y. H., Hazan, V. (2010). Individual variability in the perceptual learning of L2 speech sounds and its cognitive correlates. Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on the Acquisition of Second Language Speech, New Sounds 2010. ( pp.251-256). Publisher URL
• Lengeris, A., Hazan, V. (2010). The effect of native vowel processing ability and frequency discrimination acuity on the phonetic training of English vowels for native speakers of Greek. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 128(6), 3757-3768 doi:10.1121/1.350635. Publisher URL
• Thompson, M., Hazan, V. (2010). The impact of visual cues and lexical knowledge on the perception of a non-native consonant contrast for Colombian adults. Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on the Acquisition of Second Language Speech, New Sounds 2010. ( pp.493-498). Publisher URL
• van Dommelen, W. A., Hazan, V. (2010). Perception of English consonants in noise by native and Norwegian listeners. Speech Communication 52, 968-979 doi:10.1016/j.specom.2010.05.001. Publisher URL

2009

• Chen, Y., Hazan, V. (2009). Developmental factors and the non-native speaker effect in auditory-visual speech perception. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 126(2), 858-865 doi:10.1121/1.3158823. Author URL
• Hazan, V., Messaoud-Galusi, S., Rosen, S., Nouwens, S., Shakespeare, B. (2009). Speech perception abilities of adults with dyslexia: is there any evidence for a true deficit? Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 52(6), 1510-1529 doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2009/08-0220. Author URL

2008

• Hazan, V., Li, E. (2008). The effect of auditory and visual degradation on audiovisual perception of native and non-native speakers. Interspeech 2008. ( pp.1191-1194). Brisbane, Australia

2007

• Chen, Y., Hazan, V. (2007). Developmental factors in auditory-visual speech perception - the McGurk effect in Mandarin-Chinese and English speakers. Workshop on audio-visual processing (AVSP2007). ( pp.87-81).
• Chen, Y., Hazan, V. (2007). Language effects on the degree of visual influence in audiovisual speech perception. Proceedings of the 16th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. ( pp.2177-2180). Saarbrueken, Germany
• Hazan, V., Sennema, A. (2007). The impact of visual training on the perception and production of a non-native phonetic contrast. Workshop on Audio-visual speech processing. ( pp.146-151).
• Hazan,, V,, Sennema,, A, (2007). The effect of visual training on the perception of non-native phonetic contrasts. Proceedings of the 16th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. ( pp.1585-1589). Saarbrueken, Germany
• Lengeris, A., Hazan, V. (2007). Cross-language perceptual assimilation and discrimination of Southern British English vowels by Greek and Japanese learners of English. Proceedings of the 16th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Saarbrueken, Germany. ( pp.1641-1644). Saarbrueken, Germany
• Messaoud-Galusi, S., Hazan, V., Rosen, S. (2007). clarifying the speech perception deficit in dyslexic children. Proceedings of the 16th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Saarbrueken, Germany, 6-10 August 2007,. ( pp.697-700). Saarbrueken, Germany

2006

• Hazan, V., Sennema, A., Faulkner, A., Ortega-Llebaria, M., Iba, M., Chung, H. (2006). The use of visual cues in the perception of non-native consonant contrasts. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 119(3), 1740-1751 doi:10.1121/1.2166611. Author URL

2005

• Hazan, V., Sennema, A., Iba, M., Faulkner, A. (2005). Effect of audiovisual perceptual perception and production of training on the consonants by Japanese learners of English. Speech Communication 47(3), 360-378 doi:10.1016/j.specom.2005.04.007.
• Iverson, P., Hazan, V., Bannister, K. (2005). Phonetic training with acoustic cue manipulations: A comparison of methods for teaching English vertical bar r vertical bar-vertical bar l vertical bar to Japanese adults. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 118, 3267-3278 doi:10.1121/1.2062307. Author URL

2004

• Hazan, V., Markham, D. (2004). Acoustic-phonetic correlates of talker intelligibility for adults and children. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 116(5), 3108-3118 doi:10.1121/1.1806826. Author URL
• Hazan, V., Sennema, A., Faulkner, A. (2004). Effect of intensive audiovisual perceptual training on the perception and production of the /l/-/r/ contrast for Japanese learners of English. Proceedings of International Conference for Spoken Language Processing, Jeju, October 2004. ( Vol. 2 pp.1145-1148). Author URL
• Iba, M., Sennema, A., Hazan, V., Faulkner, A. (2004). Use of visual cues in the perception of a labial/labiodental contrast by Spanish-L1 and Japanese-L1 learners of English. Proceedings of International Conference for Spoken Language Processing, Jeju, October 2004. ( Vol. 3 pp.2497-2500). Author URL
• Markham, D., Hazan, V. (2004). The Effect of Talker- and Listener-Related Factors on Intelligibility for a Real-Word, Open-Set Perception Test. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 47, 725-737 doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2004/055. Author URL

2003

• Hazan, V., Markham, D. (2003). Acoustic-phonetic dimensions of speaker intelligibility. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. ( pp.1493-1496). Barcelona
• Hazan, V., Senemma, A., Faulkner, A. (2003). The Role of Visual Cues in L2 Consonant Perception. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. Barcelona
• Sennema, A., Hazan, V., Faulkner, A. (2003). The role of visual cues in L2 consonant perception. International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, 2003. ( pp.135-138).
• Sennema, A., Hazan, V., Faulkner, A. (2003). The role of visual cues in L2 consonant perception. Proc. Int. Cong. Phon. Sci, 2003.

2002

• Markham, D., Hazan, V. (Eds.) (2002). The UCL Speaker Database. Speech, Hearing and Language: work in progress 14, 1-17
• Hazan, V. (2002). Interview on 'A Child's Ear', Radio 3.
• Hazan, V. (2002). L'apprentissage des langues. Proceedings of XXIVemes Journees d'etude de la parole (Nancy). ( pp.1-5).
• Hazan, V., Markham, D. (2002). The perception of speaker characteristics in adults and children. In Braun, A., Masthoff, H. R. (Eds.). Phonetics and its Applications. Festschrift for Jens-Peter Kvster on the Occasion of his 60th Birthday ( pp.118-126). Stugggart Steiner.
• Hazan, V., Sennema, A., Faulkner, A. (2002). Audiovisual perception in L2 learners. Proceedings of the International Conference for Spoken Language Processing. ( pp.1685-1688).
• Markham, D., Hazan, V. (2002). . Speaker intelligibility of adults and children. ( pp.1685-1688).
• Markham, D., Hazan, V. (2002). Speaker intelligibility of adults and childre. Proceedings of the International Conference for Spoken Language Processing (Denver). ( pp.1685-1688).

2001

• Hazan, V. (2001). Introduction to Acoustics and Speech Perception. In Deafness ( pp.55-71).
• Ortega-Llebaria, M., Faulkner, A., Hazan, V. (2001). Auditory-visual L2 speech perception: Effects of visual cues and acoustic-phonetic context for Spanish learners of English. Auditory-Visual Speech Processing (AVSP 2001). ( pp.149-154). Auditory-Visual Speech Association. Publisher URL
• Ortega-Llebaria, M., Faulkner, A., Hazan, V. (2001). Auditory-visual L2 speech perception: effects of visual cues and acoustic-phonetic context for Spanish learners of English. Speech, Hearing and Language: work in progress 13, 39-41 LONDON

2000

• Orgega-Llebaria, M., Hazan, V., Huckvale, M. (Eds.) (2000). Automatic cue-enhancement of natural speech for improved intelligibility. Speech, Hearing and Language: work in progress 12, 42-56
• Hazan, V., Barrett, S. (Eds.) (2000). The development of phonemic categorization in children aged 6–12. Journal of Phonetics 28, 377-396
• Hazan, V., Simpson, A. (Eds.) (2000). The Effect of Cue-Enhancement on Consonant Intelligibility in Noise: Speaker and Listener Effects. Language and Speech 43, 273-294

1999

• Hazan, V., Holland, M. (Eds.) (1999). Proceedings of ESCA/SOCRATES Tutorial and Research Workshop on Methods and Tools in Speech Science Education, London 16-17 April 1999. London Department of Phonetics and Linguistics, University College Lon.
• Hazan, V., Barrett, S. (1999). . The development of phoneme categorisation in children aged 6 to 12. ( Vol. 3 pp.2493-2496).
• Hazan, V., van Dommelen, W. (1999). . Phonetics education in Europe, 0 9535586 0 6. ( pp.101-104). London Department of Phonetics and Linguistics, University College Lon.
• MacArdle, B., Hazan, V., Prasher, D. (1999). Speech Pattern Audiometry in Hearing Impaired Children. British Journal of Audiology 33(6), 383-393
• McArdle, B., Hazan, V., Prasher, D. K. (1999). A comparison of speech pattern audiometry and Manchester junior word lists in hearing impaired children. British Journal of Audiology (33), 383-393
• Ortega, M., Hazan, V. (1999). . Enhancing acoustic cues to aid L2 speech perception. ( Vol. 1 pp.117-120).
• van Dommelen, W., Hazan, V., others, (1999). Phonetics. In Bloothooft, G., others, (Eds.). The Landscape of Future Education in speech Communication Sciences: 3 Recommendations ( ). Utrecht OTS.

1998

• Adlard, A., Hazan, V. (Eds.) (1998). Speech perception abilities in children with developmental dyslexia. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A: Human Experimental Psychology 51, 153-177
• Hazan, V., Simpson, A. (Eds.) (1998). The effect of cue-enhancement on the intelligibility of nonsense word and sentence materials presented in noise. Speech Communication 24, 211-226
• Bloothooft, G., van Dommelen, W., Espain, C., Hazan, V., Huckvale, M., Wigforss, E. (Eds.) (1998). The landscape of future education in speech communication sciences: 2 Proposals. Utrecht OTS.
• Hazan, V., Barrett, S. (1998). . Proceedings of the ICSLP.
• Hazan, V., Fourcin, A., Abberton, E., Wilson, G. (1998). . Speech pattern audiometry for the evaluation of the speech perception abilities of deaf children. Tel Aviv Ramot Publications, Tel Aviv University.
• Hazan, V., Simpson, A. (1998). . The effect of cue-enhancement on consonant perception by non-native listeners: preliminary results. ( pp.119-122). Stockholm
• Hazan, V., Simpson, A., Huckvale, M. (1998). Enhancement techniques to improve intelligibility of consonants in noise: speaker and listener effects. Proceedings of the ICSLP.
• van Dommelen, W., Hazan, V., Aulanko, R., Cutugno, F., Fougeron, C., K ster, J. P., Machuca, M. (1998). Phonetics. In Bloothooft, G., van Dommelen, W., Espain, C., Hazan, V., Huckvale, M., Wigforss, E. (Eds.). The landscape of future education in speech communication sciences: Proposals ( ). Utrecht OTS.

1996

• Benoit, C., Grice, M., Hazan, V. (1996). The SUS test: A method for the assessment of text-to-speech synthesis intelligibility using Semantically Unpredictable Sentences. Speech Communication 18, 381-392

1995

• Hazan, V., Wilson, G., Howells, D., Miller, D., Abberton, E., Fourcin, A. (1995). Speech pattern audiometry for clinical use. European Journal of Disorders of Communication 30, 417-434
• Holden-Pitt, L., Hazan, V., Revoile, S., Droge, E. D. (1995). Temporal and spectral cue-use for initial plosive voicing perception by hearing-impaired children and normal-hearing children and adults. European Journal for Disorders of Communication 30, 417-434
• Masterson, J., Hazan, V., Wiyatilake, L. (1995). Auditory discrimination problems in developmental dyslexia. Cognitive Neuropsychology 12(3), 233-259
• Pavlovic, C., Brousseau, M., Howells, D., Miller, D., Hazan, V., Faulkner, A., Fourcin, A. (1995). Analytic assessment and training in speech and hearing using a poly-lingual workstation, EURAUD. In Porrero, I. P., delaBellcasa, R. P. (Eds.). The European Context for Assistive Technology ( pp.332-335). Amsterdam IOS Press.

1993

• Hazan, V., Boulakia, G. (1993). PERCEPTION AND PRODUCTION OF A VOICING CONTRAST BY FRENCH-ENGLISH BILINGUALS. Language and Speech 36(1), 17-38

1991

• Hazan, V., Fourcin, A. J., Abberton, E. R. (1991). Development of Phonetic Labeling in Hearing-Impaired Children. Ear and Hearing 12, 71-84
• Hazan, V., Rosen, S. (1991). Individual variability in the perception of cues to place contrasts in initial stops. Perception and Psychophysics 49, 187-200 Author URL

1990

• Abberton, E., Fourcin, A. J., Hazan, V. (1990). The development of contrastiveness in profoundly deaf children's speech. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics 4(3), 209-220

1989

• Hazan, V. L., Fourcin, A. J., Abberton, E. R. (1989). Speech-based tests need to match a child’s receptive skills. Speech Therapy in Practice 5(4), 21-22

1985

• Fourcin, A. J., Stephens, S. D. G., Hazan, V., Irwin, J., Ball, V., Delmont, J. (1985). Audiological rehabilitation of patients with brainstem disorders. British Journal of Audiology 19(1), 29-43
• Hazan, V., Fourcin, A. J. (1985). Microprocessor controlled speech pattern audiometry:preliminary results. Audiology 24, 325-339

Current PhD Students

• Yasna Pereira Reyes

Completed PhD Students

• Angelos Lengeris
  Individual differences in second-language vowel learning (2009)
• Alan Adlard
  Speech Perceptual Acuity in Children with Reading Difficulty (2001)
• Frederika Holmes
  A study of Dominance in Speech Perception and Production by German-English Bilinguals (1995)

(Possibly incomplete list)