README.md

# Dataset Card for ChaLL

## Table of Contents
- [Table of Contents](#table-of-contents)
- [Dataset Description](#dataset-description)
  - [Dataset Summary](#dataset-summary)
  - [Supported Tasks and Leaderboards](#supported-tasks-and-leaderboards)
  - [Languages](#languages)
- [Dataset Structure](#dataset-structure)
  - [Data Instances](#data-instances)
  - [Data Fields](#data-fields)
  - [Data Splits](#data-splits)
- [Dataset Creation](#dataset-creation)
  - [Curation Rationale](#curation-rationale)
  - [Source Data](#source-data)
  - [Annotations](#annotations)
  - [Personal and Sensitive Information](#personal-and-sensitive-information)
- [Considerations for Using the Data](#considerations-for-using-the-data)
  - [Social Impact of Dataset](#social-impact-of-dataset)
  - [Discussion of Biases](#discussion-of-biases)
  - [Other Known Limitations](#other-known-limitations)
- [Additional Information](#additional-information)
  - [Dataset Curators](#dataset-curators)
  - [Licensing Information](#licensing-information)
  - [Citation Information](#citation-information)
  - [Contributions](#contributions)

## Dataset Description

- **Homepage:**
- **Repository:**
- **Paper:**
- **Leaderboard:**
- **Point of Contact:**

### Dataset Summary

The dataset comprises audio recordings featuring spontaneous speech from young Swiss learners of English, specifically from students in grades 4 to 6. The audio data was collected during engaging language activities designed to elicit natural speech patterns and includes corresponding verbatim transcripts where learners' errors are annotated. The learners participated in a variety of tasks such as role plays, guessing games, and mock interviews, providing a rich source of authentic conversational data.

The transcripts were prepared by a professional transcription service, and each recording was associated with detailed metadata, including school grade, recording conditions, and error annotations.

Access to the dataset is regulated to ensure the confidentiality and ethical use of the sensitive data.
To use the ChaLL dataset, you need to download it manually. Follow the instructions provided (**yet to be detailed**) for downloading the data. Once you have downloaded the files, please extract all files into a single folder. 

Examples in this dataset are generated using the `soundfile` library (for reading and chunking). To handle the audio data correctly, you need to install the soundfile library.

```shell
pip install soundfile
```

You can then load the dataset into your environment using the following command:

```python
from datasets import load_dataset
dataset = load_dataset('chall', data_dir='path/to/folder/folder_name')
```

Ensure the path specified in `data_dir` correctly points to the folder where you have extracted the dataset files.

### Supported Tasks and Leaderboards

[More Information Needed]

### Languages

The primary language represented in this dataset is English, specifically as spoken by Swiss children who are learners of the language.
This includes a variety of accents and dialectal influences from the German-speaking regions of Switzerland.


## Dataset Structure

### Data Instances

A typical data instance in this dataset include an audio file, its full transcription, error annotations, and associated metadata such as the speaker's grade level and recording conditions.

### Data Fields

[More Information Needed]

### Data Splits

[More Information Needed]

## Dataset Creation

### Curation Rationale

The dataset was curated to address the lack of resources for developing ASR systems that can handle the unique characteristics of children's speech, especially non-native English speakers, and to facilitate the development of educational tools that provide corrective feedback on language learning.

### Source Data

#### Initial Data Collection and Normalization

Audio recordings were collected in controlled environments mimicking naturalistic settings to elicit genuine conversational speech from children. The recordings were then annotated professionally to include detailed error tags.

#### Who are the source language producers?

The language producers are Swiss children from grades 4 to 6, engaged in language learning activities designed to elicit natural speech.

### Annotations

#### Annotation process

[More Information Needed]

#### Who are the annotators?

Transcriptions and error annotations were performed by a professional service, following strict guidelines to ensure accuracy and consistency in error marking.

### Personal and Sensitive Information

The dataset contains audio recordings of children, and all personal identifiers have been removed to protect privacy. Access to the data is restricted and requires approval to ensure ethical use.

## Considerations for Using the Data

### Social Impact of Dataset

The dataset supports the development of educational tools that could enhance language learning for children, providing an important resource for educational technology.

### Discussion of Biases

Given the specific demographic (Swiss German-speaking schoolchildren), the dataset may not generalize well to other forms of English or to speakers from different linguistic or cultural backgrounds.

### Other Known Limitations

[More Information Needed]

## Additional Information

### Dataset Curators

The dataset was curated by researchers at PHZH, UZH and Zhaw, with collaboration from local schools in Switzerland.

### Licensing Information

[More Information Needed]

### Citation Information

[More Information Needed]

### Contributions

Thanks to [@mict-zhaw](https://github.com/<github-username>) for adding this dataset.