A Digital Signal Processing teaching methodology using Praat

Digital signal processing (DSP) is an important and growing subject area in electrical/computer engineering (ECE), computer science and other engineering/science disciplines. Since 1997, the authors have taught an undergraduate DSP courses at Xinjiang University (XJU). While the subject of DSP has become very popular with ECE students and with the growing DSP job market, the subject matter is still considered to be a difficult and complex one for students. This paper presents an approach to teaching discrete-time (or digital) DSP using a speech analysis software, Praat. The authors of XJU had enhanced the learning experience for their students by adding the software to their class offering to reduce the difficulty of understanding the theoretical DSP.