Linguist Educator Virtual Assistant

ADAOBI JENNIFER UGWUONAH

Computational Linguist AI Language Specialist African NLP Researcher

**************@*****.*** +234 703-***-**** Ogun State, Nigeria linkedin.com/in/adaobi-ugwuonah PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Linguist and researcher specialising in African language technology and computational linguistics, with over eight years of experience in English language teaching, AI data operations, and linguistic analysis. Recently completed the African Computational Linguistics Summer School, built hands-on technical skills in audio processing, corpus building, ASR evaluation, and NLP model fine-tuning. Native Igbo speaker with basic Yoruba, focused on advancing computational tools for under-resourced African languages. Combines deep linguistic training with growing technical proficiency in Python, Hugging Face, and speech processing tools.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Participant/Team Member (Computational Linguistics) African Computational Linguistics Summer School 2026

• Built an English-to-Igbo localised dataset (5,000 tokens) in the adult literacy and education domain, fine-tuned a LoRA adapter on Llama-4-Scout-17B, and published deliverables on Hugging Face including model card, dataset card, and research abstract.

• Engineered a custom Igbo speech corpus: recorded, processed, and analysed over 1 hour of Igbo speech data using SoX (resampling, normalisation, silence trimming, chunking) and Python (soundfile, librosa, pyloudnorm), generating corpus statistics and visualisation plots.

• Benchmarked ASR model performance across Igbo and Yoruba, using WER and CER metrics, evaluating Whisper model accuracy on African languages.

• Annotated Igbo speech data using Label Studio, applying ASR annotation workflows to 30-second audio segments. US English Transcriber & Annotator AON Data Dec 2025 – Jun 2026

• Transcribed and annotated US English audio content to high accuracy standards, supporting ASR AI training data pipelines.

• Applied consistent annotation guidelines across diverse content types, ensuring data quality and linguistic precision.

• Delivered work independently within platform deadlines, maintaining reliable output across extended engagements. Deputy Manager & English Language Teacher Okesanjo Continuing Education and Community Support (OCECS) Jan 2024 – Apr 2026

• Designed English Language curriculum and delivered targeted instruction across reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

• Tracked learner progress using Google Workspace dashboard to inform academic interventions. Teaching Fellow Teach For Nigeria Aug 2021 – Aug 2023

• Led foundational English Language instruction in an underserved primary school, developing strong learner outcomes.

• Organised a book drive distributing resources to over 500 pupils and 10 teachers. KEY PROJECTS

Igbo Education Domain NLP Dataset & LoRA Fine-Tuned Model

• Built and released an English-to-Igbo localised dataset and fine-tuned language model focused on adult literacy and education terminology. Research question centred on tone accuracy, ATR vowel harmony fidelity, and naturalistic code-switching in Igbo education-domain terminology. Published on Hugging Face. Igbo Speech Corpus (Pilot)

• Recorded, processed, and computed corpus statistics on over 1 hour of Igbo speech data. Deliverables include corpus_stats.tsv and visualisation plots (duration, loudness, LRA, pitch distributions across 12 five-minute segments). Foundation for a planned pilot study paper on Igbo acoustic characteristics. African ASR Benchmarking

• Evaluated Whisper model performance across Igbo and Yoruba, using WER and CER metrics. Added custom Igbo example pairs to the benchmarking script.

EDUCATION

MA, English Language

University of Nigeria, Nsukka • May 2025 Research focus: acoustic phonetics, linguistics, and language acquisition Professional Diploma in Education

Sikiru Adetona College of Education, Science and Technology • Jun 2023 Certified by TRCN BA, English and Literary Studies

University of Nigeria, Nsukka • Aug 2015 Top 3 graduate in a class of 80 NsukkaUSA Inc. Academic Excellence Award PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

African Computational Linguistics Summer School

• Hands-on training in audio processing, corpus building, ASR evaluation, NLP model fine-tuning, phonology, and dataset building for African languages. Jul - Aug 2026. AWS AI & Machine Learning Scholars Challenge Amazon Web Services x Udacity

• Completed intensive project-based training in AI and Machine Learning, including generative AI, model training, and responsible AI use. Jul 2025.

African Linguistics School Rhodes University, South Africa

• Fully funded two-week institute covering advanced linguistics for postgraduate students from African universities — deepening expertise in phonetics, accent analysis, and language variation. Jun–Jul 2019. KEY SKILLS

Computational Linguistics & NLP: Corpus building, ASR benchmarking, WER/CER evaluation, LoRA fine-tuning, dataset construction for low-resource African languages

Audio & Speech Processing: SoX, Audacity, librosa, soundfile, pyloudnorm, Label Studio, corpus statistics computation Transcription & Annotation: Verbatim and clean-read transcription, multi-speaker formatting, timestamping, AI transcript editing, text classification, relevance rating

Technical Tools: Python, Git/GitHub, Hugging Face, Google Colab, PowerShell, Google Workspace Linguistics: Phonology (Nigerian English, Igbo), acoustic phonetics, ESL/EFL analysis, language acquisition Languages: Igbo (native), Yoruba (fluent), English (fluent) REFERENCES

Available on request.

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