15 research outputs found

    Replication research in the domain of perceived L2 fluency: Approximate and close replications of Kormos and DĂ©nes (2004) and Rossiter (2009)

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    The primary objective of this paper is to contribute to the advancement of second language (L2) fluency research by outlining a specific proposal for future replication studies. The overarching goal is to assess the generalisability of the original findings of the two influential studies in the area of perceived fluency: Kormos and DĂ©nes (2004) and Rossiter (2009). This objective will be achieved by first introducing the concept of L2 fluency that often conflates two categories: (1) overall language proficiency; (2) temporal features of speech production. The paper then highlights limitations in the current fluency research paradigm emphasising the variability in the methods employed for speech analysis and rating data collection. This diversity makes it somewhat challenging to compare results across various studies. In response to these challenges, the second part of the paper proposes several close and approximate replications of the two studies

    Students’ attitudes towards accents of English

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    This report presents the results of a pedagogical intervention conducted at the University of West London with a group of first year undergraduate students. Previous research in social psychology and sociolinguistics indicates that language attitudes play an important role in how groups of speakers are perceived and evaluated based on their accent (Garrett, 2010). Given the multicultural nature of the University of London with a large population of ethnic minority students, international students and members of staff from across the globe, it was important to elicit students’ attitudes and beliefs about native and non-native accents of English. The task of examining students’ attitudes and beliefs about native and non-native accents of English is twofold: first, to elicit overt attitudes towards native and non-native accents of English and second, to prompt a critical reflection on the experience of providing accent judgements

    Developing, analyzing and sharing multivariate datasets: individual differences in L2 learning revisited

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    Following the trends established in psychology and emerging in L2 research, we explain our support for an Open Science approach in this paper (i.e., developing, analyzing and sharing datasets) as a way to answer controversial and complex questions in applied linguistics. We illustrate this with a focus on a frequently debated question, what underlies individual differences in the dynamic system of post-pubertal L2 speech learning? We provide a detailed description of our dataset which consists of spontaneous speech samples, elicited from 110 late L2 speakers in the UK with diverse linguistic, experiential and sociopsychological backgrounds, rated by ten L1 English listeners for comprehensibility and nativelikeness. We explain how we examined the source of individual differences by linking different levels of L2 speech performance to a range of learner-extrinsic and intrinsic variables related to first language backgrounds, age, experience, motivation, awareness, and attitudes using a series of factor and Bayesian mixed-effects ordinal regression analyses. We conclude with a range of suggestions for the fields of applied linguistics and SLA, including the use of Bayesian methods in analyzing multivariate, multifactorial data of this kind, and advocating for publicly available datasets. In keeping with recommendations for increasing openness of the field, we invite readers to rethink and redo our analyses and interpretations from multiple angles by making our dataset and coding publicly available as part of our 40th anniversary ARAL article

    How do L2 listeners perceive the comprehensibility of foreign-accented speech? Roles of L1 profiles, L2 proficiency, age, experience, familiarity and metacognition

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    The current study examines how second language (L2) users differentially assess the comprehensibility (i.e., ease of understanding) of foreign-accented speech according to a range of background variables, including first language (L1) profiles, L2 proficiency, age, experience, familiarity and metacognition. A total of 110 L2 listeners first evaluated the global comprehensibility of 50 spontaneous speech samples produced by low, mid and highproficiency Japanese speakers of English. The listeners were categorized into two subgroups according to a cluster analysis of their rating scores: lenient and strict. Results showed that while lenient appeared to rely equally on many linguistic areas of speech during their judgements, the strict listeners were strongly attuned to phonological accuracy. Analysis of the background questionnaire data revealed that the more lenient listeners likely had higher levels of awareness of the importance of comprehensibility for communication (metacognition); regularly used L2 English in professional settings (experience); and had L1s more linguistically close to the target speech samples, Japanese-accented English (L1-L2 distance)

    Exploring the Dynamic Nature of Second Language Listeners’ Perceived Fluency:A Mixed‐Methods Approach

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    Despite the status of English as the lingua franca of the world (Seidlhofer, 2011) and the growing number of English as a second language (L2) users (Pennycook, 2017), researchers have mostly investigated L2‐accented English based on native speakers’ perceptions. In particular, a number of previous studies have looked at native English speakers’ perceptions of fluency (e.g., Bosker, Pinget, QuenĂ©, Sanders, & de Jong, 2013). Only a limited number of studies have examined L2 speakers’ perceptions of the same phenomenon (for a rare exception, see Rossiter, 2009). Therefore, we know very little about how L2 users conceptualize fluency, and what their subjective conceptualizations of fluency are. Thus, the current study took the first step to investigate the factors affecting L2 users’ intuitive perceptions of L2 fluency using an explanatory sequential mixed‐methods design

    Student perceptions of diverse accents of English in a multilingual London post-1992 university

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    Previous research in language attitudes has focused primarily on the attitudes of international students towards different accents of English, the attitudes of home or domestic students in the UK remain still under researched. However, the higher education sector in England is not homogenous, with the two-tier system between research intensive universities and teaching intensive, or post-1992 universities. There is a lack of understanding of the language attitudes towards diverse accents of English of this underrepresented group of students (Preece & Martin, 2009) found primarily in post-1992 institutions (Simpson & Cooke, 2009). With this in mind, this article has explored student perceptions of diverse accents at a post-1992 university through the Bakhtinian notion of heteroglossia. Contrary to previous attitude studies, our findings suggest that the participants have higher levels of empathy towards varieties of English signaled through accent and that the heteroglossic context of London had had a positive impact on those attitudes. However, the participants still expressed a detectable tension between conforming to the imposed norms of standard language use and pushing against them. The paper concludes with a call to challenge traditional deficit views of multilingualism and increase student critical language awareness in a safe structured environment

    Square-headed frogs and world citizens: attitudes and identities of ESL teacher candidates in Québec

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    This study explores the attitudes and identities of future ESL teachers in a 4-year teacher education program in a regional university in QuĂ©bec, Canada. We describe the sociopolitical context of learning English in QuĂ©bec and explain studies describing the position of nonnative-speakers who teach English in various political and geographical contexts, drawing on Kachru’s work on the 3 concentric circles from a World Englishes perspective. Fifty-four future teachers responded to an online survey designed to understand their attitudes toward native speaker proficiency and their linguistic and cultural identities as future ESL teachers. Respondents had contradictory attitudes toward their own linguistic proficiency and accents, the native-speaker model, and conflicting desires of retaining their assumed identities and adopting native-speaker identities. Our conclusions indicate the importance of political discourses in their society and international discourses, such as the native-speaker fallacy, which have complex, conflicting influences on these future teachers

    Linguistic correlates of second language users’ attitudes to Arabic and Chinese varieties of English: a verbal guise study

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    Research into language attitudes suggests that L2 users often hold negative attitudes toward their own and others’ L2 accents. However, less is known about specific features that affect these attitudes. Beinhoff’s study explored consonantal variation and its impact on perceptions of L2 speakers, but this study further examines linguistic correlates of L2 users’ attitudes toward Arabic and Chinese varieties of English. Using the verbal guise method, Arabic and Chinese male and female speakers read a paragraph in English with varying L1 influences. Each sample was rated by 30 L2 listeners on a 6-point semantic differential scale assessing status, solidarity, and dynamism. Phonological and fluency analyses of the samples revealed that non-segmental features, such as prosody, play a more significant role in eliciting positive attitudes toward these English varieties than do segmental features. These findings highlight the importance of suprasegmental aspects in shaping listener perceptions of L2 English speech
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