Writing instructions and its effects on the development of efl students' writing processes :: focus on revision /

Dissertação (Mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão

Practice in a Second Language: Perspectives from Applied Linguistics and Cognitive Psychology

Practice in a Second Language: Perspectives from Applied Linguistics and Cognitive Psychology, edited by Robert DeKeyser, discusses the role of second language (L2) practice across two related research fields: applied linguistics and cognitive psychology. The notion of practice is controversial and raises debate, as DeKeyser acknowledges in the very first page of the introduction to this volume. The controversy stems from the fact that practice is wrongly equated with mechanical drills, these having been rejected by mainstream language teaching methodologies over the past 30 years. In order to minimize potential controversies, DeKeyser presents a focused definition of practice as “specific activities in the second language, engaged in systematically, deliberately, with the goal of developing knowledge of and skills in the second language” (p. 1). The book is intended to be a helpful resource for L2 practitioners and researchers interested in understanding the role of practice in L2 acquisition

Intelligibility of English regular verbs in the past tense: A study with Brazilian listeners and speakers of different L1s

This study investigated the intelligibility of regular verbs in the past produced by eight speakers of English whose first language (L1) were English, German, Spanish, or Brazilian Portuguese. Fourteen Brazilian learners of English participated as listeners and orthographically transcribed sentences produced by the speakers in two intelligibility tests. Acoustic analysis of the productions revealed that some verbs were produced in a non-target like form, but all productions were kept in the intelligibility tests in order to reflect the variability of input received by Brazilian learners of English. The orthographic transcriptions were analyzed and classified as intelligible (when transcriptions matched the form produced by the speaker), other verb forms (when transcriptions matched the verb produced, but in a different tense or form), and breakdowns in communication (when transcriptions mismatched the target verb or when the verb or the entire sentence was not transcribed). Results reveal that the number of intelligible verbs increased from the first to the second intelligibility test. The number of other verb forms decreased, and the number of breakdowns remained quite similar across the two tests. Results also indicate that speakers’ L1, listeners’ lack of familiarity with speakers’ accent and English pronunciation, as well as test conditions possibly influenced the intelligibility of verbs ending in -ed by Brazilian listeners

HOW DO THE NON-TARGET PRONUNCIATIONS OF THE CONSONANTS /θ/ AND /ð/ BY BRAZILIAN LEARNERS OF ENGLISH AFFECT COMPREHENSIBILITY?

ABSTRACT: When learning English, Brazilian learners tend to replace the consonant sound /θ/ with /s/, /t/, or /f/, and replace /ð/ with /z/, /d/, or /v/ (REIS, 2006). The objective of this study is to analyze if the non-target pronunciations of these consonant sounds by Brazilians hinder comprehensibility, as judged by English native speakers. Ten speech samples containing the pronunciation of the sounds /θ/ and /ð/ by Brazilians were collected and presented to a group of eleven native English speakers. The listeners were asked how difficult it was for them to understand the words that contained these consonant sounds. The results indicate that non-standard pronunciations of the interdental fricative sounds by Brazilians affect comprehensibility. KEYWORDS: comprehensibility; English interdental fricatives; Brazilian learners

Production of English verbs ending in -ed by speakers from different L1 backgrounds

A produção dos verbos terminados em -ed está entre os desafios mais frequentes para os aprendizes de inglês. A literatura mostra que eles tendem a usar a epêntese vocálica ou a omissão do -ed para produzir estes verbos. Cada participante gravou individualmente 96 sentenças com um verbo em cada, incluindo 72 verbos terminados em ed e 24 irregulares, distratores neste estudo. Os oito participantes produziram 576 verbos com 25.52% de produções diferentes da forma alvo, sugerindo que estes resultados foram influenciados pela proficiência dos participantes, a qual pareceu ser maior do que a proficiência dos participantes dos estudos anteriores sobre verbos terminados em -ed. Falantes de português brasileiro e espanhol como L1 usaram vogal epentética e omissão do -ed na produção dos verbos enquanto que falantes de alemão usaram a omissão do- ed na produção dos verbos, produzindo estruturas silábicas menos marcadas e mais próximas das estruturas silábicas das suas L1s, assim como aconteceu em estudos anteriores. A produção dos verbos foi também influenciada pela mudança no contexto que antecede ao -ed em função de dificuldades na leitura, língua materna e ortografia do verbo. Já a produção dos verbos por falantes de inglês como L1 mostrou a omissão do -ed, a qual foi possivelmente causada pela mistura ou ligação entre sons similares durante a leitura.Production of verbs ending in -ed is among the most frequent challenges for learners of English. Literature shows that learners tend to use vowel epenthesis or -ed omission to produce these verbs. The present study investigated the production of English verbs ending in -ed by two speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, two of Spanish, two of German and two of English. Each participant individually audio-recorded 96 sentences with one verb in each of them, including 72 verbs ending in -ed and 24 irregular verbs, distractors in this study. The eight participants produced a total of 576 verbs with 25.52% of non-target productions, suggesting that these results were affected by participants’ proficiency, which seemed to be higher than the proficiency of participants from previous studies on verbs ending in -ed. Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish L1 speakers tended to use vowel epenthesis and -ed omission in verb production whereas German L1 speakers tended to use -ed omission, producing less marked syllable structures that are similar to their L1s’, following the tendency found in previous studies. Verb production was also influenced by change in the context preceding the -ed due to misreading, L1 and verb orthography. Production of verbs by English L1 speakers showed the -ed omission, which was possibly caused by blending and linking of similar sounds during the reading

Représentation du soi professionnel des enseignants

La recherche porte sur la représentation du soi professionnel chez les enseignants de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue des ordres d'enseignement préscolaire, primaire et secondaire. Elle établit, en prenant appui sur les travaux d'Abraham (1985), une comparaison interculturelle des aspects suivants de la profession: le soi professionnel, l'identification, l'épuisement et l'aspect personnel. Il en ressort l'existence d'une culture enseignante universelle et ce, malgré certaines particularités pour les sujets québécois.This study examines the self-representation of teachers in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue area who work at the preschool, primary, and secondary levels. Based on the work of Abraham (1985) the authors provide an intercultural comparison of the following aspects of their profession: the professional self, identification, fatigue, and personal aspects. The findings include the presence of a universal teacher culture, although there were particular aspects related to the Québécois subjects.La investigation trata sobre la representation del si mismo profesional de los profesores de Abitibi-Témiscamingue en los nivelés de ensenanza preescolar, primaria y secundaria. Tomando como apoyo el trabajo de Abraham (1985), el estudio establece una comparacion intercultural de los siguientes aspectos de la profesion: el si mismo profesional, la identifîcaciôn, el agotamiento y el aspecto personal. Como resultado, se deduce la existencia de una cultura ensenante universal, a pesar de ciertas particularidades de los sujetos québécois.Dièse Untersuchung konzentriert sich in erster Linie darauf, inwieweit Lehrer der Vorschule, Grundschule und des hoheren Schulwesens in Abitibi-Temiscamingue das berufliche Ich repràsentieren. Mit Hilfe von den von Abraham 1985 durchgefuhrten Arbeiten stellt die Untersuchung einen interkulturellen Vergleich auf unter folgenden beruflichen Aspekten: berufliches Ich, Identifizierung, Erschôpfung und personlicher Gesichtspunkt. Hieraus ergibt sich, datë eine allgemein gultige Unterrichts- kultur trotz speziell auf Quebec bezogener Themen vorhanden ist

Intelligibility research in Brazil: empirical findings and methodological issues

Abstract The current paper addresses intelligibility, a dimension used to assess second language speech, which has also been proposed as one of the goals in pronunciation instruction. Studies carried out on this construct in Brazil are revisited (BECKER, 2013; CRUZ, 2005; 2006; 2008, 2012a, 2012b; CRUZ; PEREIRA, 2006; GONÇALVES, 2014; REIS; CRUZ, 2010; RIELLA, 2013; SCHADECH, 2013), and their main findings are discussed taking into account Jenkins’ (2002) Lingua Franca core. Furthermore, methodological issues are discussed, pointing out the different foci of the studies conducted in Brazil, the variables examined by the Brazilian studies at present, and the myriad of variables contemplated by international studies that still need investigation in the Brazilian context. Some of these variables are related to the speaker/listener or are of linguistic nature (e.g., L2 proficiency, accent familiarity, lexical frequency), all of which could help us to understand the intelligibility construct. Finally, the paper brings concluding remarks about the investigation of intelligibility and possible implications for the classroom and the research realms. Keywords: Intelligibility; Brazilian English; Research method; Pronunciation assessment.   A pesquisa em inteligibilidade no Brasil: resultados empíricos e questões metodológicas Resumo Este artigo tem como foco a inteligibilidade, uma dimensão utilizada para avaliar a fala na segunda língua, que também foi proposta como uma das metas para o ensino de pronúncia na sala de aula. Estudos realizados no Brasil são revisitados BECKER, 2013; CRUZ, 2005; 2006; 2008, 2012a, 2012b; CRUZ; PEREIRA, 2006; GONÇALVES, 2014; REIS; CRUZ, 2010; RIELLA, 2013; SCHADECH, 2013) e os principais achados desses estudos são discutidos, levando-se em consideração a proposta de Jenkins (2002), o Lingua Franca core. Por fim, questões metodológicas são discutidas, ressaltando os diferentes focos estabelecidos nos estudos sobre inteligibilidade, assim como a miríade de variáveis contempladas em estudos internacionais que ainda precisam ser incorporadas em investigações no território nacional. Algumas dessas variáveis estão relacionadas ao falante, ao ouvinte, ou são de natureza linguística (proficiência na língua estrangeira, familiaridade com o sotaque, frequência lexical). Por fim, são apresentadas conclusões sobre os estudos envolvendo inteligibilidade e possíveis implicações para a sala de aula e para a pesquisa de cunho aplicado. Palavras-chave: Inteligibilidade; Inglês brasileiro; Método de pesquisa. Avaliação da pronúncia

Accent Bias in Professional Evaluations: A Conceptual Replication Study in Brazil

Evidence from Canada suggests that accent bias can be moderated by speakers’ demonstrated job-relevant performance and the prestige level of their occupation (Teló et al. 2022). In this study, we replicated Teló et al.’s (2022) work in Brazil. First language (L1) Brazilian Portuguese-speaking listeners rated audio recordings of L1 Brazilian Portuguese and L1 Spanish speakers along continua capturing one professional (competence), one experiential (treatment preference), and one linguistic (comprehensibility) dimension. Our findings challenge the notion of consistent bias, as listeners did not uniformly perceive L1 Brazilian Portuguese speakers as more competent and comprehensible than L1 Spanish speakers, and, in fact, generally preferred treatment provided by L1 Spanish speakers. Complex interactions provided a nuanced account of listeners’ evaluations, revealing, among other patterns, that demonstrated performance level and job prestige affected the evaluated dimensions differently depending on the speaker’s L1. This replication further expands the initial study by examining the role of four listener variables as predictors of speaker ratings. Greater listener familiarity with the context depicted in the script was associated with the assignment of higher ratings overall

Second Language Speech: An outlook towards contemporary research endeavours

In the introduction to the thematic issue "Research agendas in second language speech: aquisition and pedagogy", the authors build an overview that encompasses theoretical models of L2 speech, the interrelation between segmentals and suprasegmentals with speech intelligibility and conclude by discussing issues related to pedagogical practices and teacher education