Phonetic Accommodation on the Segmental and the Suprasegmental Level of Speech in Native–Non-Native Collaborative Tasks

2021 ◽  
pp. 002383092110500
Author(s):  
Christiane Ulbrich
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Dynamic System ◽  
System Approach ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Production Data ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Target Words

This paper presents the investigation and analysis of speech accommodation effects in data obtained from Spanish learners of German with varying proficiency levels. The production data were recorded during a collaborative map task of the Spanish learners of German among each other and with a native speaker of German. The map task was designed to target words and phrases with specific segmental and suprasegmental characteristics. These characteristics were derived from contrastive analyses of Spanish and German. The main objectives of the paper were to investigate whether segmental and suprasegmental characteristics of the target language German are affected by phonetic accommodation to varying degrees and whether these differences depend on the proficiency level of the speaker or the interlocutor. The statistical analysis, using regression analyses, revealed inconsistent accommodation effects across learners of different proficiency levels as well as different linguistic phenomena. In line with previous findings the results can best be accounted for by an adaptation of a dynamic system approach.

LINGUISTIC CORRELATES OF SECOND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael H. Long ◽  
Kira Gor ◽  
Scott Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Telephone Interview ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Second Language Proficiency ◽  
Instructional Process ◽  
Proficiency Levels

With Russian as the target language, a proof of concept study was undertaken to determine whether it is possible to identify linguistic features, control over which is implicated in progress on the Interagency Linguistic Roundtable (ILR) proficiency scale, thereby better to inform the instructional process. Following its development in an instrumentation study, a revised version of a computer-delivered battery of 33 perception and production tasks was administered to 68 participants—57 learners between levels 2 and 3 (21 at ILR 2, 18 at 2+, and 18 at 3) on the ILR scale, and 11 native speaker controls—whose proficiency was tested via an ILR oral proficiency telephone interview. The tasks sampled subjects’ control of Russian phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis, and collocations. Relationships between control of the linguistic features and the ILR levels of interest were assessed statistically. All 33 tasks, 18 of which assessed learners’ abilities in perception and 15 of which assessed their abilities in production, were found to differentiate ILR proficiency levels 2 and 3, and a subset was found to also distinguish levels 2 and 2+, and 2+ and 3. On the basis of the results, a checklist of linguistic features pegged to proficiency levels was produced that can be useful for syllabus designers, teachers, and learners themselves as well as providing the basis for future diagnostic tests.

A Corpus-Based Exploration of the Discourse Marker Well in Spoken Interlanguage

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 570-593
Author(s):  
Lan-fen Huang
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Intermediate Level ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Discourse Marker ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
First Languages

This corpus-based study examines the widely-used discourse marker well in Chinese-speaking learners’ speech and compares its frequencies in native speaker data and Swedish learners. While Swedish learners overuse well, Chinese-speaking learners (predominantly at the upper-intermediate level) significantly underuse it. The positions and functions of well are further examined using a functional framework. One-fourth of the Chinese-speaking learners who use well manipulate its positions in utterances in a similar way to native speakers. In terms of functions, well is employed for speech management much more frequently than for attitudinal purposes. The greater use of the former does not generally create negative effects, but the under-representation of the latter may suggest that Chinese-speaking learners sound too direct in certain contexts. The paper concludes by considering pedagogical implications for different first languages and proficiency levels and their possible applications to the instruction of well.

scholarly journals DYNAMIC SYSTEM APPROACH IN PSYCHOLOGY: PROPOSITION AND APPLICATION IN THE STUDY OF EMOTION, APPRAISAL AND COGNITIVE ACHIEVEMENT

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-28
Author(s):  
Cristiano M. A. Gomes ◽  
Hudson F. Golino ◽  
Bianca C. G. Costa
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic System ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
System Approach ◽  
Inductive Reasoning ◽  
Cognitive Achievement ◽  
Psychological Processes ◽  
Good Tool ◽  
Correlation Pattern ◽  
Complexity Issue ◽  
Test Achievement

Psychological processes are difficult to be studied due to their complexity. The dynamic system approach shows itself as a good tool for psychology to deal with this complexity issue. We propose two fundamental contributions of the dynamic system approach to psychology and apply it in the study of achievement emotions, appraisal and cognitive achievement. Two hypotheses were investigated: 1) More than one correlation pattern between test achievement, appraisal and emotion will be found; 2) Test achievement, appraisal and emotion form a dynamic system which will be explained by a latent variable that is dependent on the previous state of the system. A sample of thirteen students from seventh to ninth grades performed an inductive reasoning test, appraised their achievement, and declared their emotional valences (from extreme positive to extreme negative). Each variable was measured in 20 different occasions. One correlation matrix of each individual was generated and seven qualitative profiles were identified. Then four different states of relations between the variables were identified through a hidden Markov model. The two hypotheses were not refuted. It’s concluded that the dynamic system approach brings new possibilities to the study of psychological processes. Key words: achievement emotion, appraisal, cognitive achievement, dynamic system approach, methodology.

scholarly journals Examining the Impact of Training and Nativeness on Teacher’s self-efficacy in teaching English

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (8) ◽  
pp. 81-97
Author(s):  
Lina Lafta Jassim
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Foreign Teachers ◽  
Development Of Language ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of training and 'nativeness' on teacher's self-efficacy in teaching English as a second language. A questionnaire was used and administered to 281 foreign teachers in Nasseria, Iraq. The teacher’s sense of efficacy scale (TSES) was employed to measure a teacher's self-efficacy. Using MANOVA, we tested the impact of teachers’ training and 'nativeness' on a teacher’s self-efficacy. The analysis showed that trained teachers have higher self-efficacy than untrained teachers and further that professional development enhances self-efficacy. The study established that being a native speaker does not necessarily influence a teacher's self-efficacy and goes to support the hypothesis that target language proficiency should not be associated with being a language teacher. Ultimately, policymakers and educational administrators should concentrate on the professional development of language teachers and disband the native/non-native dichotomy.

scholarly journals Cross-Sectional Study of Refusal Speech Act Used by Iraqi Undergraduate Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-173
Author(s):  
Hutheifa Y. Turki ◽  
Juma’a Q. Hussein ◽  
Ahmed A. Al-Kubaisy
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Arabic And English ◽  
Refusal Strategies

This paper is conducted to investigate how Iraqi EFL learners refuse different speech acts across different proficiency levels. It aims to examine the most appropriate strategies used by 2nd year students of English as compared to those of 4th year when refusing their interlocutors' invitation, suggestion, and offer. WDCT questionnaire was used to collect data from 40 Iraqi undergraduate students of English: 20 2nd year and 20 4th year. Adopting Beebe et al.'s (1990) theory of refusal, data collected was analyzed quantitatively using statistical analysis. The findings revealed that the 2nd year students of English were more frequent in using direct refusals than their 4th year counterparts. This means the latter were more aware of using refusals politely than the former. On the other hand, the findings showed that 4th year students more frequent in their use of indirect refusal strategies that the 2nd year students. This indicates that the EFL learners of low proficiency level might not bridge the gap between the pragmalinguistic strategies and the grammatical form of the target language. This means that they were not pragmatically competent of the use of the appropriate pragmalinguistic strategies. This implies that the 2nd year students need to pay more attention to pragmatics and use their refusal strategies appropriately. Thus, the paper recommends conducting further research on the use of refusal speech act in Arabic and English.

scholarly journals Reading Strategies Used in Reading Academic Texts by Students of High and Intermediate Reading Proficiency Levels

K ta Kita ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-87
Author(s):  
Johan Setiawan ◽  
Nani Indrajani Tjitrakusuma
Keyword(s):  
Learning Process ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Reading Proficiency ◽  
Text Structure ◽  
English Department ◽  
Elaborative Interrogation ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Academic Texts ◽  
Proficiency Level

In this study, the reading strategies used by students of high and intermediate reading proficiency levels were qualitatively examined. Reading strategies are important factors that affect someone's reading proficiency. In the development of education, reading strategies are continuously carried out to facilitate the learning process and sharpen students' reading skills. The purpose of this study is to discover the reading strategies used by the English Department students with high and intermediate reading proficiency levels in reading academic texts. This study uses reading strategies theory by Grabe (2009) combined with the interview questions by Mokhtari and Reichard (2002) to examine the reading strategies of ten participants consisting of five people with high reading proficiency level and five other people with intermediate reading proficiency level. This study showed that students of high reading proficiency levels tend to use more reading strategies than students with intermediate reading proficiency level. The biggest difference is in the use of text-structure awareness and inferencing strategies. It indicates that the mastery of text structure is directly related to reading effectiveness. Without text structure awareness, other reading strategies such as summarizing, inferencing, and elaborative interrogation will be seriously disrupted. Keywords:  Reading Strategies, Academic Text, High Reading Proficiency Level, Intermediate Reading Proficiency Level

scholarly journals Does Proficiency Level Affect Learners’ Lexical Access in L1 and L2?

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-67
Author(s):  
Muzakki Bashori
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Access ◽  
Doctoral Degree ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Paired Samples ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Doctoral Degree Programs ◽  
Insignificant Difference ◽  
L1 And L2

Proficiency level is one important factor that contributes to learners’ language performance. Learners with higher proficiency levels tend to perform lexical access better and faster than those with lower proficiency. This study aims to investigate whether proficiency level affects lexical access in L1 and L2. The research involved seven Indonesian university students of master’s and doctoral degree programs at a university in the Netherlands who possess different proficiency levels. Two scrambled texts in the participants’ L1 and L2 were employed to test the participants. Meanwhile, the paired-samples t-test and correlation analysis were used to report the experiment. The results revealed an insignificant difference and a negative correlation between proficiency level and the number of errors and reading time. However, on average, the more proficient learners outperformed the less proficient, thus indicating that they may possess more complex lexical access in L1 and L2. Further studies are needed to provide other useful insights on this topic.

scholarly journals Examining the Impact of Training and Nativeness on Teacher’s self-efficacy in teaching English

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (9) ◽  
pp. 87-104
Author(s):  
Lina Lafta Jassim
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Foreign Teachers ◽  
Development Of Language ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of training and 'nativeness' on teacher's self-efficacy in teaching English as a second language. A questionnaire was used and administered to 281 foreign teachers in Nasseria, Iraq. The teacher’s sense of efficacy scale (TSES) was employed to measure a teacher's self-efficacy. Using MANOVA, we tested the impact of teachers’ training and 'nativeness' on a teacher’s self-efficacy. The analysis showed that trained teachers have higher self-efficacy than untrained teachers and further that professional development enhances self-efficacy. The study established that being a native speaker does not necessarily influence a teacher's self-efficacy and goes to support the hypothesis that target language proficiency should not be associated with being a language teacher. Ultimately, policymakers and educational administrators should concentrate on the professional development of language teachers and disband the native/non-native dichotomy.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document