Listener Proficiency and Shared Background Effects on the Accentedness, Comprehensibility and Intelligibility of Four Varieties of English

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jette G. Hansen Edwards ◽  
Mary L. Zampini ◽  
Caitlin Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
English Language ◽  
The United States ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Speech Characteristics ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Impact

This study examines the impact of Hong Kong listeners’ English language proficiency on the intelligibility and perceived accentedness and comprehensibility of speakers of English from Hong Kong, China, Singapore and the United States. The study had two main aims: (1) to examine how proficiency impacts listeners’ perceptions of how accented and comprehensible different varieties of English are and how this differs from speech intelligibility; (2) to examine whether listeners benefited from a shared background effect differently by proficiency level. The research findings have pedagogical implications as they can improve understanding of which proficiency levels may benefit most from instruction and how a shared background may mitigate proficiency effects. They also help researchers understand the extent to which listeners’ own English proficiency impacts their evaluations of the speech characteristics of other speakers of English, an area of research that is still relatively unexplored.

scholarly journals Impact of English Proficiency on Academic Performance of International Students

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-71
Author(s):  
Nara M. Martirosyan ◽  
Eunjin Hwang ◽  
Reubenson Wanjohi
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
International Students ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
The United States ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Senior Year ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Ex Post Facto ◽  
The Impact

Using an ex-post facto, non-experimental approach, this research examined the impact of English language proficiency and multilingualism on the academic performance of international students enrolled in a four-year university located in north central Louisiana in the United States. Data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire from 59 students who were in their sophomore, junior or senior year of college. Statistical analyses revealed significant differences in language proficiency and multilingualism in relation to academic performance. The highest mean GPA was evident among students who had reported high levels of self-perceived English language proficiency, and among students who spoke at least three languages.

scholarly journals The Impact of Blended Learning on the Twelfth Grade Students’ English Language Proficiency

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Hussein Al Noursi
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Twelfth Grade ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Experimental Group

The blended learning approach utilizes modern technologies and electronic media in teaching to create a technology-based environment. However, it is not an exclusive online environment because the teacher and the students have to be present in a traditional face-to-face classroom. It is widely believed that adopting a blended learning approach will enable learners to have quality educational opportunities and improve their performance. The incentive for conducting the research is to evaluate the effect of the blended learning approach on high school students’ English proficiency. Specifically, the study aimed at answering the question: is there a significant difference in the Twelfth-Grade students’ English language proficiency as measured by IELTS due to the model of delivery (Blended learning model and the traditional delivery model)? To achieve the study’s goal, the researcher applied the experimental method and used IELTS to measure language proficiency. The study sample selected purposively consisted of 63 male twelfth-grade students in one of the private schools in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study sample was assigned to two groups: the experimental group taught using blended learning consisted of 31 students, and the control group led by the traditional method consisted of 32 students. The results showed statistically significant differences at the level of (a<0.01) between the means of the results of the two groups on the post achievement test in favor of the experimental group. These results illustrated the impact of adopting the blended learning approach in an English Foreign Language (EFL) setting on students’ achievement in standardized tests. However, the successful implementation of blended learning largely depends on how responsible and committed students are towards active learning.

scholarly journals What happens to international students’ english after one semester at university?

2008 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 4.1-4.17
Author(s):  
Neomy Storch ◽  
Kathryn Hill
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Language Test ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
The Impact

There is a common expectation, particularly amongst international students, that studying in an English-medium university should automatically produce a significant improvement in their English language skills. However, there is growing evidence to suggest that this is not necessarily the case.This paper reports on a study which investigated the impact of one semester of study at a university on the English language proficiency of a sample of 40 international students. This was measured by comparing the students’ scores on a diagnostic English language test at the beginning and end of their first semester. A comparison of discourse measures of writing in terms of fluency, complexity and accuracy was also undertaken. Background information, including details of ESL support, if any, was collected for all participants via questionnaires, and interviews were conducted with a subset of the participants.It was found that studying in an English-medium university generally led to an improvement in English language proficiency. The paper identifies a number of factors which appear to support language development, as well as factors that may inhibit it.

An invited article: Bilingual education of majority-language children: The Immersion experiments in review

1983 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred Genesee
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Language Immersion ◽  
Immersion Program ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Evaluative Research ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTSecond-language “Immersion” school programs that have been developed in Canada and the United States during the last two decades are described and the results of evaluative research pertaining to them are reviewed. Major Immersion program alternatives (i.e., Early, Delayed, and Late variants) along with their theoretical bases and pedagogical characteristics are described first. Research findings are then discussed with respect to the impact of participation in an Immersion program on the students' native-language development, academic achievement, second-language proficiency, and on their attitudes and second-language use. Also, the suitability of Immersion in different geographical/social settings and for students with distinctive, potentially handicapping characteristics is considered. It is concluded that second-language Immersion programs are feasible and effective forms of education for majority-language children with diverse characteristics.

English fever and American dreams

English Today ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinhyun Cho
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
The United States ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Military Dictatorship ◽  
Korean Society ◽  
English Fever ◽  
Language Capital ◽  
Historical Examination

The current paper examines how English has evolved to become valued language capital in South Korea (henceforth ‘Korea’). Since the late 20th century, Korea has experienced the phenomenon of ‘English fever’, which refers to the frenetic and at times over-zealous pursuit of English-language proficiency across Korean society (J. S. Y. Park, 2009). Researchers have examined ‘English fever’ through various prisms, including education (Park & Abelmann, 2004; J. K. Park, 2009), neoliberalism (Piller & Cho, 2013; Cho, 2015; Lee, 2016), and local socio-politics (Shim & Park, 2008). Rarely has the phenomenon been approached from a historical point of view. Considering the fact that a historical examination of language can provide critical insights into the local processes through which distinctive ideologies of language have been shaped and popularized (Cho, 2017), this paper traces the historical evolution of English in Korean society by focusing on three key periods, i.e. Japanese colonization (1910–1945); the post-independence period and modernization (1945–1980); and military dictatorship and globalization (1980-present). Drawing on the theoretical framework of global centre-periphery divisions embedded in Orientalism (Said, 1979), the analysis focuses specifically on the influence of the United States on the rise of English in Korea. In doing so, I show that ‘English fever’ is not a recent phenomenon but has its roots in historicity through which the seeds for the ongoing phenomenon of ‘English fever’ were planted in Korean society.

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