scholarly journals Which Phonetic Features Should Pronunciation Instructions Focus on? An Evaluation on the Accentedness of Segmental/Syllable Errors in L2 Speech

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-154
Author(s):  
Zhiyan Gao ◽  
Steven Weinberger
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
English Language ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
American English ◽  
Syllable Structure ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Language Instructors ◽  
Phonetic Features

Many English language instructors are reluctant to incorporate pronunciation instruction into their teaching curriculum (Thomson 2014). One reason for such reluctance is that L2 pronunciation errors are numerous, and there is not enough time for teachers to address all of them (Munro and Derwing 2006; Thomson 2014). The current study aims to help language teachers set priorities for their instruction by identifying the segmental and structural aspects of pronunciation that are most foreign-accented to native speakers of American English. The current study employed a perception experiment. 100 speech samples selected from the Speech Accent Archive (Weinberger 2016) were presented to 110 native American English listeners who listened to and rated the foreign accentedness of each sample on a 9-point rating scale. 20 of these samples portray no segmental or syllable structure L2 errors. The other 80 samples contain a single consonant, vowel, or syllable structure L2 error. The backgrounds of the speakers of these samples came from 52 different native languages. Global prosody of each sample was controlled for by comparing its F0 contour and duration to a native English sample using the Dynamic Time Warping method (Giorgino 2009). The results show that 1) L2 consonant errors in general are judged to be more accented than vowel or syllable structure errors; 2) phonological environment affects accent perception, 3) occurrences of non-English consonants always lead to higher accentedness ratings; 4) among L2 syllable errors, vowel epenthesis is judged to be as accented as consonant substitutions, while deletion is judged to be less accented or not accented at all. The current study, therefore, recommends that language instructors attend to consonant errors in L2 speech while taking into consideration their respective phonological environments.

Varieties and the Issue of Standards: How Should English be Taught in a Global Community?

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Rosario Y. Florendo
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
American English ◽  
First Language ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Filipino Teachers

As language policies for basic and tertiary education in the Philippines vacillate between the preservation, promotion and use of first and native languages of students and the enhancement of English as a Second Language, language teachers are put in a dilemma. While sound language theories dictate that it is more productive to teach content courses in the students’ native tongue, the Department of Education’s language policy says otherwise. Further, while English language courses are still taught with emphasis on structure and form with Standard British or American English as models, outside, the native Philippine Variety of English is actually used. Although many young Filipinos today are raised speaking English as their first language, the variety too that they actually learn is native. The Philippines has also been a popular destination for other Asians who want to learn English (EFL). Learning from Filipino teachers would eventually result to the further spread, not of the Inner Circle variety, but the Philippine Variety of English. Thus, there is a need to reevaluate how English is actually taught and re-assess the standards of evaluation of students’ performance. Keywords - Teaching English, Standards, Models, Varieties/Variations, Multilingua l

Rater variation in pragmatic assessment: The impact of the linguistic background on peer-assessment and self-assessment

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-85
Author(s):  
Sunni L. Sonnenburg-Winkler ◽  
Zohreh R. Eslami ◽  
Ali Derakhshan
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Social Rules ◽  
Language Background ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe present study investigates variability among raters from different linguistic backgrounds, who evaluated the pragmatic performance of English language learners with varying native languages (L1s) by using both self- and peer-assessments. To this end, written discourse completion task (WDCT) samples of requesting speech acts from 10 participants were collected. Thereafter, the participants were asked to assess their peers’ WDCTs before assessing their own samples using the same rating scale. The raters were further asked to provide an explanation for their rating decisions. Findings indicate that there may indeed be a link between a rater’s language background and their scoring patterns, although the results regarding peer- and self-assessment are mixed. There are both similarities and differences in the participants’ use of pragmatic norms and social rules in evaluating appropriateness.

scholarly journals Factors that Affect the implementation of Teaching Writing Skills: Focus on Second Cycle Primary Schools in North Shoa

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 22-30
Author(s):  
Seid Mohammed ◽  
Gessese Nigusse ◽  
Zenawi Nigussie ◽  
Belihu Zenebe
Keyword(s):  
Primary Schools ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Writing Performance ◽  
English Classes ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Language Instructors ◽  
Instruction And Learning

The purpose of this study was to determine the variables affecting the implementation of writing skills instruction and learning in grades 7 and 8 in North Shoa Zone Second Cycle Primary schools. The study's primary purpose was to determine the difficulties encountered by English language instructors and students while teaching and learning to write in English classes. The research included the participation of 25 English language instructors and 1484 pupils from 14 Second Cycle Primary Schools. A questionnaire and an interview were used to obtain the required data. Questionnaires were completed by instructors and students, and English language teachers were interviewed. The questionnaire data was tallied and examined statistically in terms of frequency and percentage. Similarly, interview data were categorized and qualitatively characterized. The investigation revealed that the majority of instructors and students struggle with teaching and learning writing skills. Additionally, although both English instructors and students believe they are engaging in writing activities in the classroom, the students' writing performance is not as promising as shown by open-ended questions and comments from English language teachers interviewed. Several key suggestions are made in light of the results of this research in order to mitigate the issues that impede the efficient implementation of writing instruction and learning in second cycle primary schools. The primary recommendation is to offer enough training for English language instructors on how to teach writing skills, which will then be conveyed to students in order for them to enhance their writing performance.

scholarly journals Translanguaging in English Language Teaching

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-48
Author(s):  
Padam Prasad Neupane
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Written Responses ◽  
Private And Public

This study explores teachers’ perspectives and practices on translanguaging in English language teaching. Especially, it focuses on how English language teachers perceive and explicate the meaning of translanguaging. The researcher got the primary data from the teachers in different private and public schools in Chitwan. All the respondents were studying in the 4th year of B.Ed major English at Birendra M. Campus Bharatpur; they all were teachers as well. First of all, some survey questions which were related to the study were sent to them via mail and got the written responses by the same means. It happened in such a way because of the lockdown due to the COVID-19. To understand the issue further, I arranged the interview and focus group discussion. I followed the standard process of analysis i.e., coding, categorizing, thematizing, and discussion. Respondents were aware of translanguaging and they took it positively. They agreed that bringing the native languages of every student to classrooms was challenging. They claimed that translanguaging enhances students’ creativity and participation in class.

scholarly journals NATIONAL AND CULTURAL PECULIARITIES OF PHONETICS IN THE AMERICAN ENGLISH

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (9(77)) ◽  
pp. 16-18
Author(s):  
Iryna Nickolayeva
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
English Language ◽  
American English ◽  
Regional Identity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Regional Dialects ◽  
Territorial Jurisdiction ◽  
Phonetic Features

The article shows the establishment of the territorial norms on the level of phonetics in the American English. It analyses their national and cultural peculiarities. The studied and presented material shows that the phonetic characteristics of the American national version of the English language have their own territorial national and cultural characteristics. The article deals with the issue of phonetic peculiarities of the dialectic language as an ideal of the signs of the territorial jurisdiction of native speakers in terms of interpersonal communication. The main causes of regional dialects are analyzed. Separately, it is noted that the phonetic characteristics of the American national version of English in the South-West of the United States have their own regional identity. It is underlined that distinctive phonetic features of the English language in the United States include not only dialect phenomena, but they are also characteristic of the literary language. The assessment of the same linguistic facts from the point of view of American and British norms is indicative in this respect. In this article, it is discussed in detail the phonetic features of American English compared to British, officially recognized in the world community the main. The American version is of the greatest interest in comparison with Canadian, Australian and New Zealand English, because, for various reasons, it has undergone a large number of changes in all aspects of the language, including phonetic. The article emphasizes that the United States is developing its own territorial phonetic norms.

scholarly journals An Exploration of EFL Teachers’ Experience with Learning Disability Training

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-134
Author(s):  
Jimalee Sowell ◽  
Larry Sugisaki
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Disability ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Language Instructors

Approximately ten percent of learners have some sort of learning disability. This means that all English language instructors will encounter students with learning disabilities and could encounter students with learning disabilities in each class. Research has shown that different countries have varying degrees of infrastructure for identifying and accommodating learning disabilities. However, little research on the degree to which English language teachers in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts have received training for learning disabilities has been carried out. This study had three goals: first, to identify whether the participants in the study, all of whom were EFL instructors, had received training for identifying and accommodating students with learning disabilities; second, among the teachers who had received training, to find out specifically the types of training they had received; and finally, to find out whether training had helped these teachers develop competence in assisting students with learning disabilities. The data were collected through a survey of past and current EFL teachers. Overall, the findings revealed that the majority of English language teachers surveyed had little to no training for accommodating learning disabilities, and the majority indicated that they did not feel confident assisting students with learning disabilities. Recommendations from this study include creating greater awareness for identifying and accommodating learning disabilities in EFL contexts among administrators and teachers as well as suggestions for EFL teachers to improve their knowledge of learning disabilities independently.

Categorical perception of English /r/ and /l/ by Japanese bilinguals

1981 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine S. MacKain ◽  
Catherine T. Best ◽  
Winifred Strange
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
English Language ◽  
Categorical Perception ◽  
American English ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Absolute Identification ◽  
Perceptual Training ◽  
Intensive Training ◽  
Japanese Group

ABSTRACTCategorical perception of a synthetic /r/-/l/ continuum was investigated with Japanese bilinguals at two levels of English language experience. The inexperienced Japanese group, referred to as Not-experienced, had had little or no previous training in English conversation. The Experienced Japanese group had had intensive training in English conversation by native American-English speakers. The tasks used were absolute identification, AXB discrimination, and oddity discrimination. Results showed classic Categorical perception by an American-English control group. The Not-experienced Japanese showed near-chance performance on all tasks, with performance no better for stimuli that straddled the /r/-/l/ boundary than for stimuli that fell in either category. The Experienced Japanese group, however, perceived /r/ and /l/ categorically. Their identification performance did not differ from the American-English controls, but their overall performance levels on the discrimination tests were somewhat lower than for the Americans. We conclude that native Japanese adults learning English as a second language are capable of Categorical perception of /r/ and /l/. Implications for perceptual training of phonemic contrasts are discussed.

scholarly journals Deviation in Academic Speech of Pakistani English Language Learners: A Corpus-Based Study

2020 ◽  
Vol V (II) ◽  
pp. 127-134
Author(s):  
Aqsa Aslam ◽  
Aniqa Rashid ◽  
Amna Aziz
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Academic Context ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Phonetic Features ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Basic English

Pakistani English language learners' speech in an academic context has been evaluated in the present research. A catalogue of 350 words that fluctuate in pronunciation from the Basic English pronunciation of these words has been instructed in the present study. Wordlist founded on a remark made over six months has been formulated along with the transcription of these words according to the British, American, and Pakistani phonetic variants to bring out the unique pronunciation of educated Pakistani speakers of English. The deviation may be an outcome of learning rifts or the impact of their native languages such as Urdu, Punjabi, Pashtu and Saraiki. The general contours in the Pakistani pronunciation of these English words have also been examined. The study may not only assist in acquainting the global audience with the distinctive phonetic features of Pakistani English but also make the Pakistani teachers and learners concentrate on these words while teaching or learning how to pronounce them.

scholarly journals Personal Variables and Anxiety in English and Mathematics: Correlational and Comparative Investigation among Pre-University Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 48-61
Author(s):  
Jerryk Comawas Alico ◽  
Usamah D. Maraorao ◽  
Rovelyn D. Maraorao
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Mathematics Anxiety ◽  
English Language ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Comparative Investigation ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
And Mathematics

Literatures on the role of students’ emotion in learning have brought to light some realizations as to how teaching should transpire. This comparative and correlational research attempts to enrich further such realizations by providing more information about language and mathematics anxieties—two of the most investigated forms of anxiety. This study also correlated some profile variables such as age, sex, ethnic affiliation, and type of high school attended to the two anxieties. Involved in the investigation were 98 pre-university students who were part of the last batch of students in the Pre-University Center in the second semester of academic year 2015-2016. The reliable questionnaires used to gather data were the Abbreviated Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (A-MARS) and the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale. Data revealed that students have significantly higher level of mathematics anxiety compared to their language anxiety level. There was a negative correlation between the said anxieties, but it was not significant. The descriptors of mathematics anxiety showed that fear of assessment and evaluation, like final grading, upcoming tests, and taking an exam, was the main cause their anxiety. However, the language anxiety descriptors only exhibited indirect and inconclusive behavioral causes to their anxiety such as feeling like not going to their English class and thinking of other irrelevant things during the class. When profile variables were correlated with mathematics and language anxieties, only sex was found to be significantly associated with mathematics anxiety while none had a significant relationship with English language anxiety. A significant difference was also found between male and female students’ mathematics anxiety levels, showing that female students were more anxious than male ones. Findings imply that mathematics and language teachers need to improve their teaching methods and styles to alleviate, if not eliminate, students’ anxieties.

scholarly journals Behavioral Pattern Analysis between Bilingual and Monolingual Listeners’ Natural Speech Perception on Foreign-Accented English Language Using Different Machine Learning Approaches

Technologies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Md Tanvir Ahad ◽  
Md Manjurul Ahsan ◽  
Ishrat Jahan ◽  
Redwan Nazim ◽  
Munshi Md. Shafwat Yazdan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Native American ◽  
Speech Perception ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
English Language ◽  
American English ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Behavioral Patterns ◽  
Accented English

Speech perception in an adverse background/noisy environment is a complex and challenging human process, which is made even more complicated in foreign-accented language for bilingual and monolingual individuals. Listeners who have difficulties in hearing are affected most by such a situation. Despite considerable efforts, the increase in speech intelligibility in noise remains elusive. Considering this opportunity, this study investigates Bengali–English bilinguals and native American English monolinguals’ behavioral patterns on foreign-accented English language considering bubble noise, gaussian or white noise, and quiet sound level. Twelve regular hearing participants (Six Bengali–English bilinguals and Six Native American English monolinguals) joined in this study. Statistical computation shows that speech with different noise has a significant effect (p = 0.009) on listening for both bilingual and monolingual under different sound levels (e.g., 55 dB, 65 dB, and 75 dB). Here, six different machine learning approaches (Logistic Regression (LR), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), K-nearest neighbors (KNN), Naïve Bayes (NB), Classification and regression trees (CART), and Support vector machine (SVM)) are tested and evaluated to differentiate between bilingual and monolingual individuals from their behavioral patterns in both noisy and quiet environments. Results show that most optimal performances were observed using LDA by successfully differentiating between bilingual and monolingual 60% of the time. A deep neural network-based model is proposed to improve this measure further and achieved an accuracy of nearly 100% in successfully differentiating between bilingual and monolingual individuals.

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