scholarly journals A Perceptual Study of Phonological Variations in Pakistani English

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Abdul Malik Abbasi ◽  
Mansoor Ahmed Channa ◽  
Innayatullah Kakepoto ◽  
Rida Ali ◽  
Misbeh Mehmood
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Lexical Stress ◽  
English As Second Language ◽  
Perceptual Judgments ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
Accented English ◽  
The Right ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Stress Patterns

The present study examines the perceptual judgments of English lexical items and English lexical stress by Urdu ESL (Note 1) (English as Second Language) learners. The analysis discusses the different sound systems of both languages and their syllabification system coupled with the stress patterns. The stimuli of 50 high frequency English words were designed as data collection tool for counting the number of syllables and for marking lexical stress as follows: 9 monosyllabic, 11 disyllabic, 10 tri-syllabic, 10 four-syllabic and 10 five-syllabic words. All participating subjects were 40 under graduate students from the department of computer sciences, Sindh Madressatul Islam University (SMIU) Karachi. The findings of the study show English lexical items were syllabified with different numbers and primary stressed syllables were also marked with different places of the lexical items, however, data also show the correct syllabification and the right placement of lexical stress which is a strong evidence manifesting as Urdu-accented English perceived and produced by Urdu ESL learners. 

The effect of phonological variation on adult learner comprehension

1981 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Eisenstein ◽  
Diana Berkowitz
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Research Report ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Phonological Variation ◽  
Adult Esl ◽  
Accented English ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
The Relationship

This research report focuses on the relationship of English phonological variation to intelligibility for adult second language learners of English. Fifty-eight adult ESL learners (29 advanced beginners and 29 high intermediates) were tested' on their ability to understand working-class (New Yorkese), educated (Standard English) and foreign-accented speakers of English. Subjects were also asked to rank these speakers according to expected ease of comprehension. Findings from this study indicate Standard English to be more intelligible than either New Yorkese or foreign accented English for these learners.

scholarly journals Interpreting Accent Marks as Hiatus Indicators: Syllabification Intuitions for io Sequences in US Spanish

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Elizabeth Beaton
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Lexical Stress ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Reading Task ◽  
Spanish Phonology ◽  
Heritage Speakers Of Spanish ◽  
High Vowels ◽  
Listening Task ◽  
Stress Patterns

This study considers the syllabification perceptions of heritage speakers of Spanish (HSS), second language learners, and monolingual speakers in words with io sequences in order to understand the differences between HSS and the other two groups. Participants completed a reading task and then a listening task in which they indicated the number of syllables in each stimulus perceived. Three different lexical stress patterns were tested: stress on i (like río), stress on o (like pidió), and atonic syllables (like folio). The results show that heritage participants behave like monolinguals with audio stimuli, but in the reading task they interpret orthographic accent marks as indicators that two vowels should be divided into separate syllables. This leads to accurate interpretations of stimuli with stress on i, since Spanish phonology dictates that stressed high vowels are syllabified in hiatus. Atonic syllables, which lack an orthographic accent, are correctly syllabified as diphthongs. However, heritage participants were less accurate with stress on o because they treated these stimuli like those with stress on i. These findings have implications for both linguistic theory and for pedagogy

scholarly journals EXPOSURE TO ENGLISHES IN LISTENING CLASSROOMS: THE PERSPECTIVES OF INDONESIAN ESL LEARNERS

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-68
Author(s):  
Reni Kusumaningputri
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
The Right ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Ted Talks ◽  
Single Variety

Due to the global scale of English use, English as a lingua franca (ELF) is at play. Given this reality, exposes to different varieties of English rather than a single variety of English, preparing second language learners to Englishes is paramount for readiness to involve in ELF communication. This paper reports on the classroom instruction of exposing college listeners with Englishes via TED talks using a portfolio to find out how they see these varieties and what they can learn from them. Data were from records of portfolio and questions at the end of the instruction. Using general inductive analysis, there were three lessons learned from the instruction. Acknowledgement of many models of English, Englishes can be the ‘right’ English, and Englishes as a marker of identity were lessons observed to appear from the Englishes exposure. The exposes to Englishes also brought about complexities of wholehearted adoption to Indonesian accent. Pedagogical implications for classroom instructions are also made.

scholarly journals “Reduced Forms” Influence on Second Language Learners’ Listening Input-Intake Conversion

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 194-199
Author(s):  
Yueyang Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Comprehension Ability ◽  
Input Hypothesis ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Reduced Forms

This article analyses the factors influencing the process of input-intake conversion and focuses on the effect of “reduced forms” on English as a Second Language (ESL) learners’ listening comprehension. The Input Hypothesis, the Noticing Hypothesis, the input-intake relationship, and the factors influencing the input-intake relationship are critically reviewed and analyzed. The empirical study of Brown and Hilferty [1] is reviewed and discussed to show reduced forms’ influence on ESL learners’ listening comprehension. The results prove that integrating reduced forms into ESL lessons is both necessary and meaningful for improving students’ listening comprehension ability.

scholarly journals Voicing up in Debate Competition: Oral Development of Two Malaysian ESL Learners

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Farzaneh Amiri ◽  
Moomala Othman ◽  
Maryam Jahedi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
Communicative Strategies ◽  
English Second Language ◽  
Oral Development ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
The Impact

This research used a qualitative approach to focus on the classroom debate between Malaysian English second language learners (ESL). Since debate has been often perceived as not a suitable activity for low proficiency students due to their limited linguistic resources, there has not been much emphasis on the impact of debate on incompetent ESL learners; however, this study was an attempt to concentrate on two students who were not competent in English to investigate their oral development via debate. The study observed the communicative strategies employed in this challenging task during the five debate rounds. Although the progress made was quite limited, the study showed that debate competition can be a relevant and meaningful practice for speaking activity among low proficiency students. Moreover, it showed that debate can be used to scaffold students’ practice in speaking.

scholarly journals Politeness in Business Communication: Investigating English Modal Sequences in Chinese Learners’ Letter Writing

RELC Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
David D. Qian ◽  
Mingwei Pan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Letter Writing ◽  
Epistemic Modality ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
Tertiary Level ◽  
Esl Learners

Politeness has been a source of inspiration for research in pragmatics and inter- and intra-cultural communication. However, the existing literature focusses more on how politeness is realized in the context of first language use. Few studies have investigated the issue related to the use of English by second language learners from varying subcultures within the same cultural tradition. The present study examines how Hong Kong and Shanghai tertiary-level learners of English convey politeness in their business letter writing, as reflected in the use of modal sequences. Three hundred business letters were collected from students in Hong Kong and another 300 from students in Shanghai. Majoring in various disciplines, these students were all in their final year of study, and their English proficiency level was generally scored at B2, as compared with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Following a mixed-methods approach, the study tracked a rather complex distribution of politeness realizations by different modal sequences. The findings were that Hong Kong ESL learners appeared to be more strategic users of modal sequences as evidenced by a variety of usage examples from the two purpose-built learner corpora, which were developed to monitor and compare English learners’ business writing at the tertiary level. Another finding was that epistemic modality tended to better preserve politeness in the writing.

scholarly journals READING INTEREST AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH READING PERFORMANCE: A STUDY OF ENGLISH AS SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN MALAYSIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 1154-1161
Author(s):  
Siti Normala Muhamad ◽  
Mohd Nazri Latiff Azmi ◽  
Isyaku Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
English As Second Language ◽  
Reading Interests ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Reading Interest

Purpose of the study: This study aims to specifically examine reading interest among English as a Second Language (ESL) learners and determine its relationship with their performance in ESL classrooms. Methodology: This study is based on cross-sectional survey design, comprising a randomly selected sample of 351 ESL learners from the state of Terengganu. The questionnaire was used as a data-gathering instrument, consisting of pre-test and post-test items using Know Want Learn (KW Leading method). Main Findings: The findings revealed that most of the ESL learners read English materials for academic purposes rather than news and entertainment. Also, there is a significant relationship between ESL learners’ reading interests and their performance in ESL classrooms. Applications: This study consists of empirical evidence regarding students’ reading interests and their correlation with their performance in the ESL classroom. This could help ESL teachers to rectify the students’ problems in reading English materials. Novelty/Originality: This study provides valuable information on the importance of reading interests in determining students’ performance, particularly in ESL classrooms.

scholarly journals Exploring the Reasons for the Fossilization of Phonological Errors: A case study of the substitution of/o/for/ɔ/by English as Second Language Learners in Sri Lanka

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Kaushika Premarathne
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
English As Second Language ◽  
Phonological Features ◽  
Correct Pronunciation ◽  
Back Vowel ◽  
Phonological Errors

Over the past decades, various teaching methods adopted from time to time have placed pronunciation teaching in the forefront or in the backend. This has resulted in second language facilitators to completely disregard or relentlessly correct pronunciation depending on their intuition due to the lack of research on pronunciation teaching or proper guidance. In Sri Lanka, since there has been no general agreement on pronunciation teaching, it is being considered merely a supplementary task which is often overlooked. As a result of this, certain phonological features have got fossilized in the code repertoire of English as second language learners in Sri Lanka. Past studies on phonology in Sri Lanka bear evidence that phonological deviations can lead to a class distinction in Sri Lankan society which can even have an adverse outcome at a job interview or any social gathering (Parakrama, 1995; Gunesekera, 2005). The aim of this study is to record literature on pronunciation teaching in Sri Lanka and to investigate reasons for fossilization of phonological features. A questionnaire was administered among 25 high proficiency learners who have been pursuing higher studies in English medium to find out reasons for English as Second Language learners in Sri Lanka to substitute the mid back vowel/o/for the low back vowel/ɔ/. According to literature, L1 dominance on L2 attributes for learners to deviate from the codified norms of the Standard Sri Lankan English (SSLE). In line with the Noticing Hypothesis, the Output Hypothesis, and the Interactional model, the findings showcase that the lack of sufficient guidance and the lack of awareness on the part of facilitators and learners respectively are the most salient factors that prevent the formation of new phonological categories which do not exist in the L1. It is recommended for facilitators to make learners aware of their phonological errors to avoid fossilization of erroneous forms.

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