Exploring the Dynamic Nature of Second Language Listeners’ Perceived Fluency: A Mixed‐Methods Approach

Abstract

Despite the status of English as the lingua franca of the world (Seidlhofer, 2011) and the growing number of English as a second language (L2) users (Pennycook, 2017), researchers have mostly investigated L2‐accented English based on native speakers’ perceptions. In particular, a number of previous studies have looked at native English speakers’ perceptions of fluency (e.g., Bosker, Pinget, Quene, Sanders, & de Jong, 2013). Only a limited number of studies have examined L2 speakers’ perceptions of the same phenomenon (for a rare exception, see Rossiter, 2009). Therefore, we know very little about how L2 users conceptualize fluency, and what their subjective conceptualizations of fluency are. Thus, the current study took the first step to investigate the factors affecting L2 users’ intuitive perceptions of L2 fluency using an explanatory sequential mixed‐methods design.