Marian J. Rossiter

Teaching Native Speakers To Listen to Foreign-Accented Speech.

This study examined the effects of cross-cultural awareness training and explicit linguistic instruction on attitudes towards and comprehension of foreign-accented speech. One group of social work students received both types of instruction; another received only cross-cultural training, and a third group served as a control (they received no instruction but participated in the pre- and post-tests). Listening comprehension passages read in Vietnamese-accented speech before and after the eight-week instruction period and a sentence transcription task revealed no significant between-group differences. Attitude questionnaires indicated increased empathy for immigrants on the part of both experimental groups. The group that received explicit instruction regarding the characteristics of Vietnamese-accented English showed significantly greater improvement in confidence that they could interact successfully with individuals who speak English as a second language, while the group that received only cross-cultural awareness showed moderate gains. Similarly, the Accent-trained group believed that their ability to understand foreign accents improved as a result of instruction to a significantly greater degree than the other groups.

ESL learners' perceptions of their pronunciation needs and strategies

Abstract In this paper we examine the perceptions of 100 adult English as a second language (ESL) learners from a variety of first language backgrounds with regard to their pronunciation difficulties and the strategies they employ when they are faced with communication breakdown. The vast majority of pronunciation problems identified by students were segmental, yet their most commonly used strategies when they had not been understood were paraphrase, self-repetition, writing/spelling, and volume adjustment. Their responses were analysed according to first language groups and proficiency levels. Students were also asked to indicate whether their accents were affected by context, and whether or not they felt they had any control over their pronunciation. Those who reported being able to control their accents also recounted how they did so. The findings are discussed with reference to pronunciation instruction and commercially available resources most often used in ESL programs across Canada. The authors make recommendations for second language teachers, drawing on research in both the pronunciation and communicative strategy literatures.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN L1 FLUENCY AND L2 FLUENCY DEVELOPMENT

A fundamental question in the study of second language (L2) fluency is the extent to which temporal characteristics of speakers’ first language (L1) productions predict the same characteristics in the L2. A close relationship between a speaker’s L1 and L2 temporal characteristics would suggest that fluency is governed by an underlying trait. This longitudinal investigation compared L1 and L2 English fluency at three times over 2 years in Russian- and Ukrainian- (which we will refer to here as Slavic) and Mandarin-speaking adult immigrants to Canada. Fluency ratings of narratives by trained judges indicated a relationship between the L1 and the L2 in the initial stages of L2 exposure, although this relationship was found to be stronger in the Slavic than in the Mandarin learners. Pauses per second, speech rate, and pruned syllables per second were all related to the listeners’ judgments in both languages, although vowel durations were not. Between-group differences may reflect differential exposure to spoken English and a closer relationship between Slavic languages and English than between Mandarin and English. Suggestions for pedagogical interventions and further research are also proposed.

'They Speaked and Wrote Real Good': Judgements of Non-native and Native Grammar

Forty adult native speakers (NSs) listened to a non-native speakers (NNS) reading of well-formed sentences and those containing grammatical errors of three types (NNS, egregious NS, and high frequency NS). Identified errors were judged for gravity on a 5-point scale. Contrary to our hypothesis, there appears to be no penalty when NNSs make grammatical errors that are also made by some NSs. A second experiment included 20 NS experts, 20 NS non-experts, and 20 advanced proficiency NNSs. All groups identified the three error types and rated them for gravity and annoyance in an aural task; they then identified the same errors in a written task. NNSs and NS experts outperformed non-expert NSs on high frequency NS errors, presumably because of heightened language awareness. The NNSs were significantly more annoyed by high frequency NS and NNS errors than were the NSs and considered all errors to be more serious than did the NSs. Identification of NNS errors was significantly better for all NSs in the aural than in the written mode, but NS experts identified more high frequency NS errors on the written task than on the aural. The differential findings can be attributed to error salience and language awareness.