1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation
  4. Volume 6, Issue 3
  5. Article
Volume 6, Issue 3
  • ISSN 2215-1931
  • E-ISSN: 2215-194X
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

This study investigated relationships among intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness in the speech of L2 learners of Spanish who completed a prompted response speaking task. Thirty native Spanish listeners from Spain were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk to transcribe and rate extracted utterances, which were also coded for grammatical and phonemic errors, and speaking rate. Descriptively, although most utterances were intelligible, their comprehensibility and accentedness varied substantially. Mixed-effects modeling showed that comprehensibility was significantly associated with intelligibility whereas accentedness was not. Additionally, phonemic and grammatical errors were significant predictors of intelligibility and comprehensibility, but only phonemic errors were significantly related to accentedness. Overall, phonemic errors displayed a stronger negative association with the listener-based dimensions than grammatical errors. These findings suggest that English-speaking learners of Spanish are not as uniformly intelligible and comprehensible as FL instructors might believe and shed light on relationships among speech constructs in an L2 other than English.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/jslp.20009.nag
2020-07-07
2024-12-03

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/jslp.20009.nag
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. ACTFL
    ACTFL (2018) Enrollments in languages other than English in United States institutions of higher education, summer 2016 and fall 2016: Preliminary report. https://www.mla.org/content/download/83540/2197676/2016-Enrollments-Short-Report.pdf
     [Google Scholar]
  2. American Community Survey
    American Community Survey (2015) Detailed languages spoken at home and ability to speak English for the population 5 years and over: 2009–2013. https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2013/demo/2009-2013-lang-tables.html
     [Google Scholar]
  3. American Councils for International Education
    American Councils for International Education (2017) The National K-12 Foreign Language Enrollment Survey Report. https://www.americancouncils.org/sites/default/files/FLE-report-June17.pdf
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Bates, D. , Maechler, M. , Bolker, B. , & Walker, S.
    (2014) _lme4: Linear mixed-effects models using Eigen and S4_. R package version 1.1.-7. CRAN.R-project.org/package=lme4
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Bergeron, A. , & Trofimovich, P.
    (2017) Linguistic dimensions of accentedness and comprehensibility: Exploring task and listener effects in second language French. Foreign Language Annals, 50, 547–566. doi:  10.1111/flan.12285
     https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12285 [Google Scholar]
  6. Crowther, D. , Trofimovich, P. , & Isaacs, T.
    (2016) Linguistic dimensions of second language accent and comprehensibility. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 2, 160–182. doi:  10.1075/jslp.2.2.02cro
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.2.2.02cro [Google Scholar]
  7. Crowther, D. , Trofimovich, P. , Isaacs, T. , & Saito, K.
    (2018) Linguistic dimensions of L2 accentedness and comprehensibility vary across speaking tasks. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 40, 443–457. doi:  10.1017/S027226311700016X
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S027226311700016X [Google Scholar]
  8. De Jong, N. H. , & Bosker, H. R.
    (2013) Choosing a threshold for silent pauses to measure second language fluency. Paper presented atDiSS, Stockholm.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Derwing, T. M. , & Munro, M. J.
    (1997) Accent, intelligibility, and comprehensibility: Evidence from four L1s. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 1–16. doi:  10.1017/S0272263197001010
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263197001010 [Google Scholar]
  10. (2013) The development of L2 oral language skills in two L1 groups: A 7-year study. Language Learning, 63(2), 163–185. doi:  10.1111/lang.12000
     https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12000 [Google Scholar]
  11. Foote, J. A. , & Trofimovich, P.
    (2018) Is it because of my language background? A study of language background influence on comprehensibility judgments. Canadian Modern Language Review, 74, 253–278. doi:  10.3138/cmlr.2017‑0011
     https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.2017-0011 [Google Scholar]
  12. Fuertes, J. N. , Gottdiener, W. H. , Martin, H. , Gilbert, T. C. , & Giles, H.
    (2012) A metaanalysis of the effects of speakers’ accents on interpersonal evaluations. European Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 120–133. doi:  10.1002/ejsp.862
     https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.862 [Google Scholar]
  13. George, A.
    (2017) Effects of listener and speaker characteristics on foreign accent in L2 Spanish. JSMULA, 5, 127–148.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Huensch, A.
    (2019) Pronunciation in foreign language classrooms: Instructors’ training, classroom practices, and beliefs. Language Teaching Research, 23, 745–764. doi:  10.1177/1362168818767182
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168818767182 [Google Scholar]
  15. Isaacs, T. , & Trofimovich, P.
    (2012) Deconstructing comprehensibility: Identifying the linguistic influences on listeners’ L2 comprehensibility ratings. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 34, 475–505. doi:  10.1017/S0272263112000150
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263112000150 [Google Scholar]
  16. Kang, O. , Thomson, R. I. , & Moran, M.
    (2018) Empirical approaches to measuring the intelligibility of different varieties of English in predicting listener comprehension: Measuring intelligibility in varieties of English. Language Learning, 68, 115–146. doi:  10.1111/lang.12270
     https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12270 [Google Scholar]
  17. Kennedy, S. , & Trofimovich, P.
    (2008) Intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness of L2 speech: The role of listener experience and semantic context. Canadian Modern Language Review, 64, 459–489. doi:  10.3138/cmlr.64.3.459
     https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.64.3.459 [Google Scholar]
  18. Kissling, E. M.
    (2013) Teaching pronunciation: Is explicit phonetics instruction beneficial for FL learners?The Modern Language Journal, 97(3), 720–744. doi:  10.1111/j.1540‑4781.2013.12029.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2013.12029.x [Google Scholar]
  19. Levis, J. M.
    (2005) Changing contexts and shifting paradigms in pronunciation teaching. TESOL Quarterly39, 369–377. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3588485
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Lord, G.
    (2005) (How) can we teach foreign language pronunciation? On the effects of a Spanish phonetics course. Hispania, 88, 557–567. doi:  10.2307/20063159
     https://doi.org/10.2307/20063159 [Google Scholar]
  21. (2008) Podcasting communities and second language pronunciation. Foreign Language Annals, 41, 365–379. doi:  10.1111/j.1944‑9720.2008.tb03297.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2008.tb03297.x [Google Scholar]
  22. Marsden, E. , Mackey, A. , & Plonsky, L.
    (2016) The IRIS Repository: Advancing research practice and methodology. In A. Mackey & E. Marsden (Eds.), Advancing methodology and practice: The IRIS repository of instruments for research into second languages (pp.1–21). Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. McBride, K.
    (2015) Which features of Spanish learners’ pronunciation most impact listener evaluations?Hispania, 98, 14–30. doi:  10.1353/hpn.2015.0001
     https://doi.org/10.1353/hpn.2015.0001 [Google Scholar]
  24. Munro, M. J. , & Derwing, T. M.
    (2001) Modeling perceptions of the accentedness and comprehensibility of L2 speech: The role of speaking rate. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23, 451–468. 10.1017/S0272263101004016
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263101004016 [Google Scholar]
  25. (1995) Foreign accent, comprehensibility, and intelligibility in the speech of second language learners. Language Learning, 45, 73–97. doi:  10.1111/j.1467‑1770.1995.tb00963.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1995.tb00963.x [Google Scholar]
  26. Munro, M. J. , Derwing, T. M. , & Morton, S. L.
    (2006) The mutual intelligibility of L2 speech. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 28, 111–131. doi:  10.1017/S0272263106060049
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263106060049 [Google Scholar]
  27. Nagle, C.
    (2018) Motivation, comprehensibility, and accentedness in L2 Spanish: Investigating motivation as a time-varying predictor of pronunciation development. The Modern Language Journal, 102, 199–217. doi:  10.1111/modl.12461
     https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12461 [Google Scholar]
  28. (2019) Developing and validating a methodology for crowdsourcing L2 speech ratings in Amazon Mechanical Turk. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 5(2), 294–323. doi:  10.1075/jslp.18016.nag
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.18016.nag [Google Scholar]
  29. Nagle, C. , Sachs, R. , & Zárate-Sández, G.
    (2018) Exploring the intersection between teachers’ beliefs and research findings in pronunciation instruction. The Modern Language Journal, 102(3), 512–532. doi:  10.1111/modl.12493
     https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12493 [Google Scholar]
  30. O’Brien, M. G.
    (2014) L2 learners’ assessments of accentedness, fluency, and comprehensibility of native and nonnative German speech: L2 learner assessments. Language Learning, 64, 715–748. doi:  10.1111/lang.12082
     https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12082 [Google Scholar]
  31. R Core Team
    R Core Team (2019) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. www.R-project.org/
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Ruivivar, J. , & Collins, L.
    (2018) Nonnative accent and the perceived grammaticality of spoken grammar forms. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 5(2), 269–293. doi:  10.1075/jslp.17039.rui
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.17039.rui [Google Scholar]
  33. Saito, K. , & Akiyama, Y.
    (2017) Linguistic correlates of comprehensibility in second language Japanese speech. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 3, 199–217. doi:  10.1075/jslp.3.2.02sai
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.3.2.02sai [Google Scholar]
  34. Saito, K. , Trofimovich, P. , & Isaacs, T.
    (2017) Using listener judgments to investigate linguistic influences on L2 comprehensibility and accentedness: A validation and generalization study. Applied Linguistics, 38, 439–462. doi:  10.1093/applin/amv047
     https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amv047 [Google Scholar]
  35. Schairer, K. E.
    (1992) Native speaker reaction to non-native speech. The Modern Language Journal, 76, 309–319. doi:  10.1111/j.1540‑4781.1992.tb07001.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1992.tb07001.x [Google Scholar]
  36. Schoonmaker-Gates, E.
    (2015) On voice-onset time as a cue to foreign accent in Spanish: Native and nonnative perceptions. Hispania, 98, 779–791. doi:  10.1353/hpn.2015.0110
     https://doi.org/10.1353/hpn.2015.0110 [Google Scholar]
  37. Trofimovich, P. , & Isaacs, T.
    (2012) Disentangling accent from comprehensibility. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15, 905–916. doi:  10.1017/S1366728912000168
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728912000168 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/jslp.20009.nag
Loading
Expanding the scope of L2 intelligibility research
Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 6, 329 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.20009.nag
/content/journals/10.1075/jslp.20009.nag
/content/journals/10.1075/jslp.20009.nag
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): accentedness; comprehensibility; intelligibility; L2 Spanish

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error