BIROn - Birkbeck Institutional Research Online

Second language speech production: investigating linguistic correlates of comprehensibility and accentedness for learners at different ability levels

Saito, Kazuya and Trofimovich, P. and Isaacs, T. (2016) Second language speech production: investigating linguistic correlates of comprehensibility and accentedness for learners at different ability levels. Applied Psycholinguistics 37 (2), pp. 217-240. ISSN 0142-7164.

[img]
Preview
Text
13311.pdf - Author's Accepted Manuscript

Download (564kB) | Preview

Abstract

The current project aimed to investigate the potentially different linguistic correlates of comprehensibility (i.e., ease of understanding) and accentedness (i.e., linguistic nativelikeness) in adult second language (L2) learners’ extemporaneous speech production. Timed picture descriptions from 120 beginner, intermediate, and advanced Japanese learners of English were analyzed using native speaker global judgments based on learners’ comprehensibility and accentedness, and then submitted to segmental, prosodic, temporal, lexical, and grammatical analyses. Results showed that comprehensibility was related to all linguistic domains, and accentedness was strongly tied with pronunciation (specifically segmentals) rather than lexical and grammatical domains. In particular, linguistic correlates of L2 comprehensibility and accentedness were found to vary by learners’ proficiency levels. In terms of comprehensibility, optimal rate of speech, appropriate and rich vocabulary use, and adequate and varied prosody were important for beginner to intermediate levels, whereas segmental accuracy, good prosody, and correct grammar featured strongly for intermediate to advanced levels. For accentedness, grammatical complexity was a feature of intermediate to high-level performance, whereas segmental and prosodic variables were essential to accentedness across all levels. These findings suggest that syllabi tailored to learners’ proficiency level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced) and learning goal (comprehensibility or nativelike accent) would be advantageous for the teaching of L2 speaking.

Metadata

Item Type: Article
School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication
Depositing User: Kazuya Saito
Date Deposited: 04 Nov 2015 13:55
Last Modified: 17 Jul 2025 02:25
URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/13311

Statistics

6 month trend
2,317Downloads
6 month trend
291Hits

Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.

Archive Staff Only (login required)

Edit/View Item
Edit/View Item