NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Showing all 13 results Save | Export
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
Li, Peng; Baills, Florence; Prieto, Pilar – Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2020
While empirical studies have shown the beneficial role of observing and producing hand gestures mimicking pitch features in the learning of L2 tonal or intonational contrasts, mixed results have been obtained for the use of gestures encoding durational contrasts at the perceptual level. This study investigates the potential benefits of horizontal…
Descriptors: Nonverbal Communication, Second Language Learning, Cognitive Processes, Japanese
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
Rachida Ganga; Haoyan Ge; Marijn E. Struiksma; Virginia Yip; Aoju Chen – Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2024
It has been proposed that second language (L2) learners differ from native speakers in processing due to either influence from their native language or an inability to integrate information from multiple linguistic domains in a second language. To shed new light on the underlying mechanism of L2 processing, we used an event-related potentials…
Descriptors: Language Processing, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
Saito, Kazuya; Macmillan, Konstantinos; Kachlicka, Magdalena; Kunihara, Takuya; Minematsu, Nobuaki – Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2023
Whereas many scholars have emphasized the relative importance of "comprehensibility" as an ecologically valid goal for L2 speech training, testing, and development, eliciting listeners' judgments is time-consuming. Following calls for research on more efficient L2 speech rating methods in applied linguistics, and growing attention toward…
Descriptors: Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Interrater Reliability, Speech Communication
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
Foltz, Anouschka – Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2021
While monolingual speakers can use contrastive pitch accents to predict upcoming referents, bilingual speakers do not always use this cue predictively in their L2. The current study examines the role of recent exposure for predictive processing in native German (L1) second language learners of English (L2). In Experiment 1, participants followed…
Descriptors: Suprasegmentals, Intonation, Native Language, Second Language Learning
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
Crowther, Dustin; Trofimovich, Pavel; Saito, Kazuya; Isaacs, Talia – Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2018
This study critically examined the previously reported partial independence between second language (L2) accentedness (degree to which L2 speech differs from the target variety) and comprehensibility (ease of understanding). In prior work, comprehensibility was linked to multiple linguistic dimensions of L2 speech (phonology, fuency, lexis,…
Descriptors: Oral Language, Language Tests, Second Language Learning, Pronunciation
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
van Maastricht, Lieke; Krahmer, Emiel; Swerts, Marc; Prieto, Pilar – Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2019
This study examines the acquisition process of speech rhythm in Dutch learners of Spanish (DLS) and Spanish learners of Dutch (SLD) at different proficiency levels to determine whether learning direction affects the success of rhythm acquisition in a foreign language (L2). Analyses of lengthening effects showed that the two learner groups followed…
Descriptors: Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Spanish, Language Rhythm
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
Reid, Kym Taylor; Trofimovich, Pavel; O'Brien, Mary Grantham – Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2019
This study examined whether social bias manipulation can influence how naïve multiage listeners evaluate second language (L2) speech. Sixty native English-speaking listeners (Montreal residents) rated audio recordings of 40 Quebec French speakers of L2 English for five dimensions of oral performance (accentedness, comprehensibility, segmental…
Descriptors: Social Attitudes, Language Attitudes, Pronunciation, English (Second Language)
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
Baills, Florence; Suárez-González, Nerea; González-Fuente, Santiago; Prieto, Pilar – Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2019
This study investigates the perception and production of a specific type of metaphoric gesture that mimics melody in speech, also called "pitch gesture," in the learning of L2 suprasegmental features. In a between-subjects design, a total of 106 participants with no previous knowledge of Chinese were asked to observe (Experiment 1) and…
Descriptors: Mandarin Chinese, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Phonology
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
Yuan, Chenjie; González-Fuente, Santiago; Baills, Florence; Prieto, Pilar – Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2019
Recent studies on the learning of L2 prosody have suggested that pitch gestures can enhance the learning of the L2 lexical tones. Yet it remains unclear whether the use of these gestures can aid the learning of L2 intonation, especially by tonal-language speakers. Sixty-four Mandarin speakers with basic-level Spanish were asked to learn three…
Descriptors: Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
Parlak, Özgür; Ziegler, Nicole – Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2017
Although previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of recasts on second language (L2) morphology and lexis (e.g., Li, 2010; Mackey & Goo, 2007), few studies have examined their effect on learners' phonological development (although see Saito, 2015; Saito & Lyster, 2012). The current study investigates the impact of recasts on the…
Descriptors: Computer Mediated Communication, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Teaching Methods
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
Saito, Kazuya; Suzukida, Yui; Sun, Hui – Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2019
The current study longitudinally examined the influence of aptitude on second language (L2) pronunciation development when 40 first-year Japanese university students engaged in practice activities inside and outside English-as-a-Foreign-Language classrooms over one academic year. Spontaneous speech samples were elicited at the beginning, middle,…
Descriptors: Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Pronunciation, Pronunciation Instruction
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
Saito, Kazuya; Wu, Xianghua – Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2014
The current study examined how form-focused instruction (FFI) with and without corrective feedback (CF) as output enhancement facilitated second language (L2) perception of Mandarin tones at both the phonetic and phonological levels by 41 Cantonese learners of Mandarin. Two experimental groups, FFI only and FFI-CF, received a 90-min FFI treatment…
Descriptors: Mandarin Chinese, Sino Tibetan Languages, Native Language, Second Language Learning
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Zuengler, Jane – Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 1988
Native Spanish speakers learning English as a second language, asked to mimic an American speaking Spanish with an American accent, displayed a tacit awareness of English-Spanish sound distinctions and, in particular, allophonic differences. (Author/CB)
Descriptors: English (Second Language), Intonation, Language Attitudes, Language Styles