This study examines the methodology of global foreign accent ratings in studies on L2 speech production. In three experiments, we test how variation in raters, range within speech samples, as well as instructions and procedures affects ratings of accent in predominantly monolingual speakers of German, non-native speakers of German, as well as…

This mixed-methods study examines the effects of rating scale length and rater experience on listeners' judgments of second-language (L2) speech. Twenty experienced and 20 novice raters, who were randomly assigned to 5-point or 9-point rating scale conditions, judged speech samples of 38 newcomers to Canada on numerical rating scales for…

Learners frequently experience phonologically inconsistent input, such as exposure to multiple accents. Yet, little is known about the consequences of phonological inconsistency for language learning. The current study examines vocabulary acquisition with different degrees of phonological inconsistency, ranging from no inconsistency (e.g., both…

Prompted by the recent shift of attention from just focusing on the top-down processing in L2 reading towards considering the basic component, bottom-up processing, the role of phonological component has also enjoyed popularity among a selected circle of SLA investigators (Koda, 2005). This study investigated the effect of the automatization of…

Since pronunciations of vowel clusters are among the most unpredictable letter-sound correspondences in English and therefore children learning to read must often rely on something other than spelling as a clue to pronunciation of vowel cluster words, data relating to pronunciation frequencies of certain vowel clusters were gathered for this…

Bibliography included. (DS)

English-speaking children and adults who were learning Dutch at school and at work, without signigicant amounts of foreign language instruction, were tested at five-month intervals during their first year in Holland. The test battery included tests for active and passive control of phonology, morphology, syntax and vocabulary. Significant…

The eight papers in this volume, prepared by staff and students of the Institute for Applied Language Studies of Edinburgh University, address a variety of issues in applied linguistics. The papers include: (1) "A Coding System for Analyzing a Spoken Database" (Joan Cutting); (2) "L2 Perceptual Acquisition: The Effect of…

This study sought to test the validity of the claim that certain Swedish and corresponding English vowel phonemes are indistinguishable when presented in a test containing isolated minimally contrastive words. It also sought to find a hierarchy of perceptual differences between Swedish and English phonemes. A series of 40 pairs of monosyllabic…

THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO INVESTIGATE THE SPECIFIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TYPE OF BILINGUALISM (COMPOUND OR COORDINATE) AND THE ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION AND LISTENING SKILLS OF NATIVE SPEAKERS OF SPANISH. THIRTY-SIX STUDENTS FROM VARIOUS PARTS OF LATIN AMERICA WHO WERE COMPLETING A TEN-WEEK COLLEGE PREPARATORY "ENGLISH ORIENTATION" COURSE AT LOUISIANA…

Outlined in this report developed at Goteborgs University are the construction and administering details for a test designed to measure passive proficiency in pronunciation of English as a second language. The phonemic choice, rhythm and intonation, and phonetic analysis factors of pronunciation are evaluated. A statistical correlation of the…

An attempt was made to further the understanding of foreign language proficiencies and to formulate methods of testing them. Language testing is needed as a criterion of the efficacy of teaching. Consideration of the curriculum and analysis of the texts used would aid in test construction. A discussion of the design and content of language tests…

An analysis of French oral proficiency and guidelines for evaluating and testing the development of such proficiency in learning French as a second language are the keynotes of this dissertation. The speech patterns (structural complexity, rate of production, and hesitation) of three groups of French students with various levels of audiolingual…

Appraised objectively in this article is a 3-year research project that involved experimentation with audiolingual methods in teaching standard English in Freshman English classes at Chaflin College in South Carolina to Negro students who spoke a nonstandard dialect. Prior to a discussion of the effectiveness of using spelling instruction to teach…

The collection of papers on language development and African-American children includes: "The Challenges of Conducting Language Research with African American Children" (Holly K. Craig); "Issues in Recruiting African American Participants for Research" (Joyce L. Harris); "Issues in Assessing the Language Abilities of…