SPEECH RATE AND PAUSING IN ENGLISH: COMPARING LEARNERS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PROFICIENCY WITH NATIVE SPEAKERS

Lan-Fen Huang ； Tomás Gráf

《Taiwan Journal of TESOL》 17卷1期 (2020/04) Pp. 57-86

https://doi.org/10.30397/TJTESOL.202004_17(1).0003

摘要

In its descriptors for oral fluency the Common European Framework of Reference includes frequent references to the tempo of speech and the use of pausing. The present study aims to provide empirical evidence that these fluency phenomena exist; it also seeks to establish how they distinguish two different levels of proficiency (B2 and C1) among L2 English speakers as well as between these speakers and native speakers. The analysis is based on a large dataset of 50 native English speakers and 89 learners of English (derived from the LOCNEC corpus, and from the Czech and Taiwanese sub-corpora of LINDSEI); it compares their speech rates and the frequency and location of unfilled pauses in picture description tasks. Significant differences are found between all the groups showing that even between B2 and C1 levels the growth of proficiency is accompanied by an increase in speech rate and a decrease in the frequency of pausing, particularly within clauses and within constituents. By establishing the ranges of these values, the study sets possible targets which can be exploited for the purposes of language teaching and assessment.

關鍵字

learner corpus research ； fluency variables ； speech rates ； unfilled pauses

參考文獻

Tavakoli, P. (2011). Pausing patterns: Differences between L2 learners and native speakers. ELT Journal, 65(1), 71-79. doi:10.1093/elt/ccq1020

Whiteside, S. P. (1996). Temporal-based acoustic-phonetic patterns in read speech: Some evidence for speaker sex differences. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 26(1), 23-40. doi:10.1017/S0025100300005302

De Jong, N. H., Groenhout, R., Schoonen, R., & Hulstijn, J. H. (2015). Second language fluency: Speaking style of proficiency? Correcting measures of second language fluency for first language behavior. Applied Psycholinguistics, 36(2), 223-243.

Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J. (1997). Accent, intelligibility, and comprehensibility: Evidence from four L1s. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19(1), 1-16.

Derwing, T. M., Munro, M. J., Thomson, R. I., & Rossiter, M. J. (2009). The relationship between L1 fluency and L2 fluency development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 31(4), 533-557.