ERIC Number: EJ686966
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Dec
Pages: 25
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0023-8333
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Second Language Fluency: Judgments on Different Tasks
Derwing, Tracey M.; Rossiter, Marian J.; Munro, Murray J.; Thomson, Ron I.
Language Learning, v54 n4 p655-679 Dec 2004
In this study we determined whether untrained raters' assessments of fluency in low-proficiency second language speech were related to temporal measures and whether they varied across tasks. We collected speech samples from 20 beginner Mandarin learners of English on picture description, monologue, and dialogue tasks. Temporal measures were made on each sample. Twenty-eight untrained judges rated fluency, comprehensibility, and accentedness. Three trained raters also judged samples for "goodness of prosody." The rating data paralleled the speech measurements: speakers performance on the monologue and dialogue tasks was significantly better than on the narratives; however, listeners judgments of goodness of prosody did not vary across tasks. Comprehensibility and fluency ratings were highly correlated; fluency was more strongly related to comprehensibility than to accentedness.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A