Differential Effects of Instruction on the Development of Second Language Comprehensibility, Word Stress, Rhythm, and Intonation: The Case of Inexperienced Japanese EFL Learners

Autor/inn/en	Saito, Yukie; Saito, Kazuya
Titel	Differential Effects of Instruction on the Development of Second Language Comprehensibility, Word Stress, Rhythm, and Intonation: The Case of Inexperienced Japanese EFL Learners
Quelle	In: Language Teaching Research, 21 (2017) 5, S.589-608 (20 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1362-1688
DOI	10.1177/1362168816643111
Schlagwörter	Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; English (Second Language); Japanese; Native Language; Intonation; Phonology; Pronunciation Instruction; Suprasegmentals; Experimental Groups; Control Groups; Acoustics; Native Speakers; Pretests Posttests; Teaching Methods; Phonemes; Language Rhythm; Evaluators; Instructional Effectiveness; Comparative Analysis; Statistical Analysis + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Japaner; Japanisch; Fonologie; Ausspracheübung; Akustik; Muttersprachler; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Fonem; Sprachrhythmus; Unterrichtserfolg; Statistische Analyse
Abstract	The current study examined in depth the effects of suprasegmental-based instruction on the global (comprehensibility) and suprasegmental (word stress, rhythm, and intonation) development of Japanese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Students in the experimental group (n = 10) received a total of three hours of instruction over six weeks, while those in the control group (n = 10) were provided with meaning-oriented instruction without any focus on suprasegmentals. Speech samples elicited from read-aloud tasks were assessed via native-speaking listeners' intuitive judgments and acoustic analyses. Overall, the pre-/post-test data showed significant gains in the overall comprehensibility, word stress, rhythm, and intonation of the experimental group in both trained and untrained lexical contexts. In particular, by virtue of explicitly addressing first language/second language linguistic differences, the instruction was able to help learners mark stressed syllables with longer and clearer vowels; reduce vowels in unstressed syllables; and use appropriate intonation patterns for yes/no and "wh"-questions. The findings provide empirical support for the value of suprasegmental-based instruction in phonological development, even with beginner-level EFL learners with a limited amount of second-language conversational experience. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01