The growing availability of mobile technologies has contributed to an increase in mobile-assisted language learning in which learners can autonomously study a second language (L2) anytime or anywhere (e.g. Kukulska-Hulme, Lee & Norris, 2017; Reinders & Benson, 2017). Research investigating the effectiveness of such study for L2 learning, however, has been limited, especially regarding large-scale commercial L2 learning apps, such as Duolingo. Although one commissioned research study found favorable language learning outcomes (Vesselinov & Grego, 2012), limited independent research has reported issues related to learner persistence, motivation, and program efficacy (Lord, 2015; Nielson, 2011). The current study investigates the semester-long learning experiences and results of nine participants learning Turkish on Duolingo. The participants showed improvement on L2 measures at the end of the study, and results indicate a positive, moderate correlation between the amount of time spent on Duolingo and learning gains. In terms of perceptions of their experiences, the participants generally viewed Duolingo’s flexibility and gamification aspects positively; however, variability in motivation to study and frustration with instructional materials were also expressed.
Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S1366728914000832How to cite this article: PAVEL TROFIMOVICH, TALIA ISAACS, SARA KENNEDY, KAZUYA SAITO and DUSTIN CROWTHER (2016 People are famously poor at judging their own ability, engaging in such behaviours as "errors of omission", "flawed self-assessment", and "faulty self-awareness"
ABSTRACT The current study investigated task effects on listener perception of second language (L2) comprehensibility (ease of understanding). Sixty university-level adult speakers of English from 4 first language (L1) backgrounds (Chinese, Romance, Hindi, Farsi), with 15 speakers per group, were recorded performing 2 tasks (IELTS long-turn speaking task, TOEFL iBT integrated listening/reading and speaking task). The speakers' audio recordings were evaluated using continuous sliding scales by 10 native English listeners for comprehensibility as well as for 10 linguistic variables drawn from the domains of pronunciation, fluency, lexis, grammar, and discourse. In the IELTS task, comprehensibility was associated solely with pronunciation and fluency categories (specifically, segmentals, word stress, rhythm, and speech rate), with the Farsi group being the only exception. However, in the cognitively more demanding TOEFL iBT integrated task, in addition to pronunciation and fluency variables, comprehensibility was also linked to several categories at the level of grammar, lexicon, and discourse for all groups. In both 1 tasks, the relative strength of obtained associations also varied as a function of the speakers' L1. Results overall suggest that both task and speakers' L1 play important roles in determining ease of understanding for the listener, with implications for pronunciation teaching in mixed L1 classrooms and for operationalizing the construct of comprehensibility in assessments. END ABSTRACT
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, fluency, lexis, grammar) whereas accentedness was narrowly associated with L2 phonology. However, these findings stemmed from a single task (picture narrative), suggesting that task type could affect the particular linguistic measures distinguishing comprehensibility from accentedness. To address this limitation, speech ratings of 10 native listeners assessing 60 speakers of L2 English in three tasks (picture narrative, IELTS, TOEFL) were analyzed, targeting two global ratings (accentedness, comprehensibility) and 10 linguistic measures (segmental and word stress accuracy, intonation, rhythm, speech rate, grammatical accuracy and complexity, lexical richness and complexity, discourse richness). Linguistic distinctions between accentedness and comprehensibility were less pronounced in the cognitively complex task (TOEFL), with overlapping sets of phonology, lexis, and grammar variables contributing to listener ratings of accentedness and comprehensibility. This finding points to multifaceted, task-specific relationships between these two constructs. ACCENTEDNESS AND COMPREHENSIBILITY ACROSS TASKS 1 AbstractThis study critically examined the previously reported partial independence between second language (L2) accentedness (degree to which L2 speech differs from the target variety) and
The current study investigated first language (L1) effects on listener judgment of comprehensibility and accentedness in second language (L2) speech. The participants were 45 university-level adult speakers of English from three L1 backgrounds (Chinese, Hindi, Farsi), performing a picture narrative task. Ten native English listeners used continuous sliding scales to evaluate the speakers' audio recordings for comprehensibility, accentedness, as well as 10 linguistic variables drawn from the domains of pronunciation, fluency, lexis, grammar, and discourse. While comprehensibility was associated with several linguistic variables (segmentals, prosody, fluency, lexis, grammar), accentedness was primarily linked to pronunciation (segmentals, word stress, intonation). The relative strength of these associations also varied as a function of the speakers' L1, especially for comprehensibility, with Chinese speakers influenced chiefly by pronunciation variables (segmental errors), Hindi speakers by lexicogrammar variables, and Farsi speakers showing no strong association with any linguistic variable. Results overall suggest that speakers' L1 plays an important role in listener judgments of L2 comprehensibility and that instructors aiming to promote L2 speakers' communicative success may need to expand their teaching targets beyond segmentals to include prosody-, fluency-, and lexicogrammar-based targets.Keywords: Comprehensibility; accentedness; L1 Influence; pronunciation learning L2 COMPREHENSIBILITY REVISITED 2 Second language comprehensibility revisited: Investigating the effects of learner backgroundWith languages such as English, Spanish, Arabic, or Chinese becoming ever more prominent in international trade, education, and popular culture, particularly in communication among non-native speakers, understanding various components of second language (L2) speaking ability emerges as an important goal for both language researchers and teachers. One key component of speaking ability is pronunciation, which has typically been discussed with reference to two broad constructs, namely, understanding and nativelikeness (see Derwing & Munro, 2009;Levis, 2005). Understanding embraces various aspects of speakers' ability to make themselves understood. Following common research and assessment practice, understanding is often measured as comprehensibility or listeners' perception of how easy or difficult it is for them to understand L2 speech, rated on 7-or 9-point scales. Nativelikeness, which broadly refers to speakers' ability to approximate speech patterns of the target-language community, is usually operationalized as a listener-based rating of accentedness, also using 7-or 9-point scales.Although researchers have consistently underscored comprehensibility as a more realistic goal for ensuring communicative success, compared to accent reduction or nativelikeness (e.g., Derwing & Munro, 2009;Levis, 2005), there still remains a need to distinguish how various aspects of L2 speech (at the level of phonology, fluency, lex...
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