Perceived Foreign Accent: Extended Stays Abroad, Level of Instruction, and Motivation

Abstract

Studies have examined various factors that affect pronunciation including phonetic context, style variation, first language transfer, and experience abroad. A plethora of research has also linked motivation to higher levels of proficiency in the second language. The present study uses native speaker ratings and multiple regression analysis to investigate the relationship between motivation, cultural sensitivity, and level of instruction with perceived foreign accent. Participants include adult learners of Spanish as a foreign language from several levels of formal instruction as well as students with extensive experience abroad. Data include a brief oral interview, a questionnaire, and the Intercultural Development Inventory to measure cultural sensitivity.Pronunciation is an often underemphasized area of instruction in the foreign or second language (L2) classroom when compared to other aspects of language development. However, being able to produce the sounds of a language correctly plays a vital role in communication. Arteaga (2000, p. 342) argued that "it [is] ironic that the purpose of learning a language is to communicate, and yet if the pronunciation is too far off, you will not be understood no matter how good the grammar and how correct the words you use." Major,

The Effectiveness of Video‐Based Shadowing and Tracking Pronunciation Exercises for Foreign Language Learners

“…A great deal of research has investigated tracking and shadowing in controlled contexts as techniques for improving listening comprehension (Hamada, ), intonation (Hsieh, Dong, & Wang, ), and prosody, fluency, and rhythm when reading aloud (Harmon, ). However, they have been studied only minimally as a tool for improving L2 learners’ pronunciation in spontaneous speech (Foote, ; Martinsen, Alvord, & Tanner, ).…”

“…Thus, such research cannot be generalized to the improvement of pronunciation in spontaneous speech, and its generalizability to learners of languages other than English, including learners in K–12 settings, is further limited by the fact that much of it has been conducted with adult learners of English (Eckstein, ; Foote, ; Lee et al, ; Ma, ). Furthermore, the little empirical evidence that does exist suggests that technology‐infused approaches that engage learners in imitative techniques such as shadowing and tracking could prove beneficial (Foote, ; Martinsen et al, ). Framed by this body of previous work, this study examined the effect of such activities on L2 pronunciation, using the following research questions: To what extent do high school French students who engage in computer‐based shadowing and tracking exercises over the course of a term exhibit changes in their L2 pronunciation in either controlled and/or spontaneous speech? To what extent do students find the exercises helpful?…”

9 Teaching Pronunciation and Comprehensibility in a Language MOOC

“…Prior research has shown that once learners reach a certain level of comprehensibility, their progress towards native-like norms tends to slow (Martinsen, Alvord & Tanner, 2014). First, the 4-5 range effectively represents the middle range of comprehensibility in the scale used in this study, since no student in either course received an average rating lower than 2.…”

Keys of Japanese prosody and didactical — technical analysis of OJAD (Online Japanese Accent Dictionary)

“…That is, tools for cooperative work are not provided nor it is systematically promoted the communication between teacher-student and student-student. Researches of Martinsen, Avord and Tanner (2014) have shown the benefits of interaction for improving the pronunciation of foreign languages. However, despite this limitation, the user can set changes in the accent of the searches by clicking the "mora" of the results provided by the "Prosody Tutor Suzuki-kun" function.…”

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Most of the studies focus on the teaching of foreign languages indicate that little attention is paid to the prosodic features both didactic materials and teaching-learning processes (Martinsen, Avord and Tanner, 2014). In this context and throughout this article, an analysis of the didactical and technical dimensions of OJAD (Japanese Accent Online Dictionary) is performed, linked to a project of the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics led by Minematsu (University of Tokyo).

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