Speech Rate Is No Simple matter

Abstract

Speech rate (articulation rate and pauses) was examined for its relation to communicative success. Native English speakers (NSs) were paired with other NSs and with non-native speakers (NNSs). The subjects viewed a short film, the content of which they were to relay to their two partners independently. Communicative success was measured through comprehension questions addressed to the listeners at the completion of the task. Analyses indicated that although a slight majority of NSs slowed their speech rate for NNSs, they did not adjust articulation rate, but did significantly increase pause time. Neither speech rate nor articulation rate varied over the course of the narrations. Contrary to intuition, the subjects who successfully communicated the story to NNSs did not adjust their speech rate, while those who had difficulty communicating with NNSs increased pause time significantly. The implications of the findings are discussed, and suggestions for further research are made.In the last decade, there has been a growing interest in the efficacy of adjustments in native speakers' (NS) speech addressed to non-native speakers (NNS) (see Pica, 1988). Until recently, much of the research on NS-NNS discourse was of a purely descriptive nature; that is, there was a concentration on the identification of conversational characteristics, but without regard to their effect. It has generally been assumed that My thanks go to Judy Cameron, who assisted me in all stages of this study. I thank three anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions. 1 would also like to express my appreciation to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, which provided financial assistance for this research.

Analysis of preferred speaking rate and pause in spoken easy Japanese for non-native listeners

“…However, we found that the correlations between the comprehensibility and the intelligibilty ranged from moderate to strong (speaking rate: r ¼ 0:52, pause position: r ¼ 0:81, pause length: r ¼ 0:78), showing that they were reliable to a certain degree. Although we expected that the understanding would be higher for slower conditions based on observations in daily life, the fact that no differences were found was not unprecedented, and agrees with some previous studies [17,18].…”

“…For English, a fast speaking rate has been shown to hinder understanding for non-native speakers [16]. In contrast, the benefit of a slow speaking rate on understanding is disputed [17], and appears only in limited circumstances. A speaking rate which is too slow can even hinder understanding, possibly because it disturbs the listener's concentration [18].…”

“…In English and many other languages, pauses in appropriate positions can help understanding [19]. However, too many pauses, or pauses that are too long, can also hinder understanding for non-native speakers [17].…”

Exact Repetition as Input Enhancement in Second Language Acquisition

“…In a similar study in 1992, but with stories rather than semiscientific texts, Griffiths found that a slower rate of delivery resulted in better comprehension scores than fast and average rates (although average rates did not lead to better results than fast rates). On the other hand, Derwing's (1990) study on the relationship between rate adjustment and NS-NNS communicative success in retelling a film did not support the hypothesis. Derwing found that NSs who did not adjust their speech rate communicated more successfully with NNSs than speakers who increased pause time significantly.…”

Effect of classroom assessment stakes on English language learners’ oral performance

“…Whereas on the oral presentation learners had fewer syllables per second than on the achievement and exit assessments, mean length of run significantly decreased from the oral presentation and the achievement assessment to the exit assessment. It is known that speech rate largely affects fluency ratings of nonnative speech (Kormos & Dénes, ), and whereas a reduced speech rate can facilitate comprehension (Anderson‐Hsieh & Koehler, ; Derwing, ), too slow or fast of a speech rate has been found to have a curvilinear effect on accentedness and comprehensibility (Munro & Derwing, , ). The increased syllables per second on the achievement and exit assessments in the current findings, however, can be explained in part by the significant decrease in silent pauses from the oral presentation to the two other assessment situations.…”