• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.19-26
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• 2017

The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of utterance internal pause in English speaking evaluation. To avoid possible confusion with other errors caused by segmental and prosodic inaccuracy, stem utterances with two different length obtained from a native speaker were manipulated to make a set of stimuli tokens through insertion of pauses whose length and position vary. After a total of 90 participants classified into three proficiency groups rated the stimuli, the scored data set was statistically analyzed in terms of the mixed effects model. It was confirmed that predictors such as pause length, pause position and utterance length significantly influence raters' evaluation scores. Especially, a dominating effect was found in such a way that raters gradually deducted scores in accordance with the increase of pause duration. In another experiment, a tree-based statistical learning technique was utilized to check which of the significant predictors played a more influential role than others. The findings in this paper are expected to be practically informative for both the test takers who are preparing for an English speaking test and the raters who desire to develop more objective rubric of speaking evaluation.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.273-291
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• 2011

This study investigates factors that influence ESL learners' use/avoidance of English phrasal verbs. It especially focuses on two factors, topic difference and group membership. For the purpose, 60 ESL students who took the University English Proficiency Test (UEPT) were selected, and the 60 essays they wrote for the UEPT were analyzed. All the students were with non-Germanic first language backgrounds. Among the 60 essays, 30 essays were selected from the essays written for the International Students UEPT (IS UEPT), which was required of all new international students. Another 30 essays were selected from the essays written for the Regents' UEPT, which was required of all non-native English speaking undergraduate students as a graduation requirement. Results indicate that the length of residency in the U.S. and/or academic status and semantic complexities of English phrasal verbs but not topic difference nor English proficiency affected the use of English phrasal verbs. The study ends with a discussion of pedagogical implications of the findings.

• Asia Pacific Journal of Corpus Research
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.1-39
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• 2023

Recent research in usage-based Second Language Acquisition has provided new insights into second language (L2) learners' development of formulaic language (Wulff, 2019). The current study examines the use of phrase-frames, which are recurring sequences of words including one or more variable slots (e.g., it is * that), in written and oral production data from Asian learners of English across four proficiency levels (beginner, low-intermediate, high-intermediate, advanced) and native English speakers. The variability, predictability, and discourse functions of the most frequent 4-word phrase-frames from the written essay and spoken dialogue sub-corpora of the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English (ICNALE) were analyzed and then compared across groups and modes. The results revealed that while learners' phrase-frames in writing became more variable and unpredictable as proficiency increased, no clear developmental patterns were found in speaking, although all groups used more fixed and predictable phrase-frames than the reference group. Further, no developmental trajectories in the functions of the most frequent phrase-frames were found in both modes. Additionally, lower-level learners and the reference group used more variable phrase-frames in speaking, whereas advanced-level learners showed more variability in writing. This study contributes to a better understanding of the development of L2 phraseological competence.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.77-88
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• 2011

Foreign accent in second language production depends heavily on the transfer of features from the first language. This study examines acoustic variations in segments and suprasegments by native and nonnative speakers of English, searching for patterns of the transfer and plausible indexes of foreign accent in English. The acoustic variations are analyzed with recorded read speech by 20 native English speakers and 50 Korean learners of English, in terms of vowel formants, vowel duration, and syllabic variation induced by stress. The results show that the acoustic measurements of vowel formants and vowel and syllable durations display difference between native speakers and nonnative speakers. The difference is robust in the production of lax vowels, diphthongs, and stressed syllables, namely the English-specific features. L1 transfer on L2 specification is found both at the segmental levels and at the suprasegmental levels. The transfer levels measured as groups and individuals further show a continuum of divergence from the native-like target. Overall, the eldest group, students who are in the graduate schools, shows more native-like patterns, suggesting weaker foreign accent in English, whereas the high school students tend to involve larger deviation from the native speakers' patterns. Individual results show interdependence between segmental transfer and prosodic transfer, and correlation with self-reported proficiency levels. Additionally, experience factors in English such as length of English study and length of residence in English speaking countries are further discussed as factors to explain the acoustic variation.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.77-89
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• 2007

This paper examined the intonation contours of English sentences produced by the Korean students. Thirty students participated in the speaking tasks made up of three parts: an oral interview, picture description and a conversational text reading. Their pronunciations in the parts were recorded on a minidisk. Then, two native instructors evaluated their proficiency level focusing on general intelligibility and suprasegmental aspects of the speech. Based on the results of evaluation they were divided into two groups: high and low proficiency groups. The pitch contours of three sentences produced by both the Korean students and a native speaker were compared to find any similarities and differences in the students' intonation patterns using Praat. Results showed that there was a moderate correlation in the proficiency scores of the students by the two native speakers. Secondly, students who earned high scores in the proficiency level matched better the native model. Thirdly, the high group students knew more on the pitch contour and tried to carefully realize them while fewer students in the low group answered positively on the questionnaire. In conclusion, English learners need to know the proper intonation patterns and to practice them consciously and sufficiently to realize correct intonation contours. Further studies would be desirable on the students' pronunciation focused on discourse structure.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.250-265
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• 2018

Thailand is one of the ASEAN countries and is said to be the most visited country in Southeast Asia. Despite its development, Thailand falls as one of the countries with the lowest rates of English proficiency. This article is written to describe one of the possible factors of Thailand's low English proficiency, which is the foreign language anxiety of students. This article outlines references regarding the English language anxiety of Thai students and uses them as a basis in distinguishing English language anxiety among nursing students in Boromarajonani College of Nursing Nakhon Lampang, Thailand (BCNLP). A survey was conducted using a questionnaire based on the FLCA Scale by Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope, (1986) with a focus group consisting of 80 participants randomly selected from $1^{st}$ year to $4^{th}$ year nursing students of BCNLP. As found in the survey there were two sources of English language anxiety among nursing students: 1. Fear of negative evaluation due to unpreparedness, and feeling and thinking that others are better in language learning as the main factors; and 2. Communicating apprehension, where in speaking without preparation, speaking in the foreign language in front of other students, and self-doubt about one's ability to speak in the foreign language are the highest ranked causes of anxiety. The results indicate two main problems: unpreparedness and self-concept. Therefore, it is recommended that English Language classes should be taught with the learner-centered approach and that instructors should put importance in preparing the students during class, and encouraging them to increase a positive self-concept towards English language learning.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.87-96
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• 2004

The number of schools that implement English medium instruction (EMI) to improve students' English proficiency has been increasing. Despite the increasing popularity of EMI, little attention has been paid to evaluating the effectiveness of EMI and its impact on students and instructors. This study explores these issues, focused on the case of the College of Engineering at Y University. A survey questionnaire was administered to 19 engineering professors who offered EMI courses in the Fall of 2003. The survey results show that: 1) the professors perceive that students' low English proficiency is a large obstacle to successful implementation of EMI, and that pre-EMI language courses are needed to prepare students for EMI. 2)Though the professors expressed confidence in their English proficiency, they indicated that they felt quite a lot stressed at teaching EMI courses; hence, support of the school administration is needed to help faculty offering EMI courses. 3)To improve students' English proficiency, native-speaking language instructors are needed to provide feedback on students' written and spoken English.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.71-77
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• 2017

This study examines the effects of in-company English programs on Korean employees' English learning. During the twelve weeks, 68 employees in Korea engaged in an English learning program in the workplace. Before and after the program, pre- and post-tests were conducted to see if their English proficiency improved. Pre- and post-surveys and interviews were also administered to understand how they perceived the program. Results show that the employees improved their English oral proficiency and their attitudes toward English learning positively changed, as a result of participating in the program. Also, the program appeared to be successful, meeting their needs. Given that little research has investigated the effects of in-company English learning, this study provides insights on the effectiveness of English programs in the workplace in Korea.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.41-49
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• 2022

The average acoustic distribution of American English speakers was statistically compared with the English-speaking patterns of gifted students in a Science Academy in Korea. By analyzing speech recordings, the duration time of which is much longer than in previous studies, this research identified the degree of acoustic proximity between the two parties and the predictability of English academic achievement of gifted high school students. Long-term spectral acoustic power distribution vectors were obtained for 2,048 center frequencies in the range of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz by applying an long-term average speech spectrum (LTASS) MATLAB code. Three more variables were statistically compared to discover additional indices that can predict future English academic achievement: the receptive vocabulary size test, the cumulative vocabulary scores of English formative assessment, and the English Speaking Proficiency Test scores. Linear regression and correlational analyses between the four variables showed that the receptive vocabulary size test and the low-frequency vocabulary formative assessments which require both lexical and domain-specific science background knowledge are relatively more significant variables than a basic suprasegmental level English fluency in the predictability of gifted students' academic achievement.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.59-73
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• 2012

This study attempts to investigate the contribution of prosody to the foreign accent in Chinese speakers' English production by examining the synthesized speech of crossing native and non-native talkers' prosody and segments. For the stimuli of the foreign accent ratings, we transplanted gender-matched native speakers' prosody onto non-native talkers' segments and vice versa, utilizing the TD-PSOLA algorithm. Eight English native listeners participated in judging foreign accent and comprehensibility of the transplanted stimuli. Results showed that the synthesized stimuli were perceived as stronger foreign accent regardless of speakers' proficiency when English speakers' prosody was crossed with Chinese speakers' segments. This suggests that segments contribute more than prosody to native listeners' evaluation of foreign accent. When transplanted with English speakers' segments, Chinese speakers' prosody showed a difference in duration rather than pitch between high and low proficiency such that stronger foreign accent was detected when low proficient Chinese speakers' duration was crossed with English speakers' segments. This indicated that prosody, more specifically duration, plays a role though the prosodic role is not overall as significant as segments. According to the post acoustic analysis, the temporal features contributing to making the duration parameter prominent as opposed to pitch were found out to be speaking rate, pause duration and pause frequency. Finally, foreign accent and comprehensibility showed no significant correlation such that native listeners had no difficulty listening to highly foreign accented speech.