First- and final-semester non-native students in an English-medium university: Judgments of their speech by university peers
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Sara Kennedy
Sara Kennedy is an assistant professor of applied linguistics in the Department of Education at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. She conducts research on the teaching, learning, assessment and use of second language speech, particularly pronunciation, and on the role of language experience in the development of speaking ability.
and
Pavel Trofimovich
Pavel Trofimovich is an associate professor of applied linguistics in the Department of Education at Concordia University. His research focuses on cognitive aspects of second language processing, second language phonology, sociolinguistic aspects of second language acquisition, and the teaching of second language pronunciation.
Abstract
By the end of their studies, non-native speakers of English studying at English-medium universities have had several years of exposure to English in that setting. Do non-native students, particularly those enrolled in non-languagerelated programs, show different levels of second language (L2) speaking ability in their final semester of studies than non-native students in their first semester, as judged by other students in the university community? In this exploratory cross-sectional study, two matched groups of L2 English university students in their first or final semester of study in non-language-related programs (N = 20) were recorded in mock job interviews. The students were rated by two groups of raters for accentedness, comprehensibility, fluency, and communicative effectiveness. Both rater groups were university students; one group was from diverse academic programs, while the other group was studying human resource management (HRM). Although the first- and final-semester L2 English students differed in how long they had studied in English, no significant difference in ratings between first- and final-semester students was found. However, the two rater groups differed in how they rated accentedness and comprehensibility, suggesting that the nature of listeners' previous academic experience (e.g., with HRM) influences their judgments. The use of holistic rating scales to evaluate L2 speech is discussed, as well as the relationship between the nature of language exposure and the performance of the student and rater groups.
About the authors
Sara Kennedy is an assistant professor of applied linguistics in the Department of Education at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. She conducts research on the teaching, learning, assessment and use of second language speech, particularly pronunciation, and on the role of language experience in the development of speaking ability.
Pavel Trofimovich is an associate professor of applied linguistics in the Department of Education at Concordia University. His research focuses on cognitive aspects of second language processing, second language phonology, sociolinguistic aspects of second language acquisition, and the teaching of second language pronunciation.
©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Narratives and accounts: “Post-crisis” narration in annual company reports
- Connectedness through a strong form of TBLT, classroom implementation of the CEFR, cyclical learning, and learning-oriented assessment
- Impacts of the use of “support tools” on a distance language learning course
- Oral communication in the framework of cognitive fluency: Developing and testing spoken Russian within the TORFL system
- First- and final-semester non-native students in an English-medium university: Judgments of their speech by university peers
- The European Language Portfolio and Languages for Specific Purposes: A project to develop “can do” descriptors focused on students' interests and motivation
- Translating the CercleS European Language Portfolio into Portuguese for plurilingual development in a Community of Practice
- The role of research in teaching-oriented institutions: A case study of university language centres in Finland
- The changing world of higher education: Where do language centres fit in?
- Mind the gap between form and function. Teaching pragmatics with the British sitcom in the foreign language classroom
- Having fun in the classroom: Subtitling activities
