Abstract
This study examined the relationship between targeted pronunciation instruction in French as a second language (L2) and listener-based ratings of accent, comprehensibility, and fluency. The ratings by 20 French listeners evaluating the speech of 30 adult L2 French learners enrolled in a 15-week listening and speaking course targeting segments, prosody, fluency, and connected speech processes (e.g., liaison, enchainment) were compared before and after instruction in read-aloud and extemporaneous (picture description) speaking tasks. Results showed that the learners improved in all speech ratings, especially in extemporaneous speaking. Results also revealed that accent ratings were linked to prosody (intonation accuracy, pitch range), while fluency and comprehensibility ratings were additionally linked to fluency phenomena (length of fluent run, hesitation rate). These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for L2 pronunciation learning and links between instruction, listener-rated dimensions of speech, and performance in different tasks.
Highlights
This study examined the relationship between targeted pronunciation instruction in French as a second language (L2) and listener-based ratings of accent, comprehensibility, and fluency
This study aimed to fill this gap by investigating pronunciation development of adult L2 French learners over time, with the overall goal of understanding which specific linguistic dimensions of L2 French learners’ oral performance are related to listener-rated constructs of accent, comprehensibility, and fluency of L2 speech
To address the lack of longitudinal research on the development of L2 French pronunciation, in a previous study, we explored the effectiveness of phonetics teaching for 30 adult learners of L2 French in a 15-week listening and speaking course targeting segments, prosody, fluency, and such connected speech processes as liaison (Kennedy, Blanchet, & Trofimovich, 2014)
Summary
This study examined the relationship between targeted pronunciation instruction in French as a second language (L2) and listener-based ratings of accent, comprehensibility, and fluency. For instance, Harnois-Delpiano, Cavalla, and Chevrot (2012) tracked the use of liaison over 1 year by Korean university learners in a weekly 3-hour French language and literature course, showing significant increases in learner production of obligatory and optional liaison in word pairs over a year (see Howard, 2013) In another university-based study, Champagne-Muzar, Schneiderman, and Bourdages (1993) examined the effects of 12 weeks of instruction targeting French intonation, rhythm, and segments on university students’ L2 French pronunciation. Instructional research on French pronunciation presently provides limited evidence of instruction-pronunciation links Another underexplored aspect of L2 French pronunciation learning concerns the relationship between specific dimensions of learners’ oral production (e.g., accuracy of liaison production, appropriateness of intonation) and such listener-based constructs of speech as accent, comprehensibility, and fluency. Teachers have little guidance regarding which specific dimensions of their learners’ speech are most relevant to learners’ sounding fluent in their L2 speech, as well as easy to understand
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