Factors Affecting Word Stress Recognition by Advanced Polish Learners of English

Abstract

The acquisition of English word stress by speakers of other languages has received considerable attention over the years, with researchers claiming that although it may be learnable (e.g., Archibald, 1993), it seems to be largely unteachable (Jenkins, 2000). Certain controversies over the chance of success in English word stress teaching notwithstanding, second language phonology research demonstrates the existence of paths which the learning of word stress may follow, with such factors as word frequency, source of errors and the amount of explicit instruction found to affect the process. The present study attempts to explore the effect of the above-mentioned factors on the recognition of English word stress as correct versus incorrect by advanced Polish learners. The results support the expected paths of development of advanced learners, with overgeneralization causing more difficulty than L1 transfer; the effects of extended explicit instruction and word-frequency prove to be more varied, with the former most clearly seen in an increased recognition of incorrect forms and the latter additionally related to learner-specific input.