Global foreign accent in English sentences produced by native Spanish learners of English: A 5‐year longitudinal study

Abstract

Second language acquisition theorists posit that the performance of adult second language (L2) learners improves up to a certain point but may then fossilize, that is, show little further improvement. However, few empirical studies have tested for changes in L2 production by individual adult L2 learners over an extended period of time. In the present study, sentences produced by adult native Spanish (NS) learners of English over a 5‐year period will be evaluated for changes in pronunciation. Fifteen NS adults (mean age=34 years when first tested) who had lived in Birmingham, AL and three native English (NE) controls produced four English sentences at 6‐month intervals for 5 years. NE listeners will rate the sentences for foreign accent. One‐way repeated measures ANOVAs will be carried out to determine if individual NS participants, or the group as a whole, became less foreign‐accented over the study interval. Individual differences in demographic variables that might have affected degree of foreign accent (e.g., age of arrival in the U.S., chronological age of testing, percent English and Spanish use, family status) will be discussed in relation to any improvement in L2 production. [Work supported by NIH.]