Native English Research Articles

A translanguaging perspective on multilingual identity construction of a native English teacher on a Chinese social media platform

A translanguaging perspective on multilingual identity construction of a native English teacher on a Chinese social media platform

Exploring Phatic Communication Functions among Native and Nonnative English Speakers at Saudi Multilingual Context

English language is the first spoken language around the world, and it is the formal language for communication in my multilingual Saudi context. This paper is to conduct a further investigation to findings of a similar study conducted by Jumanto (2014) exploring the functions of phatic communication among English native speakers. Furthermore, this study aims at exploring phatic communication among native and nonnative English speakers in my workplace to have a healthy distinguished working atmosphere through guiding them to build a solid social relationship at workplace through involving in various communicative situations for the sake of rapport, not to convey information. For instance, to greet or reply to a greeting properly, start or end conversations with native or nonnative colleagues to avoid any inconvenience or misunderstanding due to the likely distinctions related to their different social or cultural backgrounds which may affect negatively on their relationship. To achieve this, an exploratory mixed study will be conducted in two phases using a questionnaire for quantitatively collected data, and then conducting semi-structured interviews for the same population to qualitatively collect data to have reliable findings. Additionally, the findings of this study reflect a great harmony among the phatic expressions used by native and nonnative speakers, especially native English speakers who try speaking the mother language, Arabic, of the nonnative English speakers for the purpose of greeting or starting interaction with each other. Accordingly, further research investigation could be conducted to explore the impact of phatic communication functions among native and nonnative speakers of any other languages on learning a second or a foreign language.

It “bendy dis one”: recognising and building upon Australian Aboriginal students’ linguistic repertoires as educational resources

There is a considerable body of research documenting the languages First Nations children bring to school. However, despite language being a key factor impacting on educational outcomes, there is little research focussing on the students’ language use within schools outside specific learning contexts. Therefore, in this study we sought to explore the language resources used by Australian Aboriginal children at school, particularly those underexamined cohorts living in regional and remote locations. We examined how they used language in the classroom and in the playground, and with different audiences (e.g. peers vs teachers). Naturalistic language data were collected in seven schools located in different settings within Western Australia. 230 children and their teachers were recorded. The data show these students draw on their full linguistic repertoire when at school – moving between lighter or heavier varieties of Australian Aboriginal English (AAE), their traditional languages (e.g. Martu and Kija), SAE, as well as Kriol (an Australian creole) in some remote locations. We also found they adjusted their language choices according to the audience and content of their discussions and they utilised processes of translanguaging as part of these school interactions.

Spectral and temporal acoustic differences between English and Dutch vowels

This study aims to compare the acoustic characteristics of English and Dutch vowels and to model the perception of Dutch vowels by English speakers on the basis of crosslinguistic acoustic similarity. The first three formant frequencies and the duration of vowels were extracted from the output of 20 native English and 20 native Dutch speakers. A linear discriminant analysis (LDA) algorithm was trained on the productions of English speakers and the Dutch productions were later supplied to the model to provide a predicted proportion of how each nonnative vowel would be classified in terms of the speakers’ L1 categories. The results of LDA demonstrated that all but one Dutch vowel were classified as above-chance responses in terms of two or more English categories. Due to the large and complex vowel system of English, completely overlapping contrasts were absent, while there was a large number of partially overlapping contrasts, which are predicted to exhibit moderate-to-good discrimination. The results of crosslinguistic acoustic similarity are largely consistent with those involving other English listeners of Dutch, potentially highlighting the importance of acoustic cues in estimating listeners’ speech perception patterns.

French translation and transcultural adaptation of the shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI)

BackgroundA French version of the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) is currently unavailable for clinical and research use in French-speaking countries. ObjectivesTo translate and transculturally adapt the Shoulder Pain And Disability Index (SPADI) from English to French language. DesignTranslation and transcultural adaptation of a Patient-Reported Outcome Measure. MethodsFollowing international guidelines for translating and adapting PROMs, we carried out a seven-step process involving 15 contributors. The forward translation was performed by five independent native French speakers, while five independent native English speakers conducted the blinded back-translation. A bilingual expert committee synthesized the translations, and three healthcare professionals participated in the pre-test phase. Ten patients were involved in pre-testing to evaluate the pre-final version. ResultsA final French version of the SPADI was achieved after making seven adjustments across the 18 items, instructions, and examples on the Likert scale. Changes were implemented only if at least 20% of the pre-test participants suggested modifications to enhance readability or coherence. Face validity was assessed by the expert committee. ConclusionThe French version of the SPADI is now available, enabling condition-specific self-assessment and quantitative follow-up of shoulder pain and function in both clinical practice and research. Although psychometric properties of this version are yet to be assessed, future studies are expected to confirm the preservation of the original tool's validity and reliability.

The Impact of Multilingualism on Second Language Acquisition: A Study of Cognitive and Linguistic Proficiency Among Ethnic Minority Groups

This study investigates the cognitive and linguistic differences in second language acquisition (SLA) among multilingual H'mong and Tay students compared to monolingual Kinh students in Vietnam. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study examined cognitive proficiency, including working memory and cognitive flexibility, as well as linguistic proficiency in English, focusing on vocabulary size, syntactic knowledge, and phonological accuracy. Quantitative data from cognitive and linguistic tests were analyzed using MANOVA, while qualitative data from focus group discussions provided insights into the sociocultural influences on language learning. The findings reveal that H'mong and Tay students exhibited higher cognitive proficiency, particularly in working memory and cognitive flexibility, than their monolingual Kinh peers. However, despite their cognitive advantages, multilingual students faced greater challenges in English vocabulary acquisition, syntax, and phonological accuracy, likely due to structural differences between their native languages and English. The qualitative findings highlight the role of sociocultural factors, including limited access to resources and the desire to maintain cultural identity, in shaping language learning experiences among ethnic minority students. The study concludes that while multilingualism enhances cognitive abilities, ethnic minority students require targeted instructional support to overcome linguistic barriers in SLA. The findings have implications for language education policies, particularly in designing culturally sensitive curricula and improving access to quality English education in rural and ethnic minority communities.

THE EFFECT OF DISCOURSE-LEVEL CUES ON RC ATTACHMENT PREFERENCE IN L2 ENGLISH: IMPLICIT CAUSALITY IN VERBS

Examining implicit causality and relative clause attachment ambiguity in bilingual participants, this study investigates whether adult second language (L2) English speakers share sensitivity with native speakers to implicit causality (IC) information during online resolution of relative clause attachment ambiguity. L1 Turkish/L2 English speakers and English natives participated in offline sentence completion and online self-paced reading tasks. Results revealed that L1 English speakers preferred high attachment in IC conditions and low attachment in non-IC conditions. In contrast, L2 speakers showed a preference for high attachment in both conditions, suggesting that L2 sentence processing relies more on lexical than syntactic information.

English Hedging Strategies in Master Theses Written by Egyptian and Native English Researchers: A Pragmalinguistic Study

English Hedging Strategies in Master Theses Written by Egyptian and Native English Researchers: A Pragmalinguistic Study

DERCo: A Dataset for Human Behaviour in Reading Comprehension Using EEG

This paper introduces the DERCo (Dublin EEG-based Reading Experiment Corpus), a language resource combining electroencephalography (EEG) and next-word prediction data obtained from participants reading narrative texts. The dataset comprises behavioral data collected from 500 participants recruited through the Amazon Mechanical Turk online crowd-sourcing platform, along with EEG recordings from 22 healthy adult native English speakers. The online experiment was designed to examine the context-based word prediction by a large sample of participants, while the EEG-based experiment was developed to extend the validation of behavioral next-word predictability. Online participants were instructed to predict upcoming words and complete entire stories. Cloze probabilities were then calculated for each word so that this predictability measure could be used to support various analyses pertaining to semantic context effects in the EEG recordings. EEG-based analyses revealed significant differences between high and low predictable words, demonstrating one important type of potential analysis that necessitates close integration of these two datasets. This material is a valuable resource for researchers in neurolinguistics due to the word-level EEG recordings in context.

Acoustics of the alignment of narrow focus prosody and lexical stress in native and nonnative English productions.

This study examined the acoustic correlates of the alignment between lexical stress and narrow focus prosody in English and investigated how this alignment is learned by second language learners whose native language is prosodically distinct from English. A production experiment was conducted where native English speakers and Korean learners of English were asked to read aloud sentences with a narrow focus on trisyllabic words with various stress patterns (e.g., ánimal, Novémber, submaríne). In the native English productions, the stressed syllables were characterized by either a rising F0 contour (for word-initial stress) or increased periodic energy (for word-medial and -final stress). The Korean speakers (KSs) produced stressed syllables with a rising F0 contour regardless of stress position, differing from the native speakers, and they exhibited greater periodic energy for word-medial and -final stressed syllables, similar to the native speakers. In addition, the KSs with higher English proficiency showed more native-like patterns by exhibiting a post-focus F0 drop immediately after word-initial stressed syllables. These findings are discussed in the context of existing literature and potential factors contributing to the challenges observed in L2 prosody learning.

Unpacking Evaluative Meaning-Making Resources in Verbal Movie Descriptions: A Comparative Study of Native and Non-Native English Speakers

The present study explored how native speakers (NSs) and non-native speakers (NNSs) of English exploit evaluative meaning-making resources of English when sharing their judgements and opinions on English movie descriptions. To this end, 10 native speakers of Australian English and 10 Iranian non-native speakers took part in on-line informal interviews, based on an approach known as snowball sampling. The study employed a combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. The results revealed significant differences in the use of evaluative language between the two groups, with NNSs focusing more on Affect, Judgment and Appreciation respectively, while NSs prioritized Appreciation, followed by Affect and Judgment. The findings are discussed by reference to cultural and linguistic differences in the use of evaluative resources. Moreover, NSs relied more on invoked evaluation whereas NNSs showed a preference for inscribed evaluation. However, both groups utilized a higher frequency of positive descriptions in during their descriptions of English movies. These findings can provide valuable insights for language teaching and research, highlighting the significance of incorporating evaluative language resources into language instruction. The study further brought attention to the interconnectedness of diverse evaluative resources such as reference to emotions and judgements with complex linguistic and cultural domains.

Identifying Pronunciation Challenges for Cantonese EFL Learners: A Focus on Intelligibility

This study investigates the intelligibility of Cantonese-accented English by examining segmental pronunciation errors and their impact on native English listeners’ ability to accurately transcribe spoken sentences. Building on a previous production experiment, this research focuses on identifying which vowel and consonant mispronunciations most hinder intelligibility. Ten native English listeners transcribed 1,000 sentences produced by Cantonese speakers, and transcription accuracy was calculated for each target sound. The results reveal that dark /l/ (e.g., “cold”), final consonants like /g/ (e.g., “bag”), and the vowel /æ/ (e.g., “pan”) had the lowest accuracy rates, while sounds like /n/ (e.g., “no”) and /ʃ/ (e.g., “sheep”) were consistently transcribed correctly. These findings highlight the importance of targeting specific pronunciation difficulties in Cantonese EFL learners to improve intelligibility. The study supports the prioritization of intelligibility over accent reduction in pronunciation instruction, providing practical implications for teaching pronunciation in Cantonese-speaking contexts.

THE PHONOLOGICAL AND PHONETIC STUDY OF EMPHATIC PITCH RANGE BY CHINESE EFL LEARNERS

In producing second language (L2) speech, L2 learners tend to deviate from its norms, resulting in foreign-accented speech. Pitch range plays a crucial role in the perception of foreign-accented speech. This study aims to investigate the production of emphatic pitch range in English by Chinese Learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) from both the phonological and phonetic perspectives. There were seven native English speakers and fourteen Chinese EFL learners participating in this study. They were required to read the second part of eighteen dialogue pairs loudly. Through linguistic measures of the recordings, the study found significant differences in three pitch range types between the native English speakers and the learners in the phonological perspective, which might be influenced by Chinese prosody. However, no significant differences were found in the phonetic perspective, which might be impacted by the learners’ native language. In addition, English proficiency did not influence the learners’ performance in the phonological and phonetic perspectives. This may be attributed to the homogeneity among the learners and the effect of their native language. Lastly, focus position significantly influenced the phonological performance of the learners in five pitch range types, which may be explained by multiple factors. However, the effect of focus position on the learners’ phonetic performance was limited to two pitch range types, which may be explained by the principle of least effort.

Difficulties and Social Marginalization of Native English- Speaking Professors in University English Programs

Difficulties and Social Marginalization of Native English- Speaking Professors in University English Programs

Reliability and Preliminary Validation of a Body Image Scale Survey for Use in Bladder Cancer Patients

Introduction Extirpative bladder surgery for bladder cancer requires urinary diversion which causes cosmetic and functional changes that affect a patient’s body image and quality of life. Current health-related quality of life (HRQOL) surveys validated for use in bladder cancer patients have no dedicated domain evaluating body image. We sought to validate the ten-item Body Image Scale (BIS) for use in bladder cancer patients. The BIS is scored on a 4-point Likert scale with a maximum score of 30. Higher scores represent increasing distress. Methods With Institutional Review Board approval, native English or Spanish speaking patients who had undergone radical cystectomy and urinary diversion with either ileal conduit formation or orthotopic neobladder creation within the past 5 years for muscle-invasive bladder cancer were identified. The survey was conducted via telephone or e-mail. Surveys were scored and analyzed for reliability and validity. Results 32 patients were identified (22 men, 10 women). 25 patients had ileal conduits and 7 had orthotopic neobladders. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient measuring internal consistency for the BIS instrument in this group was 0.926. All ten items met the response criteria (score of >0 by >30% respondents) in our study population. Though the ileal conduit group mean (17.4) and median (16) scores were lower than the neobladder (mean=19.1 and median=22), there was no statistically significant difference in BIS scores between the two cohorts (p=0.755). Conclusions We present a validation study for use of BIS in bladder cancer patients to be utilized in future clinical trials or psycho-oncology research.

French Loanwords in English cr-phonaesthemic group

Introduction. The article examines the influence of French borrowings on the process of development of phonaesthemic sound symbolism in the English language. Phonaesthemes work as a language instrument of semantic structuring of meanings of groups of words with similar form. The article aims to identify how French borrowings influenced the set of semes characteristic of the English phonaesthemic group cr-.Methodology and sources. The preselected 62 English words with the initial cr- consonant cluster borrowed from French, were analyzed for their possible influence on the respective English phonaesthemic group. 25 words were confirmed to be phonaesthemic. The words were selected from the Oxford English Dictionary by targeted sampling. Etymology, if necessary, was further verified after French etymological dictionaries Le Littré and Trésor. Theoretical framework for this research are the works of Mikhalev (phonosemantic field theory), Leonardi (on Latin phonaesthemes) and Bottineau (on French iconic words). Methods applied in the research are etymological and phonosemantic analyses. French loanwords included and not included in the English phonaesthemic group were analysed separately.Results and discussion. The data analyses have shown that in case the shared semes of the CR- word group in the donor language coincide with those of the recipient language, loanwords seem to augment and strengthen the tendency to form phonaesthemic groups. Otherwise, new words remain outside the English phonosemantic field of the group in question. Phonotactic restrictions may also leave such loanwords outside the studied phonaesthemic group. French loanwords of Germanic origin seem to demonstrate stronger sustainability in language as compared to those of Latin origin. Words of French origin appear to be onomatopoeic only.Conclusion. The results of the study demonstrate that French loanwords had a limited effect on the English cr- phonaesthemic group. French loanwords have expanded the group and strengthened the tendencies formed within the native English word group.

Rethinking AI: bias in speech-recognition chatbots for ELT

Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, particularly chatbots with speech-recognition, are gaining attention as tools for ELT. However, this frontline development in contemporary ELT seems to stand in stark contrast to the multilingual effort, another innovative trend, as chatbots’ speech recognition capabilities are primarily attuned to native English speaker pronunciation. Addressing this concern, this study adopted a Global Englishes (GE) perspective and examined students’ attitudes toward English after their use of a speech-recognition chatbot. Text-mining analysis of reflection papers from 38 students and thematic analysis of interviews with seven students revealed that the chatbot hindered the incorporation of diverse English use into ELT and students expressed a conception of English not as a language in flux but rather as a subject with specific content to be mastered. The findings are discussed concerning GE, AI ethics, and computer-assisted language learning, and implications for future chatbot use in ELT are provided.

학습자 영작문, ChatGPT 피드백 수정본, 영어원어민 교사 피드백 수정본 간의 비교: Coh-Metrix 분석

학습자 영작문, ChatGPT 피드백 수정본, 영어원어민 교사 피드백 수정본 간의 비교: Coh-Metrix 분석

Thai EFL University Students’ Perceptions of Native English- Speaking Teacher and Teacher’s Voice: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Cultural Perspectives

Thai EFL University Students’ Perceptions of Native English- Speaking Teacher and Teacher’s Voice: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Cultural Perspectives

Factors Affecting the Listening Skills of Non- Native English Speakers

Factors Affecting the Listening Skills of Non- Native English Speakers