scholarly journals English vowel perception by Polish advanced learners of English

2018 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Balas
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
Classroom Setting ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Vowel Perception ◽  
Place Of Articulation ◽  
Goodness Rating ◽  
Expected Performance ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Assimilation Model

AbstractThis article examines English vowel perception by advanced Polish learners of English in a formal classroom setting (i.e., they learnt English as a foreign language in school while living in Poland). The stimuli included 11 English noncewords in bilabial (/bVb/), alveolar (/dVd/) and velar (/gVg/) contexts. The participants, 35 first-year English majors, were examined during the performance of three tasks with English vowels: a categorial discrimination oddity task, an L1 assimilation task (categorization and goodness rating) and a task involving rating the (dis-)similarities between pairs of English vowels. The results showed a variety of assimilation types according to the Perceptual Assimilation Model (PAM) and the expected performance in a discrimination task. The more difficult it was to discriminate between two given vowels, the more similar these vowels were judged to be. Vowel contrasts involving height distinctions were easier to discriminate than vowel contrasts with tongue advancement distinctions. The results also revealed that the place of articulation of neighboring consonants had little effect on the perceptibility of the tested English vowels, unlike in the case of lower-proficiency learners. Unlike previous results for naïve listeners, the present results for advanced learners showed no adherence to the principles of the Natural Referent Vowel framework. Generally, the perception of English vowels by these Polish advanced learners of English conformed with PAM's predictions, but differed from vowel perception by naïve listeners and lower-proficiency learners.

scholarly journals Transfer, Similarity or Lack of Awareness? Inconsistencies of German Learners in the Pronunciation of LOT, THOUGHT, STRUT, PALM and BATH

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Kautzsch
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
American English ◽  
First Year ◽  
Close Approximation ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
British English ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Vowel Systems ◽  
Acoustic Analyses ◽  
University Level

The current study presents acoustic analyses of non-high back vowels and low central vowels in the lexical sets LOT, THOUGHT, STRUT, PALM and BATH as pronounced by German learners of English. The main objective is to show that learners of English at university level are highly inconsistent in approximating the vowels of their self-chosen target accents British English (BrE) and American English (AmE). To that end, the acoustic qualities of the English vowels of learners are compared to their native German vowels and to the vowels of native speakers of BrE and AmE. In order to facilitate statements about the effect of increased experience, the study differentiates between students in their first year at university and in their third year or later. The results obtained are highly variable: In some cases the learners transfer their L1 vowels to English, other cases show clear approximations to the target vowels, while other cases again document the production of new vowels neither found in German nor in English. However, close approximation to the target vowels only sometimes correlates with higher proficiency. This might be an indicator of a low level of awareness of systematic differences between the BrE and AmE vowel systems. But the data also indicate that the more advanced learners produce more distinct AmE BATH vowels and BrE THOUGHT vowels than the less advanced learners, which points to a partial increase of awareness resulting from increased experience. All in all it seems that raising the awareness of differences between target accents in L2 instruction is necessary if the envisage goal is for learners to reach near-native pronunciation.

Distinctiveness and Assimilation in Vowel Perception in a Second Language

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 4534-4543
Author(s):  
Wei Hu ◽  
Sha Tao ◽  
Mingshuang Li ◽  
Chang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Vowel Identification ◽  
Vowel Perception ◽  
Perceptual Distance ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Chinese Counterpart ◽  
Vowel Categories

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate how the distinctive establishment of 2nd language (L2) vowel categories (e.g., how distinctively an L2 vowel is established from nearby L2 vowels and from the native language counterpart in the 1st formant [F1] × 2nd formant [F2] vowel space) affected L2 vowel perception. Method Identification of 12 natural English monophthongs, and categorization and rating of synthetic English vowels /i/ and /ɪ/ in the F1 × F2 space were measured for Chinese-native (CN) and English-native (EN) listeners. CN listeners were also examined with categorization and rating of Chinese vowels in the F1 × F2 space. Results As expected, EN listeners significantly outperformed CN listeners in English vowel identification. Whereas EN listeners showed distinctive establishment of 2 English vowels, CN listeners had multiple patterns of L2 vowel establishment: both, 1, or neither established. Moreover, CN listeners' English vowel perception was significantly related to the perceptual distance between the English vowel and its Chinese counterpart, and the perceptual distance between the adjacent English vowels. Conclusions L2 vowel perception relied on listeners' capacity to distinctively establish L2 vowel categories that were distant from the nearby L2 vowels.

scholarly journals English Oral Communication Apprehension in Students of Indonesian Maritime

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 158
Author(s):  
Nur Aeni ◽  
Baso Jabu ◽  
Muhammad Asfah Rahman ◽  
John Evar Strid
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Public Speaking ◽  
Communication Apprehension ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
First Year ◽  
Workplace Performance ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Sound Communication ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
English Speaking

Oral communication is essential for people’s workplace performance as well as for university students learning English. Speaking fluently is also crucial for maritime academy students prepared to work in industries abroad. Students need to believe in their ability to speak English. For this reason, sound communication skills are necessary for maritime students so they can compete with seafarer or sailor from other countries. The purpose of this research was to identify the level of oral communication apprehension of nautical students of Akademi Maritim Indonesia (Indonesian Maritime Academy) AIPI Makassar. The sample consisted of 10 first year students at nautical of AMI AIPI Makassar. Data was gathered through questionnaires adapted from Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Class Scale (FLCAS). The findings indicated that students were generally apprehensive in EFL oral communication. The students showed the highest apprehension for public speaking. The level of nautical students’ apprehension based on observation and supported by the modified FLCAS were 20% in the low category, 60% in the moderate category, and 20% in the high category. Students in the high apprehension category showed more symptoms than students in the moderate and low apprehension categories. 

Correlation between Listening Anxiety and Listening Strategies of Chinese Postgraduate Students of Science and Engineering: A Case Study at SUES

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shengli Wang
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Listening Anxiety ◽  
Medium Level ◽  
Chi Square Test ◽  
Listening Proficiency ◽  
Listening Strategies

<p>English listening is one of the five basic skills such as listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation that a Chinese postgraduate should acquire, and it is also the most significant one. In this study, 194 first-year postgraduate students at Shanghai University of Engineering Science were invited to report their strategies use and listening anxiety in the questionnaire with the 5-Likert Indirect Foreign Language Listening Strategies Scale and the 5-Likert Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale. The SPSS13.0 was used to analyze the descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, Chi-square test and One-way ANOVA, which indicated a medium listening anxiety and a medium level of strategies use. Metacognitive strategies were more frequently used than social and affective strategies, the correlation between listening proficiency and listening anxiety was significantly negative, correlation between listening proficiency and indirect listening strategies was significantly positive, and that between indirect listening strategies and listening anxiety was significantly negative. Indirect listening strategies were useful to allay listening anxiety and would be incorporated into our normal classroom teaching.</p>

scholarly journals Evaluating Students’ Achievement Test in Reading for Interpretation

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 269
Author(s):  
Aisyah Aisyah
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Achievement Test ◽  
First Year ◽  
English Department ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
The Subject

Reading is one of the important subjects in learning foreign language. Based on the curriculum 2014 in English Department, reading has some series. In order to get satisfying result of students in reading comprehension, the lecturer should know about the students’ achievement in comprehending the text. By knowing students’ achievement in reading for interpretation, the lecturer will know what they will do for the next and what should the lecturer give more attention to. This research is aimed to know the students’ achievement in comprehending the text. The subject of this research is the first year students of English department.This research is expected to give contribution for some aspects. For the students, it is expected to give information and feedback to the students about their competence in reading. For the teacher, this research is expected to give information for the lecturer about the students’ error in comprehending the text.

scholarly journals Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Iraq

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-446
Author(s):  
Bushra Saadoon Al - Noori
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
College Of Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
First Year ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Ibn Rushd ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
The Government ◽  
Daily Plan

Baghdad University is located in Baghdad; the Capital of Iraq, consists of many colleges via Sciences and Humanities , for example: College of languages, College of Arts, College of Education for Women and College of Education /Ibn Rushd and others. Each one of these Colleges consists of various departments. Our department is the English Department for four academic years. In the First year, we have four sections of more than fifty students each. Our students are boys and girls and all of them are going to be English Language Teachers because all these four academic years will make them qualified to be so. The government helps them to find jobs immediately after graduation. In these four years, our students spend 45 days in schools as a student - teacher and the staff members are visiting those two or three times to evaluate them in relation to the method of teaching and daily plan. Staff members will evaluate the way of treating the pupils in the secondary school, their way of teaching, their confidence inside the classrooms and many other points.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Learners’ Attitudes and Perceptions of L1 Use in L2 Classroom

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maram S. Almohaimeed ◽  
Huda M. Almurshed
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
English Classes ◽  
English Class ◽  
Attitudes And Perceptions ◽  
Preparatory Year

Whether to avoid learners’ first language (L1) or to make use of it in the second language (L2) classes is a controversial issue. Some studies have challenged the effectiveness of the monolingual approach to foreign language learning. This study investigates Saudi university learners’ attitudes and perceptions towards incorporating their L1(Arabic) in English class. This study also sheds light into the relationship between students’ perceptions and proficiency level in the target language. To this end, Gaebler's questionnaire (2014) was administered to 60 female learners studying in the preparatory year at a Saudi university. They were from three different English proficiency levels. The results showed that advanced learners hold a negative attitude towards the use of L1 in their English classes, whereas elementary and intermediate learners generally perceive the judicious use of their L1 positively.

scholarly journals Difficulties faced by a foreign student during their first year of study at a Russian university in the Russian language

2020 ◽  
pp. 205-211
Author(s):  
Alla A. Zhukovska
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Foreign Students ◽  
Foreign Student ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
The Real ◽  
Level Of Knowledge ◽  
The Russian Language ◽  
Lack Of Knowledge

The article deals with the issue of the language adaptation of foreign students who have left the preparatory faculty and begun their studies in Russian in the first year of the main faculty of the Russian University. The main problem is the lack of knowledge of Russian by foreign students to understand and take notes at lectures, to actively participate in seminars. The article identifies and discusses the main difficulties faced by foreigners while studying in Russia and the reasons of their appearance, analyzes the conditions of training of foreign students at the preparatory faculty and the real results of this training, the main of which is the discrepancy between what foreign students know and are capable of and what they need to know and be able to, becoming the first-year students of a Russian University. Most first-year foreign students find it difficult to study at the same level with Russian students, so they need the support and understanding of not only teachers of Russian as a foreign language, but also teachers of other subjects. It is noted that teachers who don’t specialize in teaching Russian as a foreign language can’t and don’t want to adequately assess the level of knowledge of a foreign student and help them if needed. The article proposes a possible solution to this problem.

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