scholarly journals Syntactic adaptation depends on perceived linguistic knowledge: Native English speakers differentially adapt to native and non-native confederates in dialogue

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
J E Loy ◽  
Kenny Smith
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Double Object ◽  
Nonnative Speaker ◽  
Differential Adaptation ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Prepositional Object ◽  
Communicative Context

The way speakers adapt their language during interaction may be influenced by their perception of their partner’s linguistic knowledge. We examined the degree to which speakers adapt to the syntactic structures used by their interlocutor, comparing interaction between native speakers of English and a partner who was a native or a nonnative speaker. In three lab-based experiments, naive participants took turns to describe and match pictures with a confederate who was a native or nonnative speaker of English. We found that participants tended to produce the same syntactic form (prepositional object or double object) that the confederate had just produced on the turn before. We observed different levels of adaptation to native and nonnative confederates, with participants adapting more to nonnative confederates than native confederates, but only when confederates exhibited linguistic inflexibility through a rigid production of double object constructions, some of which were ungrammatical (e.g. “The wizard donates the golfer the cake”). A further two online experiments were conducted to replicate the design of the lab-based experiments. We found differential adaptation to natives and nonnatives again only when confederates’ behaviour exhibited the same linguistic inflexibility; however, the effect of confederate nativeness was the opposite to the lab experiments, with participants adapting more to the inflexible native speaker. Together, our results provide evidence that adaptation is at least partly driven by listener-oriented mechanisms; speakers take into account their partner’s linguistic knowledge and communicative needs when these needs are foregrounded by the communicative context.

The endonormative standards of European English

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rias van den Doel ◽  
Hugo Quené
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Internet Survey ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
European Continent ◽  
Global Ratings ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Inner Circle

It has been asserted that a common European variety of English is currently emerging. This so-called “European English” is claimed to be the result of convergence among non-native English speakers, and to reflect a gradual abandonment of Inner Circle norms, which are deemed to be increasingly irrelevant to non-native speakers’ communicative needs. Evidence is so far lacking that Europeans judge each other’s proficiency in English by anything other than native-speaker standards — particularly as regards pronunciation. Nonetheless, it would be interesting to establish whether European non-native speakers of English demonstrated convergence when evaluating the pronunciation of fellow Europeans, and in this respect deviated significantly not only from Inner Circle English native speakers but also from non-European judges. To investigate this possibility, a large-scale Internet survey was carried out in which different groups of users of English (native and non-native, European and non-European, N = 373) evaluated the pronunciation features of five European accents of English, by means of global ratings and detailed responses. The observed convergence of native and non-native judges’ responses does not correspond with emerging endonormative pronunciation standards on the European continent. Hence these findings fail to support the claims about an emerging European English variety.

scholarly journals Non-native speaker teachers of English: Challenges and prospects – An interview with George Braine

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chit Cheung Matthew Sung
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
Years Of Experience ◽  
Nonnative Speaker ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Over 40 Years

Issues surrounding non-native speakers of English have been gaining a great deal of attention over the last decade in the field of ELT. In this interview, Georg Braine, a leading expert in this area of research, talks about the development of the Nonnative Speaker (NNS) Movement, the challenges that NNS teachers face, and the prospects that hold for NNS teachers. With over 40 years of experience in ELT, he is best known as the founder of the NNS Movement and the founding Chair of the Nonnative Speakers Caucus in the TESOL organization. His website can be found: <georgebraine.com/>. ELT分野ではここ10年ほど、英語の非母語話者(NNS)に関する議論が大きな注目を集めている。インタビューでは、この研究分野の第一人者であるGeorg Braineが、非母語話者運動(NNS Movement)の発展、NNS教師が直面する課題や将来への展望について語る。氏はELT分野で40年以上の経験を持ち、TESOL学会のNNS Movementの創始者で、非母語話者部会(Nonnative Speakers Caucus)の創設会長としてよく知られて

scholarly journals Native Speakers as Teachers in Turkey: Non - native Pre - service English Teachers’ Reactions to a Nation - wide Project

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Coşkun
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking Teachers

Although English is now a recognized international language and the concept of native speaker is becoming more doubtful every day, the empowerment of the native speakers of English as language teaching professionals is still continuing (McKay, 2002), especially in Asian countries like China and Japan. One of the latest examples showing the empowerment of the native English speakers comes from Turkey planning to embark on a project to hire 40.000 native English - speaking teachers (NESTs) to collaborate with the local non - native English teachers (NNESTs) in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes in Turkey. This study tries to reveal the preliminary reactions of pre - service NNESTs about this project through data obtained from open - ended surveys. The content analysis of the data showed that even before the project was initiated, most of the participants objected to it. Although some of the participants favored the project as they believed that the NESTs might be more helpful for students to improve speaking skills and to increase their cultural awareness, the majority of the participants held negative attitudes towards the project mainly because of employment and pedagogical concerns.

scholarly journals ENGLISH IN THE GLOBAL WORKPLACE: A NARRATIVE APPROACH

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Emilia Wąsikiewicz-Firlej
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Narrative Approach ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Diffi Cult ◽  
International Environment ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

This paper aims to contribute to the discussion on the new directions in ESP education and revisit the concepts of the native speaker and lingua franca as seen from the lay perspective. It reports the results of a research study – an analysis of narratives of ten Polish professionals working for international organizations who share their experiences and tell stories on communicating and using English in the workplace. The narrative approach adopted in the study gives an insight into individual perspectives, facilitating an in-depth, holistic understanding of the studied matters. The fi ndings have shown that native English is still deemed to be the main point of reference by the participants of the study and the notion of lingua franca appears unfamiliar and diffi cult to accept, especially in the educational context. Variations in individual preferences concerning communication with native or non-native users of English and declared comfort related to such interactions have been observed and correlated with the level of profi ciency in English. In most cases, more profi cient users have reported to feel more comfortable in interactions with native speakers of English. They have also demonstrated certain language awareness, which stands in a sharp contrast to the participants less profi cient in English, whose perception of language is very simplifi ed. As regards pedagogical implications, the study has signalled a need for sound cultural preparation of professionals working in international environment and a greater emphasis on developing communication skills for socialising – an essential aspect of business communication.

A Recurrent Word Combination Approachto the Study of Formulae in the Speech of Native and Non-Native Speakers of English

1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvie De Cock
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Quantitative Comparison ◽  
Automatic Extraction ◽  
Word Combination ◽  
Full Discussion ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Recurrent Word

This article reports on a pilot study into how corpus methods can be applied to the study of one type of phraseological unit, formulae, in native speaker and learner speech. Formulae, or formulaic expressions, are multi-word units performing a pragmatic and/or discourse-structuring function and have been characterised as being typically native-like. The methodology presented here is contrastive and involves the use of computerised corpora of both native and non-native speaker speech. It consists of two steps: (1) the automatic extraction of all recurrent word combinations to produce lists of potential formulae, and (2) a carefully specified manual filtering process designed to reduce these lists to lists of actual formulaic usage. The results of this process allow for the first genuine quantitative comparison of formulae in the speech of native and non-native speakers, which in turn has significant implications for SLA research. This paper focuses on methodology and does not present a full discussion of the results. However, selected example findings are presented to support the approach adopted.

scholarly journals The use of discourse markers but and so by native English speakers and Chinese speakers of English

Pragmatics ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binmei Liu
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Oral Discourse ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

Abstract Previous studies have found that but and so occur frequently in native and non-native English speakers’ speech and that they are easy to acquire by non-native English speakers. The current study compared ideational and pragmatic functions of but and so by native and non-native speakers of English. Data for the study were gathered using individual sociolinguistic interviews with five native English speakers and ten L1 Chinese speakers. The results suggest that even though the Chinese speakers of English acquired the ideational functions of but and so as well as the native English speakers, they underused the pragmatic functions of them. The findings indicate that there is still a gap between native and non-native English speakers in communicative competence in the use of but and so. The present study also suggests that speakers’ L1 (Mandarin Chinese) and overall oral proficiency in oral discourse affect their use of but and so.

How native and non-native English speakers adapt to humor in intercultural interaction

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy D Bell
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
The Other ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Intercultural Interaction ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Negative Message ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

AbstractHumor can often carry an implicit negative message and thus be potentially dangerous to use. In addition, it is culturally and linguistically complex and sophisticated. Because of these things, it poses a challenge for L2 (second language) speakers and we might expect to see attempts at humor failing and causing offense in intercultural interaction. This paper reports on a study that examined humor in interaction between native and non-native speakers of English and found that humor did not seem to be a cause of conflict because of adjustments speakers made to their speech and their situated interpretations of meaning. In general, taboo topics and potentially dangerous forms of humor were avoided and humor was carefully contextualized. Native speakers reported being careful about the vocabulary they used in creating humor and both sides appeared to approach humor in intercultural communication prepared to accommodate the other and with an attitude of leniency.

Priming and adaptation in native speakers and second-language learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
EDITH KAAN ◽  
EUNJIN CHUN
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Prepositional Phrase ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Double Object ◽  
Processing Strategies ◽  
L2 Learners

Native speakers show rapid adjustment of their processing strategies and preferences on the basis of the structures they have recently encountered. The present study investigated the nature of priming and adaptation in second-language (L2) speakers and, more specifically, whether similar mechanisms underlie L2 and native language adaptation. Native English speakers and Korean L2 learners of English completed a written priming study probing the use of double object and prepositional phrase datives. Both groups showed cumulative adaptation effects for both types of dative, which was stronger for the structure that was initially less frequent to them (prepositional phrase datives for the native English speakers, and double object datives for the L2 learners). This supports models of priming that incorporate frequency-based modulation of long-lasting activation of structures. L2 learners and native speakers use similar processing mechanisms; differences in adaptation can be accounted for by differences in the relative frequency of structures.

Deficient non-native speakers or translanguagers?

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 280-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
I-Chung Ke
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Nonnative Speaker ◽  
Japanese Students ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Code Mixing ◽  
Intercultural Exchange ◽  
Japanese Speaker

This study investigated how the experience of a multilingual and multimodal English as a lingua franca (ELF) online intercultural exchange (OIE) influenced Taiwanese university students’ linguistic identities. Data was drawn from 26 Taiwanese students who had 10 weekly one-hour video live-chats with 18 Japanese students in 2 semesters. Taiwanese participants were interviewed on their language use and issues related to identities before, during, and after the exchange. Students’ language use patterns in the OIE and reflections on the OIE were also analyzed. Interviews revealed that the multilingual ELF experience had a liberating and empowering effect for students’ English use. In multimodal communication, they felt more comfortable using English together with other languages, evidenced by increasing productions of code-mixing utterances in later weeks. However, the anxiety of using Japanese with a native Japanese speaker still persisted. In particular, the native-speaker (NS)–nonnative-speaker (NNS) interactions constrained them to pay more attention to form and accuracy, which positioned both Taiwanese and Japanese students as either native speakers or deficient nonnative language learners.

Listening with an attitude: A model of native-speaker comprehension of non-native speakers in the United States

2002 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHANIE LINDEMANN
Keyword(s):  
Direct Relationship ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
The United States ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
English Speaker ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Poor Comprehension ◽  
The Relationship

This study investigates whether there is a relationship between negative attitudes toward non-native speakers and poor comprehension of those speakers. Twelve native English speakers whose attitudes toward Koreans had been assessed were asked to complete an interactional map task paired with native Korean speakers. In the task, some but not all of those who had been assessed as having negative attitudes toward Koreans were found to use either strategies that were described as problematizing their partners' utterances, or strategies that were described as avoidance. All participants completed the map task reasonably successfully except where the native English speaker used avoidance strategies, suggesting that the relationship between attitude and comprehension is mediated by the native speaker's choice of strategies. However, there appeared to be a direct relationship between attitude and perceived success of interactions, which may ultimately have the same consequences for interactants as if the relationship were between attitude and actual success.

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