Using synchronous speech to facilitate acquisition of English rhythm: A small-­scale study

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21283/2376905X.1.9

Keywords:

SPOKEN ENGLISH, PRONUNCIATION TEACHING, ENGLISH RHYTHM, SYNCHRONOUS SPEECH, RHYTHM INSTRUCTION

Abstract

While appropriate stress and rhythm is of importance for any speaker’s intelligibility, such properties are critical for international teaching assistants (ITA), who deliver new and complex information to native speaker audiences. Given the limited time available for ITA instruction and the need for a time-efficient rhythm teaching method, this article reports findings of a small-scale feasibility study that tested the effectiveness of a synchronous speech component introduced into conventional rhythm instruction. Synchronous speech involves teacher and learner speaking in unison continuously, which allows the L2 learner to learn rhythm implicitly and uninterruptedly, and provides rich auditory-visual input, ample motor speech practice and real-time feedback, thereby automatizing rhythm patterns. In a 6-week-long pre-post experimental feasibility study, blind listeners evaluated pre- training and post-training recordings of ITA-produced speech. Data revealed a trend towards more improvement in L2 rhythm working with the synchronous speech technique. Results establish feasibility in both instruction and research.

Author Biographies

Elina Banzina, Stockholm School of Economics in Riga – Riga, Latvia

Elina Banzina, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Languages of Stockholm School of Economics in Riga. Her research interests involve English phonetics, perception and production of foreign-accented speech, intelligibility, and pronunciation teaching techniques, with a special focus on language rhythm

Lynne E. Hewitt, Bowling Green State University, Ohio, United States

Lynne Hewitt, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH. Her undergraduate training was in English and linguistics. She is a certified and licensed speech-language pathologist with clinical and research interests in language assessment and intervention

Laura C. Dilley, Michigan State University, Michigan, United States

Laura Dilley, Ph.D, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Michigan State University. Her research is in the area of phonetics, psycholinguistics, and phonology, particularly with respect to speech prosody.

Published

2014-11-30

How to Cite

Banzina, E., Hewitt, L. E., & Dilley, L. C. (2014). Using synchronous speech to facilitate acquisition of English rhythm: A small-­scale study. EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages, 1(1), 69–84. https://doi.org/10.21283/2376905X.1.9

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Section

Research Articles - Regular Issue

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