ERIC Number: EJ1417775
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 29
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-1072-4303
Available Date: N/A
Developing Interpreter Trainees' Speech Comprehensibility: Does Nativeness of the Instructor Matter?
TESL-EJ, v27 n4 2024
This study examines the effect of native "vs." non-native prosody instruction on developing interpreter trainees' speech comprehensibility in English as a foreign language (EFL) using a pretest-posttest-delayed posttest design. Twenty-three groups of 28 interpreter trainees at a University in Iran (six different branches) took part in the study, all groups receiving the same amount of instruction (9 hours over 3 weeks). Three control groups listened to/viewed authentic audio recordings and movies in English, discussed their contents, and completed a variety of speaking tasks but received no specific prosody instruction. Twenty experimental groups spent part of the instruction time on theoretical explanation of, and practical exercises with, English prosody by thirteen nonnative instructors, and seven native instructors. Three experts evaluated the comprehensibility of the trainees in elicited speech samples collected during the pretest, immediate posttest and delayed posttest, and subsequently presented in random order. The findings revealed that the experimental groups gained between 1 and 2 points on the 0 to 10 comprehensibility scale, and lost little in the delayed posttest; however, hardly any changes were observed in the control groups. We conclude that native and non-native English instructors' prosody teaching were equally effective in enhancing EFL students' speech comprehensibility.
Descriptors: Speech Communication, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Pronunciation Instruction, Language Teachers, Teacher Characteristics, Native Speakers, Intonation, Suprasegmentals, Translation, Universities, Language Processing, Professional Education, Task Analysis, Intelligibility, Student Evaluation, Comparative Analysis, Foreign Countries, Undergraduate Students
TESL-EJ. e-mail: editor@tesl-ej.org; Web site: http://tesl-ej.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Iran
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A