Presentation

Native Listeners’ Evaluations of Pleasantness, Foreign Accent, Comprehensibility, and Fluency in the Speech of Accented Talkers

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Abstract

Compared to studies on accentedness, fluency, and comprehensibility, there are few studies on pleasantness in second language (L2) research. To address this gap, we investigated native English speakers’ subjective evaluations of pleasantness, accentedness, comprehensibility, and fluency in the speech of Korean learners of English. Twenty-six raters made judgements on a 9-point Likert scale after listening to spontaneous speech samples from Korean learners of English. Results indicated that pleasantness ratings are predicted by all dimensions. In particular, we observed fluency as the best predictor of native listeners’ perceived pleasantness, followed by comprehensibility and accentedness. Our findings suggest native speakers’ (NSs) appraisals of L2 speech pleasantness is influenced by how fluent and comprehensible L2 speakers are.

How to Cite:

Lee, J., Kim, D. J. & Park, H., (2018) “Native Listeners’ Evaluations of Pleasantness, Foreign Accent, Comprehensibility, and Fluency in the Speech of Accented Talkers”, Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Proceedings 10(1).