Part of
Learner Corpora and Language TeachingEdited by Sandra Götz and Joybrato Mukherjee
[Studies in Corpus Linguistics 92] 2019
► pp. 175–190
Edited by Sandra Götz and Joybrato Mukherjee
[Studies in Corpus Linguistics 92] 2019
► pp. 175–190
Speech rate revisited
The effect of task design on speech rate
The present study aims to explore the effect of elicitation-task design on speech rate. The data derives from the Czech learner subcorpus of the Louvain International Database of Spoken English Interlanguage (LINDSEI_CZ), its native English counterpart the Louvain Corpus of Native English Conversation (LOCNEC) and a corpus of native Czech recorded by the same speakers as in LINDSEI_CZ. Speech rates in words per minute are compared using ANOVA. Significantly lower speech rates are found especially in the picture-based task, showing that such tasks are cognitively demanding both for learners and natives. Differences between monologic and dialogic tasks are smaller and not statistically significant. The study explores possible reasons for these differences and draws implications for corpus design and research design as well as for language assessment.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Data and method
- 3.Results and discussion
- 4.Language-pedagogical implications, conclusion and outlook
-
Acknowledgements -
Notes -
References
References
Anderson-Hsieh, Janet. & Koehler, Kenneth
1988 The effect of foreign accent and speaking rate on native speaker comprehension. Language Learning 38(4): 561–613. 
Baese-Berk, Melissa M. & Morrill, Tuuli H.
2015 Speaking rate consistency in native and non-native speakers of English. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 138(3): EL223–EL228.
Bosker, Hans Rutger, Pinget, Anne-France, Quené, Hugo, Sanders, Ted & de Jong, Nivja H.
2013 What makes speech sound fluent? The contributions of pauses, speed and repairs. Language Testing 30(2): 159–175.
Cohen, Jacob
1988 Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, rev. 2nd edn. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
De Cock, Sylvie
2004 Corpus LOCNEC. Université catholique de Louvain.
De Jong, Nivja H., Rachel Groenhout, Rob Schoonen & Jan H. Hulstijn
2015 Second language fluency: Speaking style or proficiency? Correcting measures of second language fluency for first language behavior. Applied Psycholinguistics 36(2): 223–243.
Derwing, Tracey M., Munro, Murray J., Thomson, Ronald I. & Rossiter, Marian J.
2009 The relationship between L1 fluency and L2 fluency development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 31(4): 533–557.
Foster, Pauline. & Tavakoli, Parvaneh
2009 Native speakers and task performance: Comparing effects on complexity, fluency, and lexical diversity. Language Learning 59(4): 866–896.
Freed, Barbara F.
1995 What makes us think that students who study abroad become fluent? In Second Language Acquisition in a Study Abroad Context, Barbara F. Freed (ed.), 123–148. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Freed, Barbara F., Segalowitz, Norman & Dewey, Dan P.
2004 Context of learning and second language fluency in French: Comparing regular classroom, study abroad, and intensive domestic immersion programs. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 26(2): 275–301.
Gilabert, Roger, Barón, Julia & Levkina, Maria
2011 Manipulating task complexity across task types and modes. In Second Language Task Complexity: Researching the Cognition Hypothesis of Language Learning and Performance [Task-Based Language Teaching 2], Peter Robinson (ed.). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Götz, Sandra
2013 Fluency in Native and Nonnative English Speech [Studies in Corpus Linguistics 53]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Gráf, Tomáš
2015 Accuracy and Fluency in the Speech of the Advanced Learner of English. PhD dissertation, Charles University Prague. [URL]> (11 May 2018).
2017a LINDSEI_CZ: korpus spontánní mluvené angličtiny pokročilých mluvčích. Ústav Českého národního korpusu FF UK, Praha 2017. [URL]> (13 May 2018).
2017b Repeats in advanced spoken English. Acta Universitatis Carolinae. Philologica. Phonetica Pragensia. 2018 (1/XIV).
2017c The story of the learner corpus LINDSEI_CZ. Studies in Applied Linguistics 8(2): 22–35.
Griffiths, Roger
1991 Pausological research in an L2 context: A rationale, and review of selected studies. Applied Linguistics 12(4): 345–364.
Hausner, Manfred
1987 Sprechgeschwindigkeit als eine Funktion von Stress: Eine Fallstudie. Language and Style 20: 285–311.
Kormos, Judit & Dénes, Mariann
2004 Exploring measures and perceptions of fluency in the speech of second language learners. System 32(2): 145–164.
Kowal, Sabine, Wiese, Richard & O’Connell, Daniel C.
1983 The use of time in storytelling. Language and Speech 26(4): 377–392.
Lennon, Paul
1990a Investigating fluency in EFL: A quantitative approach. Language Learning 40(3): 387–417.
1990b The advanced learner at large in the L2 community: Developments in spoken performance. International Review of Applied Linguistics 28(4): 309–324.
Luoma, Sari
2004 Assessing Speaking. Cambridge: CUP.
Möhle, Dorothea
1984 A comparison of the second language speech production of different native speakers. In Second Language Productions, Hans W. Dechert, Dorothea Möhle & Manfred Raupach (eds), 50–68. Tübingen: Narr.
Mora, Joan C.
2006 Age effect on oral fluency development. In Age and the Rate of Foreign Language Learning, Carmen Muñoz (ed.), 65–88. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Munro, Murray J. & Derwing, Tracey M.
2001 Modelling perceptions of the accentedness and comprehensibility of L2 speech: The role of speaking rate. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 23(4): 451–468.
Osborne, John
2013 Oral learner corpora and the assessment of fluency in the Common European Framework’. In New Trends in Corpora and Language Learning, Ana Frankenberg-Garcia, Lynne Flowerdew & Guy Aston (eds), 251–256. London: Continuum.
Ramig, Lorraine A.
1983 Effects of physiological aging on speaking and reading rates. Journal of Communication Disorders 16(3): 217–226.
Robinson, Peter
1995 Task complexity and second language narrative discourse. Language Learning 45: 1–42.
Robinson, Peter, Cadierno, Teresa & Shirai, Yasuhiro
2009 Time and motion: Measuring the effects of the conceptual demands of tasks on second language speech production. Applied Linguistics 30(4): 533–554.
Skehan, Peter & Foster, Pauline
1999 The influence of task structure and processing conditions on narrative retellings. Language Learning 49(1): 93–120.
Tauroza, Steve & Allison, Desmond
1990 Speech rates in British English. Applied Linguistics 11(1): 90–105.
Towell, Richard & Dewaele, Jean-Marc
2005 The role of psycholinguistic factors in the development of fluency. In Focus on French as a Foreign Language, Jean-Marc Dewaele (ed.), 210–239. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Whiteside, Sandra P.
1996 Temporal-based acoustic-phonetic patterns in read speech: Some evidence for speaker sex differences. Journal of the International Phonetic Association 26(1): 23–40.
Cited by
Cited by 4 other publications
De Cock, Sylvie
2023. Review of Crawford (2021): Multiple Perspectives on Learner Interaction. The Corpus of Collaborative Oral Tasks. International Journal of Learner Corpus Research 9:2 ► pp. 282 ff. 
Götz, Sandra
2019. Filled pauses across proficiency levels, L1s and learning context variables. International Journal of Learner Corpus Research 5:2 ► pp. 159 ff.
Götz, Sandra, Christoph Wolk & Katja Jäschke
2022. Contextualizing fluency in advanced spoken learner language. In Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in Learner Corpus Research [Studies in Corpus Linguistics, 104], ► pp. 273 ff.
Ngoc Thanh, Trinh
2023. Speech Rate and Speaking Performance in Picture-Description Speaking Task. In Competence-Based Curriculum and E-Learning in Higher Education [Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design, ], ► pp. 141 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 20 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.