Aptitude,Anxiety,and Success in L2 Speech Development: A Longitudinal Study of Chinese EFL College-Level Learners

Abstract

This study examined the second language (L2) speech development of a group of Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) college-level learners (N = 83) and the association between their aptitude, anxiety, and L2 speech development. The performance of the participants’ L2 speech, including speech comprehensibility and accentedness, was evaluated using a sentence reading task and a pair of picture description tasks (pre- and post-test). In addition, students completed the LLAMA tests (language learning and aptitude measurement in adults) and the Second Language Speaking Anxiety Scale (SLSAS). The t-test revealed that after one semester of English speaking and pronunciation instruction, the EFL students in the study demonstrated significant gains in their L2 speech performance in terms of accentedness and comprehensibility in both controlled and impromptu tasks. Regression analyses revealed that phonemic coding ability positively predicted gains in comprehensibility but negatively predicted gains in accentedness during sentence reading. In addition, associative memory was positively associated with comprehensibility gains in the picture description task. Anxiety appeared to be a strong predictor of participants’ gains in speech comprehensibility and accentedness during the picture description task.

Keywords

L2 speech development speaking pronunciation aptitude anxiety

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Baker-Smemoe

Haslam

(2013). The effect of language learning aptitude, strategy use and learning context on L2 pronunciation learning. Applied Linguistics, 34, 435–456. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/ams066

Baran-Łucarz

(2011). The relationship between language anxiety and the actual and perceived levels of foreign language pronunciation. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 1(4), 491–514. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2011.1.4.3

Carroll

J. B.

Sapon

S. M.

(1959). Modern Language Aptitude Test. Psychological Corporation

Cebrian

(2006). Experience and the use of non-native duration in L2 vowel categorization. Journal of Phonetics, 34, 372–387.

Celce-Murcia

Brinton

Goodwin

(2010). Teaching pronunciation: A course book and reference guide. Cambridge University Press.

Cheng

Y. S.

(2017). Development and preliminary validation of four brief measures of L2 language skill-specific anxiety. System, 68, 15–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.06.009

Cheng

Y. S.

Horwitz

E. K.

Schallert

D. L.

(1999). Language anxiety: Differentiating writing and speaking components. Language Learning, 49(3), 417–446. https://doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.00095

Cohen

West

Aiken

L. S.

(2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Derwing

T. M.

Munro

M. J.

(1997). Accent, intelligibility, and comprehensibility. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2, 1–16. https://doi.org/101017/S0272263197001010.

10.

Derwing

T. M.

Munro

M. J.

(2013). The development of L2 oral language skills in two L1 groups: A 7-year study. Language Learning, 63, 163–185. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12000

11.

Derwing

T. M.

Munro

M. J.

(2015). Pronunciation fundamentals: Evidence-based perspectives for L2 teaching and research. John Benjamins.

12.

Derwing

T. M.

Munro

M. J.

Wiebe

(1998). Evidence in favor of a broad framework for pronunciation instruction. Language Learning, 48(3), 393–410. https://doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.00047

13.

Dewaele

J. M.

Al Saraj

T. M.

(2015). Foreign language classroom anxiety of Arab learners of English: The effect of personality, linguistic and sociobiographical variables. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 5(2), 205–230. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2015.5.2.2

14.

Flege

J. E.

Bohn

O.-S.

(2021). The revised speech learning model (SLM-r). In Wayland

(Ed.), Second language speech learning: Theoretical and empirical progress (pp. 3–83). Cambridge University Press.

15.

Golestani

Zatorre

R. J.

(2009). Individual differences in the acquisition of second language phonology. Brain and Language, 109, 55–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2008.01.005

16.

Granena

(2019). Cognitive aptitudes and L2 speaking proficiency: Links between LLAMA and HI-LAB. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41(2), 313–336. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263118000256

17.

Granena

Long

M. H.

(2013). Age of onset, length of residence, language aptitude, and ultimate L2 attainment in three linguistic domains. Second Language Research, 29(3), 311–343. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43103927

18.

Hair

J. F.

Black

W. C.

Babin

B. J.

Anderson

R. E.

(2010). Multivariate data analysis. Prentice Hall.

19.

Horwitz

E. K.

(2017). On the misreading of Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) and the need to balance anxiety research and the experiences of anxious language learners. In Gkonou

Daubney

Dewaele

J.-M.

(Eds.), New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications (pp. 31–50). Multilingual Matters.

20.

Horwitz

E. K.

Horwitz

M. B.

Cope

(1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 70, 125–132. https://doi.org/10.2307/327317

21.

Huensch

Nagle

(2022). Revisiting the moderating effect of speaker proficiency on the relationships among intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness in L2 Spanish. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 1. 15. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263122000213

22.

Isaacs

Thomson

R. I.

(2013). Rater experience, rating scale length, and judgments of L2 pronunciation: Revisiting research conventions. Language Assessment Quarterly, 10, 135–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2013.769545

23.

Kennedy

Guénette

Murphy

Allard

(2015). The role of pronunciation on comprehension between speakers of French as a lingua franca. Canadian Modern Language Review, 7125, 1. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.2139

24.

Kermad

A. . A. . D

. (2018). Speaker and listener variability in the perception of non-native speech [Doctoral dissertation]. Northern Arizona University.

25.

Krashen

(1985). The input hypothesis: Issues and implications. Longman.

26.

Lang

P. J.

(1971). The application of psychophysiological methods to the study of psychotherapy and behavior modiﬁcation. In Bergin

A. E.

Garﬁeld

S. L.

(Eds.), Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change (pp. 75–125). Wiley.

27.

Larson-Hall

(2008). Weighing the benefits of studying a foreign language at a younger starting age in a minimal input situation. Second Language Research, 24, 35–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658307082981

28.

(2016). The construct validity of language aptitude. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 38, 801–842. https://doi.org/10.1017/S027226311500042X

29.

(2018). Language aptitude. In Burns

Richards

(Eds.), The Cambridge guide to learning English as a second language (pp. 63–72). Cambridge University Press.

30.

(2019). Six decades of language aptitude research: A comprehensive and critical review. In Wen

Skehan

Biedron

Sparks

R. L.

(Eds.), Language aptitude. Advancing theory, testing, research and practice (pp. 78–96). Routledge.

31.

Hiver

Papi

(2022). Individual differences in second language acquisition: Theory, research, and practice. In. In Li.

Hiver

Papi

(Eds.), The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition and individual differences (pp. 3–34). Routledge.

32.

Liu

M. L.

(2006). Anxiety in Chinese EFL students at different proficiency levels. System, 34, 301–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2006.04.004

33.

MacIntyre

P. D.

(2017). An overview of language anxiety research and trends in its development. In Gkonou

Daubney

Dewaele

(Ed.), New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications (pp. 11–30). Multilingual Matters.

34.

MacIntyre

P. D.

Gardner

R. C.

(1991). Methods and results in the study of anxiety and language learning: A review of the literature. Language Learning, 41, 85–117.

35.

Mayers

(2013). Introduction to statistics and SPSS in psychology. Pearson.

36.

Meara

(2005). Llama language aptitude tests: The manual. Lognostics.

37.

Mora

J. C.

Mora-Plaza

Bermejo Miranda

(2024). Speaking anxiety and task complexity effects on second language speech. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 34, 292–315. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12494

38.

Munoz

Llanes

(2014). Study abroad and changes in degree of foreign accent in children and adults. The Modern Language Journal, 98, 432–449. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2014.12059.x

39.

Munro

M. J.

Derwing

T. M.

(1995a). Foreign accent, comprehensibility and intelligibility in the speech of second language learners. Language Learning, 45, 73–97.

40.

Munro

M. J.

Derwing

T. M.

(1995b). Processing time, accent and comprehensibility in the perception of native and foreign accented speech. Language and Speech, 38, 289–306. https://doi.org/10.1177/002383099503800305

41.

Nagle

(2013). A reexamination of ultimate attainment in L2 phonology: Length of immersion, motivation, and phonological short-term memory. In Voss

Tai

S.–J. D.

(Eds.), Selected Proceedings of the 2011 second language research forum (pp. 148–161). Cascadilla Proceedings Project.

42.

Nagle

(2018). Motivation, comprehensibility, and accentedness in L2 Spanish: Investigating Motivation as a time-varying predictor of pronunciation development. The Modern Language Journal, 102, 199–217. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12461

43.

Nagle

C. L.

Trofimovich

O’Brien

M. G.

Kennedy

(2022). Beyond linguistic features: Exploring behavioral and affective correlates of comprehensible second language speech. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 44(1), 255–270. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263121000073

44.

Nicolaidis

Mattheoudakis

(2012). The PRO-VOC method: Combining pronunciation and vocabulary teaching. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 50(4), 303–321. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2012-0012

45.

Oyama

(1978). The sensitive period and comprehension of speech. NABE Journal, 3(1), 25–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/08855072.1978.10668342

46.

Pérez Castillejo

. (2019). The role of foreign language anxiety on L2 utterance fluency during a final exam. Language Testing, 36(3), 327–345. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532218777783

47.

Saito

(2011). Examining the role of explicit phonetic instruction in native-like and comprehensible pronunciation development: An instructed SLA approach to L2 phonology. Language Awareness, 20, 45–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2010.540326

48.

Saito

(2017). Effects of sound, vocabulary, and grammar learning aptitude on adult second language speech attainment in foreign language classrooms. Language Learning, 67, 665–693. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12244

49.

Saito

(2019). The role of aptitude in second language segmental learning: The case of Japanese learners’ English /ɹ/ pronunciation attainment in classroom settings. Applied Psycholinguistics, 40(1), 183–204. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716418000528

50.

Saito

(2021), What characterizes comprehensible and native-like pronunciation among english-as-a-second-language speakers? Meta-analyses of phonological, rater, and instructional factors. TESOL Quarterly, 55, 866–900. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3027

51.

Saito

Akiyama

(2017). Linguistic correlates of comprehensibility in second language Japanese speech. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 3(2), 199–217. https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.3.2.02sai

52.

Saito

Dewaele

J.-M.

Abe

In’nami

(2018). Motivation, emotion, learning experience, and second language comprehensibility development in classroom settings: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study. Language Learning, 68, 709–743. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12297

53.

Saito

Dewaele

J.-M.

Hanzawa

(2017). A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between motivation and late second language speech learning in classroom settings. Language and Speech, 60, 614–632. https://doi.org/10.1177/0023830916687793

54.

Saito

Plonsky

(2019). Effects of second language pronunciation teaching revisited: A Proposed measurement framework and meta-analysis. Language Learning, 69(3), 652–708. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12345

55.

Saito

Sun

Tierney

Y. A.

(2019). Explicit and implicit aptitude effects on second language speech learning: Scrutinizing segmental and suprasegmental sensitivity and performance via behavioral and neurophysiological measures. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 22(5), 1123–1140. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728918000895

56.

Saito

Suzukida

Sun

(2019). Aptitude, experience, and second language pronunciation proficiency development in classroom settings: A longitudinal study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41(1), 201–225. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263117000432

57.

Saito

(2017). Differential effects of instruction on the development of second language comprehensibility, word stress, rhythm, and intonation: The case of inexperienced Japanese EFL learners. Language Teaching Research, 21, 589–608. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168816643111

58.

Skehan

(1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

59.

Skehan

(2016). Foreign language aptitude, acquisitional sequences, and psycholinguistic processes. In Granena

Jackson

Yilmaz

(Eds.), Cognitive individual differences in L2 processing and acquisition (pp. 15–38). John Benjamins.

60.

Sun

Saito

Dewaele

J.-M.

(2024). Cognitive and sociopsychological individual differences, experience, and naturalistic second language speech learning: A longitudinal study. Language Learning, 74, 5–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12561

61.

Suzuki

DeKeyser

(2017). The interface of explicit and implicit knowledge in a second language: Insights from individual differences in cognitive aptitudes. Language Learning, 67, 747–790. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12241

62.

Suzukida

Saito

(2023). Detangling experiential, cognitive, and sociopsychological individual differences in second language speech learning: Cross-sectional and longitudinal investigations. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 26(4), 762–775. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728922000700

63.

Szyszka

(2011). Foreign language anxiety and self-perceived English pronunciation competence. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2(1), 283–300. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2011.1.2.7

64.

Teimouri

Goetze

Plonsky

(2019). Second language anxiety and achievement: A meta-analysis. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41(2), 363–387. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263118000311

65.

Thomson

R. I.

Derwing

(2015). The effectiveness of L2 pronunciation instruction: A narrative review. Applied Linguistics, 36(3), 326–344. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amu076

66.

Trofimovich

Isaacs

(2012). Disentangling accent from comprehensibility. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15(4), 905–916. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728912000168

67.

Uchihara

Webb

Saito

Trofimovich

(2023). Frequency of exposure influences accentedness and comprehensibility in learners’ pronunciation of second language words. Language Learning, 73, 84–125. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12517

68.

Woodrow

(2006). Anxiety and speaking English as a second language. RELC Journal, 37(3), 308–328. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688206071315

69.

Yilmaz

Koylu

(2016). The interaction between phonetic coding ability and feedback exposure condition. In Granena

Jackson

Yilmaz

(Eds.), Cognitive individual differences in L2 processing and acquisition (pp. 303–326). John Benjamins.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.57 MB