The Effects of Nonnative Accents of Listening Comprehension: Implications for ESL Assessment 碩研英語一甲 MA0C0205 李燕俞

Theme To examine the extent to which native- English speaking and ESL listeners performed significantly better on a test of listening comprehension in English when the speaker shared their native language.

Motivation Accented language may affect the listening comprehension of ESL listeners differently depending on their native languages. But most listening tests do not address the fact that accented English is a normal part of ESL listening. This study examined the extent to which native- English speaking and ESL listeners performed better on a test when the speaker shared their native language.

Methodology a. Participants b. Listening Comprehension Trial Test c. Test Administration d. Data Analysis

a. Participants The participants consisted of four groups of 100 listeners whose native languages were Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and standard American English nonnative-English-speaking listeners, 100 participants each from China, Colombia, and Japan. (selected from potential TOEFL takers residing in their home countries ) -100 native-English-speaking listeners were undergraduate and graduate students at Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University in the United States

b. Listening Comprehension Trial Test Recorded eight speakers (one male and one female NS of Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and standard American English)

c. Test Administration The participants took the listening section of a disclosed form of the paper-and-pencil institutional TOEFL before taking the Listening Comprehension Trial Test. Each group of 100 participants was divided into two, for a total of eight groups. In the test, which lasted approximately 32 minutes, each group heard an audiotape of all eight speakers and all lectures, but each group heard the lectures delivered by different speakers.

d. Data Analysis The test results of the 400 participants by means of a two factor (four-by-four) analysis of variance (ANOVA) with one between subjects factor (four levels) and one within- subjects factor (four levels). The between-subjects factor was the language of the listener. The within subjects factor was the language of the speaker.

Results The 96 native-English-speaking listeners performed better than the 287 nonnative- English-speaking listeners. Listeners perform significantly better on a listening comprehension test when the speaker shares their native language was not definitely correct but sometimes. Listening to a lecture spoken by an NS of their language was an advantage for the Spanish- speaking listeners, but it was a disadvantage for the Chinese-speaking listeners.

Comment If the researcher estimates more details like the numbers of university instructors from various language backgrounds, the data may will be exacter.