Perception of Native English Reduced Forms in Adverse Environments by Chinese Undergraduate Students

Simpson W. L. Wong*, Jenny K. Y. Tsui, Bonnie Wing-Yin Chow, Vina W. H. Leung, Peggy Mok, Kevin Kien-Hoa Chung

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Previous research has shown that learners of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) have difficulties in understanding connected speech spoken by native English speakers. Extending from past research limited to quiet listening condition, this study examined the perception of English connected speech presented under five adverse conditions, namely multi-talker babble noise, speech-shaped noise, factory noise, whispering and sad emotional tones. We tested a total of 64 Chinese ESL undergraduate students, using a battery of listening tasks. Results confirmed that the recognition of English native speech was more challenging for Chinese ESL learners under unfavorable listening conditions, in comparison to a noise-free listening condition. These findings carry significant implications for the importance of training and assessments on connected speech perception across various listening environments.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1149-1165
JournalJournal of Psycholinguistic Research
Volume46
Issue number5
Online published1 Apr 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2017

Research Keywords

  • Chinese learners of English-as-second-language
  • Connected speech
  • Noise masking
  • Reduced forms dictation
  • Speech-in-noise perception

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