Phonetics in Second Language Acquisition: An Acoustic Study of Fluency in Adult Learners of Spanish

View/ Open
Issue Date
1996-03Author
Simoes, Antonio Roberto Monteiro
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, publisher version
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
A phonetic definition of fluency in natural discourse makes it possible to develop a set of procedures to measure fluency empirically. An analysis of changes in oral communication skills of five American adult learners provides an illustration of how these procedures work. These adults participated in a five-week study abroad program in Spanish. Their overall language proficiency before their departure ranged from Intermediate Low to Advanced, on the ACTFL's OPI scale. Four participants moved to higher intra-major levels, but not to higher inter-major levels. The subjective analysis of the recordings shows that most of these changes are reflected in vocabulary acquisition and more ease in discourse interaction of the four participants. According to the procedures developed in the present analysis, only two participants improved their pronunciation. The results using the present procedures correlate with OPI results.
Description
This is the published version. Copyright 1996 Johns Hopkins University Press.
Collections
Citation
Simoes, Antonio R. M. "Phonetics in Second Language Acquisition: An Acoustic Study of Fluency in Adult Learners of Spanish." Hispania 79.1 (1996): 87. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/345617.
Items in KU ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
We want to hear from you! Please share your stories about how Open Access to this item benefits YOU.