Fluency
L2 Mandarin Fluency
I was a research assistant for Dr. Clare Wright. I helped with coding and analysing speech data in Praat, transcribed speech data into text using CHAT (CLAN).
We used both temporal measures and linguistic/fluency measures for the analysis. We nearly published a protocol for transcribing and annotating Mandarin L2 fluency data.
Related articles:
- fluencyThe Effect of Study Abroad Experience on L2 Mandarin Disfluency in Different Types of TasksClare Wright, and Cong ZhangIn Proceeding of The Disfluency in Spontaneous Speech, 2015
Disfluency is a common phenomenon in L2 speech, especially in beginners’ speech. Whether studying abroad can help with reducing their disfluency or not remains debated. We examined longitudinal data from 10 adult English instructed learners of Mandarin measured before and after ten months of studying abroad (SA) in this paper. We used two speaking tasks comparing pre-planned vs. unplanned spontaneous speech to compare differences over time and between tasks, using eight linguistic and temporal fluency measures (analysed using CLAN and PRAAT). Overall mean linguistic and temporal fluency scores improved significantly (p < .05), especially speech rate (p <.01), supporting the general claim that SA favours oral development, particularly fluency. Further analysis revealed task differences at both times of measurement, but with greater improvement in the spontaneous task.
@inproceedings{wright2015disfluency, author = {Wright, Clare and Zhang, Cong}, title = {{The Effect of Study Abroad Experience on L2 Mandarin Disfluency in Different Types of Tasks}}, year = {2015}, booktitle = {Proceeding of The Disfluency in Spontaneous Speech}, editor = {Lickley, Robin}, keywords = {fluency,l2 mandarin,study abroad} } - fluencyExamining the Effects of Study Abroad on Mandarin Chinese Language Development among UK University LearnersClare Wright, and Cong ZhangNewcastle Working Papers in Linguistics, 2014
This study tracked ten third-year English students learning Mandarin Chinese as a second language (L2) at a UK university, to examine changes in L2 Mandarin during an eight-month period spent studying abroad (SA). We used three writing tasks and four speaking tasks as measures of writing and speaking proficiency, to assess total output, grammatical accuracy, lexical development, pronunciation and fluency, repeated before and after SA in China. Overall mean oral proficiency scores improved significantly (p < .05), especially speech rate (p <.01), supporting the claim that SA favours fluency development (Freed et al. 2004), although the measures highlighted difficulties in clarifying precisely how to assess oral proficiency. Written proficiency showed fewer marked improvements: only one writing test (an untimed short essay) significantly improved in length (p <.05), and increased complex grammar (use of de-relative clause morphemes, p <.001). A sub-group (n=7) provided quantitative data on L2 Mandarin use at different times during SA, showing clear individual differences, highlighting the value of capturing details of students’ experiences during SA (Regan et al. 2009). We also note the lack of standardised linguistically-informed measures for tracking development in L2 Mandarin (Freed et al. 2004; Pallotti 2009; De Jong et al. 2012). Further research is therefore much needed to identify systematic linguistic development in L2 Mandarin, and also to bridge theory and practice in L2 Mandarin language teaching to clarify the interconnecting factors that affect L2 Mandarin language development.
@article{wright2014fluency, author = {Wright, Clare and Zhang, Cong}, title = {{Examining the Effects of Study Abroad on Mandarin Chinese Language Development among UK University Learners}}, year = {2014}, journal = {Newcastle Working Papers in Linguistics}, keywords = {fluency}, pages = {67--84}, volume = {20} }
Related talks:
- fluencyL2 Mandarin Development Moving from Instruction to Immersion: Study Abroad Effects.Clare Wright, and Cong ZhangAcquisition of Non-Western Languages: The Interface between Language Learning and Language Teaching
University of Greenwich, UK, 10 oct 2015Analysing the role of input in driving L2 development in and out of the classroom is essential to understand the interrelation between what learners know and how they use what they know. For western learners of L2 Mandarin, input is typically very limited outside the classroom, and may be often based on traditional grammar-based modes of teaching involving large amounts of explicit formulaic learning. Tracking changes in L2 proficiency among such learners, e.g. moving from limited use of learned chunks to creative linguistic competence (in spoken or written form), can thus be helpful to inform the generalisability of models of L2 development, often derived from studies of communicative or CLT approaches. This study aims to shed light on the newly emerging field of instructed L2 Mandarin development, by examining effects of moving to an input-rich environment during Study Abroad, to see how far this can foster improvements in fluency, grammatical accuracy/ complexity and lexical diversity. We present data from a set of 10 adult English university learners of Mandarin measured before and after ten months studying abroad (SA), using three written and four speaking tasks to track linguistic changes in grammatical development and oral fluency (Freed et al. 2004, Pallotti 2009). Written tasks were measured for grammatical accuracy, total length, and morpheme development (targeting de-possessive, de-relative, shi-copula, and le-perfective). Oral proficiency was measured for total output, grammatical accuracy, pronunciation, lexical development, MLU, hesitation rate, use of pausing, speech rate and phonation time ratio. Information was also gathered on language contact by measuring hours and type of language use during Study Abroad. Writing scores showed little change, other than in greater total length (ns), although there was some evidence of improved grammatical range, with greater use of de-relative (p < .01) by time 2. Oral proficiency scores showed more consistent improved significantly (p < .05), especially overall speech rate (p <.01). However, more fine-grained analysis showed that all measures varied greatly by task, and were very variable across the group. Our study highlights the value of longitudinal SLA-motivated studies of language learners moving between instructed and immersed contexts, but also notes the lack of standardised linguistically-informed measures to elicit reliable evidence of development in instructed L2 Mandarin (Du 2013). We will address how further research could address some of the theoretical, methodological and pedagogical issues involved in analysing systematic linguistic development in instructed L2 Mandarin.
@conference{wright2015l2-c, author = {Wright, Clare and Zhang, Cong}, title = {L2 Mandarin Development Moving from Instruction to Immersion: Study Abroad Effects.}, booktitle = {Acquisition of Non-Western Languages: The Interface between Language Learning and Language Teaching}, year = {2015}, category = {oral}, month = {10 {Oct}}, location = {University of Greenwich, UK} } - fluencyThe Effect of Study Abroad Experience on L2 Mandarin Disfluency in Different Types of Tasks.Clare Wright, and Cong Zhang7th Workshop on Disfluency in Spontaneous Speech
University of Edinburgh, UK, 8-9 aug 2015Disfluency is a common phenomenon in L2 speech, especially in beginners’ speech. Whether studying abroad can help with reducing their disfluency or not remains debated. We examined longitudinal data from 10 adult English instructed learners of Mandarin measured before and after ten months of studying abroad (SA) in this paper. We used two speaking tasks comparing pre-planned vs. unplanned spontaneous speech to compare differences over time and between tasks, using eight linguistic and temporal fluency measures (analysed using CLAN and PRAAT). Overall mean linguistic and temporal fluency scores improved significantly (p < .05), especially speech rate (p <.01), supporting the general claim that SA favours oral development, particularly fluency. Further analysis revealed task differences at both times of measurement, but with greater improvement in the spontaneous task.
@conference{wright2015the-effect-c, author = {Wright, Clare and Zhang, Cong}, title = {The Effect of Study Abroad Experience on L2 Mandarin Disfluency in Different Types of Tasks.}, booktitle = {7th Workshop on Disfluency in Spontaneous Speech}, year = {2015}, category = {oral}, month = {8-9 Aug}, location = {University of Edinburgh, UK} } - fluencyA new perspective in analysing task effects on fluency development in L2 Mandarin.Clare Wright, and Cong Zhangthe 25th Annual Conference of the European Second Language Association (EUROSLA 25)
Aix-en-Provence, France, 26-29 aug 2015The investigation of L2 fluency in recent decades has brought increasing rigour and understanding of its complex nature and role within the broad sense of L2 acquisition (Freed et al., 2004; Kormos, 2011). Nevertheless, L2 fluency remains difficult to define and measure consistently, particularly across the two dimensions of cognitive and utterance fluency (Segalowitz, 2010). There is, we argue, a separation of methods between these two dimensions, effectively creating a distinction between linguistic and temporal fluency research. Linguistic fluency studies, e.g. using CLAN, tend to focus on changes across a mix of measures, including morphosyntactic accuracy and lexical diversity, using both monologic and interactional tasks. Temporal fluency studies, e.g. using PRAAT, tend to focus on more fine-grained changes in speech rate and breakdown to reflect automaticity in utterance production, usually measured in monologic speech. The two dimensions clearly overlap in many aspects, but studies which specifically focus on combining both are rare, despite their value in understanding fluency in a more holistic way. This is particularly true for L2 Mandarin, currently under-researched in SLA fluency studies. The study reported here, examining longitudinal changes in L2 Mandarin fluency, thus aims to add to our understanding of fluency at the linguistic/temporal interface by reporting on data, gathered across four monologic and dialogic tasks, involving prepared and unprepared speech, and analysed using both CLAN and PRAAT. Participants are ten adult L1 English learners of Mandarin, assessed before and after a year’s Study Abroad. We found that across tasks, oral measures generally showed clear improvement: in particular total mean output, speech rate, phonological accuracy increased significantly (p <.01). However, other measures such as accuracy and lexical diversity, hesitation and mean length of run differed between task, and were very variable across the group, highlighting individual differences particularly in processing prepared vs. unprepared speech demands. Even within the same task expected correlations between CLAN-based and PRAAT measures were not consistently found. This study highlights the value of collecting detailed longitudinal SLA-motivated datasets of language learners moving between instructed and immersed contexts (Du 2013), and using theoretically-grounded comparisons of linguistic and temporal fluency. However, there remain clear challenges for researching L2 fluency, especially comparing monologic vs dialogic tasks and prepared vs. unprepared speech (Pallotti 2009). We discuss theoretical, methodological and pedagogical implications of our data for systematic analysis of L2 oral development, particularly in L2 Mandarin
@conference{wright2015effects-c, author = {Wright, Clare and Zhang, Cong}, title = {A new perspective in analysing task effects on fluency development in L2 Mandarin.}, booktitle = {the 25th Annual Conference of the European Second Language Association (EUROSLA 25)}, year = {2015}, category = {oral}, month = {26-29 Aug}, location = {Aix-en-Provence, France} } - fluencyTask Effects on Development of L2 Fluency in Adult Learners of Mandarin after Study Abroad.Clare Wright, and Cong Zhang2nd Asian European Linguistics Conference
Newcastle University, UK, 5-6 dec 2014Analysing development of L2 fluency as a facet of oral proficiency remains a debated area within SLA (Pallotti 2009, de Jong et al 2012), and radically underresearched in L2 Mandarin. We aim to contribute to the discussion by presenting data from a set of 10 adult English university learners of Mandarin measured before and after ten months studying abroad (SA), to illuminate the complex nature of L2 speech and its development across a range of measures and different tasks. We used four speaking tasks to track changes in general oral proficiency and temporal fluency. General oral proficiency was measured as total output, MLU, grammatical accuracy, lexical development, pronunciation, number and type of filled pauses and hesitation rate (number of repetitions and repairs per word count), using CLAN analyses. Temporal fluency was measured by speech rate, articulation rate, phonation time ratio, number and length of silent pauses. Given the nature of Mandarin, calculations usually based on word or syllable are all here shown as based on single characters. Overall mean oral proficiency scores improved significantly (p < .05), especially overall speech rate (p <.01), supporting the general claim that SA favours oral development, particularly fluency (Collentine and Freed 2004). However, more fine-grained analysis showed that spoken measures varied greatly by task, and were very variable across the group, highlighting the difficulty in clarifying precisely how to assess oral proficiency, or communicative competence. Our study highlights the value of longitudinal SLA-motivated studies of language learners moving between instructed and immersed contexts, but also notes the lack of standardised linguistically-informed measures to provide reliable evidence of oral development in instructed L2 Mandarin (Du 2013). We will address how further research could address some of the theoretical and methodological issues involved in analysing systematic linguistic development in L2 Mandarin.
@conference{wright2014task-c, author = {Wright, Clare and Zhang, Cong}, title = {Task Effects on Development of L2 Fluency in Adult Learners of Mandarin after Study Abroad.}, booktitle = {2nd Asian European Linguistics Conference}, year = {2014}, category = {oral}, month = {5-6 Dec}, location = {Newcastle University, UK} } - fluencyExamining the Effects of a Year Abroad on L2 Chinese.Clare Wright, Cong Zhang, and Alex Ho-Cheong Leung3rd International Symposium of Chinese Language and Discourse
Birbeck College, University of London, UK, 11-13 apr 2014Variability in second language development over time remains a debated phenomenon, particularly when comparing acquisition of grammatical or lexical knowledge (linguistic competence) with using that knowledge in real-time interaction (communicative competence). The exploratory study reported here tracked changes in linguistic knowledge and use during ten months studying abroad (SA) for ten third-year English students learning Chinese as a second language (L2) at a UK university. We used three writing tasks and four speaking tasks as measures of writing and speaking proficiency, to examine changes in total output, grammatical accuracy, lexical development, pronunciation and fluency, repeated before and after the ten months’ SA in China. Overall mean oral proficiency scores improved significantly (p < .05), especially overall speech rate (p <.01), supporting the general claim that SA favours oral development, particularly fluency (Collentine and Freed 2004). However, more fine-grained analysis showed that spoken measures varied greatly by task, and were very variable across the group, highlighting the difficulty in clarifying precisely how to assess oral proficiency, or communicative competence. Written development showed fewer marked improvement: only one writing test (an untimed short essay) significantly improved in length (p <.05), and in increased complex grammar (use of de-relative clause morphemes, p <.001). A sub-group (n=7) provided quantitative and qualitative data on L2 Chinese use at different times during SA, showing marked individual differences in the SA experience. Our study highlights the value of longitudinal SLA-motivated studies of language learners moving between instructed and immersed contexts, but also notes the importance of capturing individual students’ experiences during SA (Regan et al. 2009). We also note the lack of standardised linguistically-informed measures to provide reliable evidence of language development in instructed L2 Chinese, particularly in spoken language (De Jong et al. 2012; Freed et al. 2004; Pallotti 2009; Zhang 2005). Further research is therefore much needed to identify systematic linguistic development in L2 Chinese, and also to bridge theory and practice in L2 Chinese language teaching, in order to clarify the interconnecting factors, in and out of the classroom, which affect L2 Chinese language development.
@conference{wright2014examining-c, author = {Wright, Clare and Zhang, Cong and Leung, Alex Ho-Cheong}, title = {Examining the Effects of a Year Abroad on L2 Chinese.}, booktitle = {3rd International Symposium of Chinese Language and Discourse}, year = {2014}, category = {oral}, month = {11-13 Apr}, location = {Birbeck College, University of London, UK} }