Campus Units
World Languages and Cultures
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Accepted Manuscript
Publication Date
7-8-2020
Journal or Book Title
Journal of Second Language Pronunciation
DOI
10.1075/jslp.20003.tro
Abstract
This study examined longitudinal changes in second language (L2) interlocutors’ mutual comprehensibility ratings (perceived ease of understanding speech), targeting comprehensibility as a dynamic, time-varying, inter action-centered construct. In a repeated-measures, within-participants design, 20 pairs of L2 English university students from different language backgrounds engaged in three collaborative and interactive tasks over 17 minutes, rating their partner’s comprehensibility at 2–3 minute intervals using 100-millimeter scales (seven ratings per interlocutor). Mutual comprehensibility ratings followed a U-shaped function over time, with comprehensibility (initially perceived to be high) being affected by task complexity but then reaching high levels by the end of the interaction. The interlocutors’ ratings also became more similar to each other early on and remained aligned throughout the interaction. These findings demonstrate the dynamic nature of comprehensibility between L2 interlocutors and suggest the need for L2 comprehensibility research to account for the effects of interaction, task, and time on comprehensibility measurements.
Copyright Owner
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Copyright Date
2020
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Trofimovich, Pavel; Nagle, Charles L.; O'Brien, Mary G.; Kennedy, Sara; Reid, Kym Taylor; and Strachan, Lauren, "Second language comprehensibility as a dynamic construct" (2020). World Languages and Cultures Publications. 228.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/language_pubs/228
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Other English Language and Literature Commons, Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature Commons
Comments
This accepted article is published as Trofimovich, P., Nagle, C. L., O’Brien, M. G., Kennedy, S., Taylor Reid, K., & Strachan, L. (July 8, 2020). Second language comprehensibility as a dynamic construct. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation. Doi:10.1075/jslp.20003.tro . Posted with permission.