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Article
Exploring Behavioral and Affective Correlates of Comprehensible Second Language Speech
Studies in Second Language Acquisition
  • Charles Nagle, Iowa State University
  • Pavel Trofimovich, Concordia University
  • Mary G. O’Brien, University of Calgary
  • Sara Kennedy, Concordia University
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
3-23-2021
DOI
10.1017/S0272263121000073
Abstract

Comprehensibility, or ease of understanding, has emerged as an important construct in second language (L2) speech research. Many studies have examined the linguistic features that underlie this construct, but there has been limited work on behavioral and affective predictors. The goal of this study was therefore to examine the extent to which anxiety and collaborativeness predict interlocutors’ perception of one another’s comprehensibility. Twenty dyads of L2 English speakers completed three interactive tasks. Throughout their 17-minute interaction, they were periodically asked to evaluate their own and each other’s anxiety and collaborativeness and to rate their partner’s comprehensibility using 100-point scales. Mixed-effects models showed that partner anxiety and collaborativeness predicted comprehensibility, but the relative importance of each predictor depended on the nature of the task. Self-collaborativeness was also related to comprehensibility. These findings suggest that comprehensibility is sensitive to a range of linguistic, behavioral, and affective influences.

Comments

This article is published as Nagle, C., Trofimovich, P., O’Brien, M., & Kennedy, S. (2021). BEYOND LINGUISTIC FEATURES: EXPLORING BEHAVIORAL AND AFFECTIVE CORRELATES OF COMPREHENSIBLE SECOND LANGUAGE SPEECH. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 1-16. doi:10.1017/S0272263121000073

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International
Copyright Owner
The Author(s)
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Charles Nagle, Pavel Trofimovich, Mary G. O’Brien and Sara Kennedy. "Exploring Behavioral and Affective Correlates of Comprehensible Second Language Speech" Studies in Second Language Acquisition Vol. First View (2021)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/charles-nagle/20/