Korean University Students’ Listening Comprehension and Learning Effects of Connected Speech Processes in English

Abstract

The study examined the impact of connected speech process teaching on Korean EFL learners’ listening comprehension based on a communicative framework. For such purpose, the study tested 31 Korean EFL learners’ and 15 native English speakers’ listening comprehension of connected speech processes of linking, vowel reduction/deletion, modal verb/not contraction, h deletion, and place assimilation. Specifically, the participants filled in the blanks after listening to the sentences containing the target phonological processes. After a pretest, the Korean EFL learners received 3 weeks’ instructions on connected speech processes. The results indicated that the Korean EFL learners’ listening comprehension was very poor compared to that of the native English speakers. However, there was a significant teaching effect on the learner’s listening comprehension, although the effect was varied depending on the types of phonological processes. Further, the learners’ performance was correlated with their general English listening scores. Based on the findings, implications for connected speech process teaching are drawn, along with discussions of L2 learners’ phonetic/phonological representations.