Social Attitudes and Speech Ratings : Effects of Positive and Negative Bias On Multiage Listeners' Judgements of Second Language Speech

Type of resource
Authors/collaborators
Title
Social Attitudes and Speech Ratings : Effects of Positive and Negative Bias On Multiage Listeners' Judgements of Second Language Speech
Abstract
The authors examined whether social bias manipulation can influence how naïve multiage listeners evaluate second language (L2) speech. Sixty native English-speaking listeners (Montreal residents) rated audio recordings of forty Quebec French speakers of L2 English for five dimensions of oral performance (accentedness, comprehensibility, segmental accuracy, intonation, flow) using 1,000-point continuous scales. Immediately before rating, twenty listeners heard critical comments about Quebec French speakers’ English language skills, while twenty heard positive comments. Twenty listeners (baseline group) received no manipulation. The authors found that compared to baseline listeners, positively oriented listeners (younger and older) rated four of five dimensions more favorably. However, listeners’ behavior diverged under negative bias. Compared to age-matched baseline listeners, younger listeners upgraded speakers while older listeners downgraded speakers for all targeted measures. The authors conclude that their findings cast doubt on the relative stability of L2 speech ratings and point to the importance of social context and generational differences in untrained rater assessments of L2 speaking performance.
Publication
Studies in Second Language Acquisition
Volume
Vol. 41
Issue
no. 2
Pages
419-442
Date
May 2019
Language
en
Citation
Taylor Reid, Kim, Pavel Trofimovich, and Mary Grantham O’Brien. “Social Attitudes and Speech Ratings : Effects of Positive and Negative Bias On Multiage Listeners’ Judgements of Second Language Speech.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition Vol. 41, no. 2 (May 2019): 419–442.
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