Multi‐ or Single‐Word Units? The Role of Collocation Use in Comprehensible and Contextually Appropriate Second Language Speech

Saito, Kazuya

doi:10.1111/lang.12387

Cited by 48 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…Of five association measures available in TAALES, we selected t score and MI, two measures that have been extensively used in SLA research investigating MWSs in both spoken and written production (e.g., Durrant & Schmitt, ; Garner & Crossley, ; Granger & Bestgen, ; Saito, ). These two measures are similar in comparing the observed frequency of n‐grams in the reference corpus (COCA in this study) with the expected frequency computed on the basis of the frequency of the constituent words (Evert, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

To What Extent Are Multiword Sequences Associated With Oral Fluency?

Tavakoli

Uchihara

2019

Language Learning

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This study examined the relationship between oral fluency and use of multiword sequences (MWSs) across four proficiency levels (Low B1 to C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference). Data came from 56 learners taking the speaking test of the Test of English for Educational Purposes, and our analysis obtained different measures of fluency (speed, breakdown, repair) and MWSs (frequency, proportion, association). Results showed that (a) high-frequency n-grams correlated positively with articulation rate; (b) n-gram proportion correlated negatively with frequency of mid-clause pauses; and (c) n-gram association strength correlated positively with frequency of end-clause pauses and negatively with repair frequency. Qualitative analysis suggested that the test-takers borrowed some task-specific n-grams from the task instructions and used them frequently in their performance. Whereas lower proficiency speakers used these n-grams verbatim, C1 level speakers used them competently in a variety of forms. We discuss significant implications of the findings for phraseology and language testing research.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

To What Extent Are Multiword Sequences Associated With Oral Fluency?

Tavakoli

Uchihara

2019

Language Learning

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“…In the precursor research (Saito, 2020), participants were given an eight-frame picture cartoon and asked to describe the events that occur therein (for details, see Derwing and Munro, 2013). According to Skehan's (1998) model of task complexity, this format (i.e.…”

Section: Study 1: Task Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…b Speech materials. The same dataset from Saito (2020) was used for the comprehensibility judgments. This dataset consisted of speech samples from 85 Japanese speakers of English with different levels of L2 proficiency and immersion experience.…”

Section: Study 1: Task Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the precursor study (Saito, 2020), it was suggested that text length could be related to the collocation-proficiency link (i.e. longer speech samples tend to feature more likelihood of targetlike collocation use).…”

Section: Comprehensibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whereas scholars have begun to examine the lexical characteristics of second language (L2) speech which can be judged to be fluent (Tavakoli and Uchihara, 2020), comprehensible and contextually appropriate (Saito, 2020), and highly proficient (Kyle and Crossley, 2015), the existing literature has suggested the use of multiword units (collocations) as a key factor when assessing L2 vocabulary. In this investigation, we aim to examine the variance in the predictive power of collocation under different task and rater conditions from both cross-sectional and longitudinal perspectives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Roles of collocation in L2 oral proficiency revisited: Different tasks, L1 vs. L2 raters, and cross-sectional vs. longitudinal analyses

Saito

Liu

2021

Second Language Research

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There is emerging evidence that collocation use plays a primary role in determining various dimensions of L2 oral proficiency assessment and development. The current study presents the results of three experiments which examined the relationship between the degree of association in collocation use (operationalized as t scores and mutual information scores) and the intuitive judgements of L2 comprehensibility (i.e. ease of understanding). The topic was approached from the angles of different task conditions (Study 1), rater background (first language or L1 vs. second language or L2) (Study 2) and cross-sectional vs. longitudinal analyses (Study 3). The findings showed that: (1) collocation emerged as a medium-to-strong determinant of L2 comprehensibility in structured (picture description) compared to free (oral interview) oral production tasks; (2) with sufficient immersion experience, L2 raters can demonstrate as much sensitivity to collocation as L1 raters; and (3) conversational experience is associated with more coherent and mutually-exclusive combinations of words in L2 speech, resulting in greater L2 comprehensibility development.

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What Characterizes Comprehensible and Native‐like Pronunciation Among English‐as‐a‐Second‐Language Speakers? Meta‐Analyses of Phonological, Rater, and Instructional Factors

Saito

2021

TESOL Quarterly

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The current study presents two meta‐analyses to explore what underlies the assessment and teaching of comprehensible and nativelike pronunciation among English‐as‐a‐Second‐Language speakers. In Study 1, listener studies (n = 37) were retrieved examining the influence of segmental, prosodic, and temporal features on listeners’ intuitive judgements of comprehensibility and nativelikeness/accentedness as per different listener backgrounds (expert, mixed, L2). In Study 2, training studies (n = 17) were retrieved examining the effects of segmental, prosodic, and temporal‐based instruction on ESL learners’ pronunciation. The results showed that (a) comprehensibility judgements were related to a range of segmental, prosodic, and temporal features; (b) accentedness judgements were strongly tied to participants’ correct pronunciation of consonants and vowels; and (c) instruction led to larger gains in comprehensibility than in nativelikeness. Moderator analyses demonstrated that expert listeners were more reliant on phonological information. Greater effects of instruction on comprehensibility than nativelikeness became clearer, especially when the treatment targeted prosodic accuracy. The findings suggest that ESL practitioners should prioritize suprasegemental practice to help students achieve comprehensible L2 pronunciation. The attainment of nativelike pronunciation, by contrast, may require an exclusive focus on the refinement of segmental accuracy, which is resistant to the influence of instruction.

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Multi‐ or Single‐Word Units? The Role of Collocation Use in Comprehensible and Contextually Appropriate Second Language Speech

Cited by 48 publications

References 80 publications

To What Extent Are Multiword Sequences Associated With Oral Fluency?

To What Extent Are Multiword Sequences Associated With Oral Fluency?

Roles of collocation in L2 oral proficiency revisited: Different tasks, L1 vs. L2 raters, and cross-sectional vs. longitudinal analyses

What Characterizes Comprehensible and Native‐like Pronunciation Among English‐as‐a‐Second‐Language Speakers? Meta‐Analyses of Phonological, Rater, and Instructional Factors

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