The Effect of Syntax, Speed, and Pauses on Listening Comprehension

Blau, Eileen K.

doi:10.2307/3587129

Cited by 152 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…However, it is important to take into account how forms of redundancy with different complexity and salience affect comprehension across listeners of higher and lower proficiency (e.g., Chaudron, 1983). Lynch (1988; as cited in Rubin, 1994, p. 203) noted that the usefulness of redundant information may depend on its being recognized as a repetition of previously given information (see also Blau, 1990, andField, 2008); in lower-proficiency listeners, more complex types of redundancy may simply add to the processing load (Anderson & Lynch, 1988;Chaudron, 1983). In considering redundancy, it is also important to take into consideration its potential interaction with speech rate:…”

Section: Summary: Redundancymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sentence structure Blau (1990) investigated whether simplifying syntax or including surface clues for more complex sentences would affect L2 listening comprehension and found no significant effect of these manipulations. These results imply that modifying sentence structure (in terms of simplifying syntax and including cues to underlying structure) of aural passages does not impact second language learners' listening comprehension.…”

Section: Syntactic Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The studies that have investigated the impact of the syntactic structure of a passage have done so by considering the degree of subordination (Blau, 1990;Cervantes & Gainer, 1992;Pica et al, 1987), the number of negatives (Kostin, 2004;Nissan et al, 1996;Yanagawa & Green, 2008;Ying-hui, 2006), the number of dependent clauses (Kostin, 2004;Ying-hui, 2006), or the number of references (Kostin, 2004;Ying-hui, 2006) in the passage.…”

Section: Syntactic Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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What makes listening difficult? Factors affecting second language listening comprehension

Bloomfield¹,

Wayland²,

Rhoades³

et al. 2010

150

120

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Factors affecting second language listening comprehension gies-that is, those who are aware of and use effective strategies, such as avoiding mental translation-demonstrate better L2 listening comprehension. 2 In addition to these general cognitive abilities, a number of factors pertaining to experience with the L2 influence listening skill. These factors include the amount of prior exposure to the language; familiarity with and an ability to understand the non-native language's phonology; vocabulary size; and background knowledge about the topic, text, structure, schema, and culture.Familiarity with the L2 changes the extent to which the L2 listener uses top-down or bottom-up strategies in listening. For example, expert listeners use both types of strategies: They are able to accurately make sense of the speech signal (bottom-up information) 3 and integrate this information with PurPose-To establish what is currently known about factors that affect foreign language listening comprehension, with a focus on characteristics of the listener, passage, and testing conditions.ConClusions-Research on second language (L2) listening comprehension strongly supports the importance of a number of factors, for example, a listener's working memory capacity and the number of ideas in a passage. Much of the research, however, reports weak or inconclusive results, leaving many factors and complex interactions among factors unresolved and in need of further investigation.relevanCe-Identifying the factors that affect L2 listening comprehension will help Defense Language Institute Proficiency Test (DLPT) designers anticipate how qualities of selected authentic materials will impact listening comprehension. Executive Summary PurPoseThe U.S. Government administers the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) to military linguists and other government personnel to assess their listening and reading comprehension in a number of foreign languages, including critical languages such as Mandarin, Modern Standard Arabic, Egyptian Arabic, and Persian Farsi. The DLPT is updated every 10 to 15 years, and the most recent transition-from DLPT IV to DLPT5-included a greater emphasis on testing listening comprehension with authentic materials. In turn, this has led to a growing interest in the factors that make second language (L2) listening difficult.To examine these factors, CASL reviewed the current scientific literature and summarized the characteristics of listeners, passages, and testing conditions. The review targeted features of particular interest to stakeholders at the Defense Language Institute (DLI). The long-term goal of the project is to support the selection of authentic listening materials that accurately reflect different proficiency levels. ConClusionsAlthough the available research on L2 listening comprehension is limited, CASL's literature review identified several factors that affect listening comprehension. These factors are summarized below and in Tables 1, 2, and 3. 1 Characteristics of the listenerUnderstanding a fo...

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Section: Summary: Redundancymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Syntactic Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Syntactic Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

What makes listening difficult? Factors affecting second language listening comprehension

Bloomfield¹,

Wayland²,

Rhoades³

et al. 2010

150

120

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Normal rate, which mirrors authentic, real world communication, is what is preferred. Based on her research, Eileen Blau 14 concludes that slowing down or simplifying syntax may not be very useful for second language learners. To enhance learner comprehension, it is more advisable to use longer pauses between semantic groups so that students can process the whole meaning and not spend too much time deciphering individual words or sentences.…”

Section: Instructor's Languagementioning

confidence: 99%

Connecting the dots: Limited English proficiency, second language learning theories, and information literacy instruction

Conteh-Morgan¹

2002

The Journal of Academic Librarianship

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Librarians who teach students with limited English proficiency have discussed various barriers limiting effective learning. This article shows how applying second language acquisition theories and teaching practices derived from them can significantly impact outcomes of information literacy instruction.In the professional literature and electronic discussion groups, such as BI-L, the library experience of limited English proficient (LEP) 1 students is a regularly discussed topic. With regard to instruction, the most attention has been paid to the various barriers that affect their use of the library and, more recently, to culture-dependent learning styles. This is because, according to Diane DiMartino and Lucinda Zoe, 2 many librarians agree that:Language, cultural and technological barriers, and a heightened awareness of learning styles and cognitive development theories are . . . primary issues that need increased attention. Of particular interest to [them] is the need to gain greater awareness and understanding of learning styles and the integration of that knowledge into instruction planning. 3Language is the most cited barrier. 4 But perhaps rather than see it as such, it would be more helpful to understand the language issue from another perspective that could offer librarians fresh insights on instruction.Library instruction is known for having incorporated behavioral and cognitive theories of learning. There are other learning theories, however, that library instruction has not paid closer attention to that have a more direct impact on teaching LEP students-theories of second language acquisition and teaching. Indeed, it has been recognized that all teachers of a languageminority population who want to be linguistically and culturally responsive in their teaching must know not only about cross-cultural communication, but about first and second language learning and development, ways of adapting materials and methods, and assessment.5 Despite the many examples of librarian-ESL faculty collaboration found in the literature, only a few have discussed or called for the application of ESL theories to library instruction. 6 Awareness of theories of second language learning and approaches to teaching is vital if librarians are to provide more meaningful instruction to LEP students.This article summarizes two major language acquisition theories and ESL teaching methods derived from them, and discusses a library instruction model based on them. This model has been used to teach advanced students in the ESL program at Ohio State University.

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“…Particularly and specifically in the listening context, there may be a high degree of variation and nuance regarding the speed of speech, pronunciation and regional accents (Adank, Evans, Stuart-Smith & Scott, 2009). Blau (1990) further notes that comprehension of English language in the listening context is affected by syntax, speech rate, pauses and the rate of such pauses all affect listening comprehension overall. Listening is "a critical priority among the four skill areas for language student"" (Hamouda, 2013, p.113).…”

Section: Focusing On Enhancing Listening Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Narrative Literature Review on ESL Business English Instruction

2017

International Journal on Studies in English Language and Litera

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The Effect of Syntax, Speed, and Pauses on Listening Comprehension

Cited by 152 publications

References 7 publications

What makes listening difficult? Factors affecting second language listening comprehension

What makes listening difficult? Factors affecting second language listening comprehension

Connecting the dots: Limited English proficiency, second language learning theories, and information literacy instruction

A Narrative Literature Review on ESL Business English Instruction

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