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Perception of phonological assimilation and elision by ESL learners and its impact on listening proficiency

Publicated to:IUP Journal of English Studies. 19 (1): 93-111 - 2019-03-01 19(1), DOI:

Authors: Vidal K

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Abstract

© 2019 IUP. All Rights Reserved. This paper studies the relationship between the perception of phonological assimilation and elision and ESL (English as a Second Language) listening proficiency. It is believed that variation in word-final consonants tends to cause ESL learners problems with word recognition in connected speech. However, research findings do not conclusively support the relationship between this phenomenon and ESL listening success, since, among other things, the range of mechanisms analyzed has not been carefully controlled. This research was intended to throw light on the relationship between two processes of reduction—namely, assimilation and elision—and ESL listening proficiency. One hundred sixty-nine first-year undergraduate English Studies students and twenty undergraduate native speakers participated in this study. They were asked to discriminate thirty-two elided and thirty assimilated forms from their canonical counterparts. The results revealed that recognition of assimilated forms does not seem to be related to ESL listening success. Recognition of elided forms, however, was found to be weakly related to ESL listening proficiency. The results showed that release burst of first word final stop appeared to contribute to successful discrimination between forms. The results also revealed that ESL learners recognized more easily those instances of assimilation and elision in which the word final consonant was /t/ rather than /d/. On the basis of these findings, implications for the teaching and learning of ESL listening and reduced forms are drawn.

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