Perceptions of L2 Fluency by Native and Non-native Speakers of English

Abstract

This article explores perceptions of the speaking fluency of 24 adult ESL learners (11 men, 13 women) who narrated picture stories at Time 1 and again 10 weeks later at Time 2. One-minute excerpts from each rendition were randomized and played to 15 novice and six expert native speakers of English (undergraduate education students and experienced ESL teachers holding graduate degrees, respectively). Because of the increasingly frequent use of English among non-native speakers (NNSs) throughout the world, 15 advanced NNSs of English were also included in the study. All three groups of listeners rated and recorded their impressions of the fluency of the stimuli. The ratings of all three groups were highly inter-correlated at Times 1 and 2. Fluency ratings correlated with the temporal measures of total pause per second and pruned syllables per second. Pausing, self-repetition, speech rate, and fillers accounted for three-quarters of the negative temporal impressions recorded by listeners; salient non-temporal impressions included pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.