ANALYSIS OF OCCURRENCE PROBABILITY AND DURATION OF SENTENCE-MEDIAL PAUSES IN ENGLISH READOUT SPEECH FOR L2 ENGLISH SPEAKERS COMPARED TO L1 ENGLISH SPEAKERS (original) (raw)
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Pause plays important roles for the intelligibil-ity, naturalness and fluency of speech. This paper reported the effect of native (L1) Ben-gali speakers' fluency of English on occurrence probability and duration of sentence-medial pauses with respect to three factors: phrase type, phrase length (l), distance (d). In this analysis, 40 nonnative (L2) English (L1 Bengali) speakers' data was divided into five different groups (poor, average, good, very good and excellent) based on their English fluency level. From result of this comparative study, it is seen that occurrence probability and duration of sentence-medial pauses for each phrase type, each l value and each d value increase as L2 English speakers' fluency decreases. Moreover like L1 English speakers, occurrence probability and duration of sentence -medial pauses are almost linearly dependent on l and d respectively for L2 English speakers regardless of their fluency. Furthermore effect of three factors on sentence-medial pauses of fluent L2 English speakers is more close to that of L1 English speakers compared to less fluent L2 English speakers.
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The aim of the present paper is to provide comparative analysis regarding the functions of pauses through exploration of the similarities and differences in semantically identical utterances in micro-textual units in colloquial style produced by L1 and L2 speakers of English and German. The research study illustrates inappropriate segmentation of the discourse, inapt distribution and frequency of pause types in L2 subjects' utterances, which may be due to the fact that L2 speakers apply cognitive activities different from L1 speakers. L1 subjects' productions, on the other hand, indicate that they tend to plan and program their utterances in longer blocks.
The Role of Fluency in Taking Pauses while Reading Aloud and During Spontaneous Speech
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In this paper, the concept of pause patterns is analyzed within two aspects of speech, namely reading aloud and spontaneous speech. While reading aloud, much of the planning gets done by the speaker in preparing the text. As a result, the speaker becomes more fluent and does not need to take pauses (except at grammatical junctures). However, during spontaneous speech, pauses are much longer than reading and often more frequent because of hesitation aloud which results in disfluencies, false starts, repetition, and so on. This study explores the pause patterns in reading and spontaneous speech. The participants of this study consisted of 8 undergraduate students at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology. Data was collected through recording the students reading aloud and giving spontaneous speeches. The collected data was then analyzed. The results of the analysis showed that there is not much difference in the pattern of pauses while reading aloud and during spontaneous speech for those who are fluent in English.
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This study aims to investigate the length, frequency and position of various types of pauses in three different speaking styles: elicited spontaneous dialogues, professional reading and nonprofessional reading.
Taiwan Journal of TESOL, 2020
In its descriptors for oral fluency the Common European Framework of Reference includes frequent references to the tempo of speech and the use of pausing. The present study aims to provide empirical evidence that these fluency phenomena exist; it also seeks to establish how they distinguish two different levels of proficiency (B2 and C1) among L2 English speakers as well as between these speakers and native speakers. The analysis is based on a large dataset of 50 native English speakers and 89 learners of English (derived from the LOCNEC corpus, and from the Czech and Taiwanese sub-corpora of LINDSEI); it compares their speech rates and the frequency and location of unfilled pauses in picture description tasks. Significant differences are found between all the groups showing that even between B2 and C1 levels the growth of proficiency is accompanied by an increase in speech rate and a decrease in the frequency of pausing, particularly within clauses and within constituents. By establishing the ranges of these values, the study sets possible targets which can be exploited for the purposes of language teaching and assessment.
Pauses, Pause Position, and Fluency
Reconceptualizing English Language Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century A Special Monograph in Memory of Professor Kai-chong Cheung, 2018
Pauses in speech have traditionally been seen as signs of a lack of fluency. However, some pauses are necessary and helpful to the listener, and only certain pauses create an impression of disfluency. Comparisons of different speakers have provided indirect evidence that pause location plays a key role in fluency, showing that fluent speakers pause less within clauses than those who are less fluent. However, few studies have addressed the effects that pauses of different lengths and at different locations have on the listener. That is the topic of this study, which compares objective measurements with listener perceptions of pausing in the same L2 speech samples. Using recordings and transcripts of seven Taiwanese students engaged in conversation with their teacher, pauses were measured using Praat software, while separately two listeners were asked to mark transcripts where they noticed pauses in the recordings. Comparisons between the two analyses showed a clear interaction between pause detection, on the one hand, and pause length and location on the other, with long pauses, and those occurring within clauses, being noticed more than shorter pauses and those coming between clauses. The longest undetected pauses were those occurring between clauses, while the shortest pauses to be noticed tended to be those within clauses. These findings provide direct evidence that pause location is the key to understanding how pauses affect fluency, and show why pause frequency and pause time are not valid measures of fluency if pause location is not also considered. Another important finding is that minimum length thresholds for pauses should vary according to pause location.