Faculty Publications and Conference Presentations

<p>Connected speech produced by native speakers poses a challenge to second language learners. Video subtitles have been found to assist the decoding of English connected speech for learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). However, the presence of subtitles may divert the listeners’ attention to the visual cues while paying less attention to the speech signals. To test this proposal, we employed a bi-modal audio-visual listening test and examined whether EFL listeners were able to correctly identify the connected speech when misleading subtitles were present. We further tested whether connected speech with words of lower frequency further reduced the accuracy rate. Twenty-eight adolescent EFL learners, all with more than 10 years of experiences in learning English in schools, were tested with three major types of connected speech phonological processes, namely assimilation, elision, and juncture. The results of statistical analyses showed that matched and mismatched subtitles facilitated the comprehension of both familiar and unfamiliar connected speech. Error analyses revealed the degree of item-specific variations across the three types of connected speech processes as well as across the three subtitling conditions. This research provides insights on the immediate and long-term impact of subtitles on the decoding of English connected speech.</p>

Even though washback has been widely researched in recent years, especially on its form in various intra-and inter-national examinations (e.g. IELTS andTOEFL), research on how washback affects teachers and their teaching practices is still scarce. The aim of the current paper is to provide an up-to-date and holistic review on the theories in washback as well as to draw researchers’ and TESOL teachers’ attention to how washback should be examined with relation to language education, especially in teacher trainings. Key models in washback and several recent studies which investigate washback in different aspects are discussed,and at the endof the paper, implications and suggestions on washback for teachers and researchers areaddressed. More should be done on washback especially on how teachers should respond to the effect.

<p>Hearing or auditory sense has particularly strong temporality and dynamicity among the five sense modalities. Taking an ontological and cognitive perspective, this study examines hearing nouns in terms of their qualia values and eventive natures utilizing Generative Lexicon Theory and the basic ontological concept of endurant and perdurant. It is shown that linguistic representation of auditory perception related items shares strong perdurant properties. This is manifested by large proportion of event nouns, deverbal nominals and coerced event episode interpretation of hearing nouns. In addition, interpretation of classifiers of the default hearing nouns, 聲音 sheng1yin1 ‘sound’, further supports the eventive nature of the auditory modality. A sound referring noun phrase typically has an eventive reading even when it is enumerated with a classifier. In this context, the meaning refers to the frequency of sound-making events instead of the counting of sound content.</p>

<p>This paper develops an approach to pedagogical grammar based on the notion of grammatical concepts. Grammatical concepts are based on the sort of properties that are used to explain grammatical patterns and the acquisition of grammar in formal linguistics. It is proposed that these properties can be exploited for language pedagogy as they provide teachers with a deeper understanding of issues of learnability with respect to grammar. The concepts are illustrated on the basis of the pronoun system of English, demonstrating how a range of different underlying grammatical concepts can coincide to regulate syntactic and semantic patterns in a particular morphosyntactic paradigm.</p>

The situated nature of professional and other workplace-based communication continues to receive attention in intercultural communication research (see, e.g., Cheng and Kong 2009; Ladegaard and Jenks 2017; Schnurr and Zayts 2017). Inevitably, these studies provide accounts of the intercultural nature of such communication which go beyond ‘macro categories’ and adopt a more emic perspective (Cheng and Kong 2009: 8). Studies which highlight and seek to explain the complexities of intercultural workplace communication are the focus of this chapter. The authors provide an overview of the types of studies conducted to date, paying attention to where, and how, data were collected and the extent to which participants were involved in the analysis of the data as advocated by Sarangi (2002: 99). Schnurr and Zayts (2017: 148) describe the complexities which need to be understood if we are to better understand language and culture in the workplace. These are the dynamic norms, values, and behaviours of professionals; the nature of the professional contexts and workplaces in which intercultural communication takes place; and the specific context in which each interaction takes place. These aspects are foregrounded when the studies are reviewed and conclusions and implications for future research are discussed.

<p>Previous production studies suggest that first language (L1) speech rhythm can influence second language (L2) speech rhythm, but it remains unclear if the effect is bi-directional, including the influence from L2 to L1. It is also not known how L2 proficiency and amount of L2 use may modulate the interaction between L1 and L2 speech rhythm. Therefore, this study investigated speech rhythm in Cantonese and English productions by twenty native Cantonese-English bilinguals living in Hong Kong. Participants produced segmental near homophones in each language on different days. The rhythm of their Cantonese and English speech was quantified using acoustic measures and the effect of L2 proficiency and use was examined using a detailed language use questionnaire. Results showed that participants with higher English proficiency and use demonstrated rhythmical properties of speech suggesting convergence between L1 and L2 rhythm characteristics. However, when comparing the high and low proficiency groups within each language, the rhythmical properties of Cantonese or English speech were not significantly different. These results support the hypothesis that the convergence pattern reported for L1 and L2 segments extends to the rhythmical properties of L1 and L2, but the effect is not strong enough to determine the direction of influence.</p>

This comparative action research study explores the affordances of WeChat, an instant messaging app, as a means of reflection for Chinese third year undergraduates studying an elective Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) module at a university in Shanghai, China. Although WeChat is multifaceted, students in the experimental group were assessed on their ability to reflect on lesson content – by writing weekly synchronous messages in English to a communal group chat – with their final exam scores later compared to an unknowing control group. Student participation was analysed quantitatively via content analysis, with the majority of students sending at least one message on a weekly basis. Learner interaction patterns were examined by qualitatively determining whether any of the student exchanges included High Level Messages – defined as posts that were sufficiently critical and/or personally reflective – however only three comments could be classed as such. Thus, several factors to increase the amount of High Level Messages including WeChat Reflection buddies, teacher intervention and pedagogical administration are considered. Findings showed that the experimental group unequivocally outperformed the control group in the final exam, and questionnaire data implied that student perceptions of the WeChat group were generally very positive. Finally, limitations and implications of the study are also discussed.