Please join us for a PhD defence by Dasha Gluhareva on August 28th from 10:30am to 1:30pm, titled Dynamic self– and other-assessment of L2 speech. The defence will take place in Room 7402 of Robert C. Brown Hall, SFU Burnaby Campus. Iced tea and cookies will be provided. To join via Zoom, email the Communications Coordinator. 

Dasha proposes and tests a framework for analyzing self- and other-assessment of L2 speech from the lens of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST). The abstract below provides a comprehensive overview. See also the list of committee members at bottom, including former SFU Linguistics professors. 

Abstract

The dynamic nature of various processes in second language (L2) acquisition has come into focus as an important area of inquiry. Many researchers, including de Bot et al. (2007), have advocated for a more complex and dynamic perspective on L2 acquisition, emphasizing the continuous interactions between systems that exist both within and between individuals. The present study investigates whether this dynamicity extends to non-native (L2) speech assessment. Research on L2 speakers’ self-assessment has produced mixed results, with some studies suggesting that speakers’ self-ratings bear little resemblance to assessment by listeners (Trofimovich et al., 2016). To shed light on this issue, the study proposes and tests a framework for analyzing self- and other-assessment of L2 speech from the lens of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST).

Twenty-four L2 speakers of English performed two extemporaneous speaking tasks and subsequently self-assessed their recordings for fluency and comprehensibility, both dynamically in a novel task (lowering or raising a computer joystick in response to perceived changes in the speech) and globally (with a one-time overall rating). Forty L1 English listeners assessed the same recordings using identical procedures. During debrief interviews, both groups of participants elaborated on the attributes of the speech that influenced their continuous ratings.

On the whole, analysis of the continuous ratings underscored the complex and fluctuating nature of both self- and other-assessment, as well as distinct characteristics of comprehensibility and fluency appraisal. In contrast with previous research, L2 speakers’ self-assessment was similar to assessment by L1 listeners, for both the global and dynamic ratings. While both self- and listener ratings correlated with measures of temporal fluency, listener ratings aligned more closely with these features than did self-ratings. Debrief interviews highlighted that self-assessment exhibits both dynamism and stability, with speakers evaluating constant fluctuations in the speech signal against the more stable backdrop of their general beliefs about themselves. Overall, the study exposes the fundamentally iterative and multi-faceted nature of self-assessment and lays the groundwork for continued inquiry into the dynamics of L2 speech perception.

Committee Members

• Dr. Murray Munro, Supervisor and Emeritus Professor, SFU
• Dr. Dean Mellow, Retired Associate Professor, SFU
• Dr. Christian Guilbault, Associate Professor, SFU
• Dr. Daniel J. Olson, Professor, Purdue University