ABSTRACT

In the present study, I examined the effects of rater characteristics, in particular, raters’ familiarity with a foreign accent, on the assessment of second language (L2) pronunciation. Forty-three native English-speaking teachers were divided into three groups according to their reported types of familiarity with Korean accents: heritage, familiar, and unfamiliar. The teachers assessed global proficiency and accentedness of speech samples provided by 40 Koreans speaking L2 English. The ratings made on 1–9 numerical scales were analyzed for interrater reliability and rater severity. While the three teacher groups overall exhibited high interrater reliability, the findings suggest that prior exposure to, or regular contact with, foreign-accented speech may affect teachers’ consistency in ratings. A comparison of the three groups’ severity measures revealed that the heritage teachers were more lenient than the non-heritage (i.e., familiar and unfamiliar) teachers in evaluating global proficiency and accentedness. The difference in the level of severity between the familiar and unfamiliar teacher groups was not significant.

摘要

在本研究中，我检查了评估者的特征（尤其是评估者对外国口音的熟悉程度）对第二语言（L2）语音评估的影响。根据所报告的对韩国口音的熟悉程度，将43名以英语为母语的英语老师分为三类：传承，熟悉和不熟悉。老师评估了40位讲L2英语的韩国人提供的语音样本的整体熟练程度和口音。对1–9数值刻度上的等级进行了分析，以评估间间信度和评估者的严重性。尽管这三个教师小组总体上表现出较高的人际信度，但研究结果表明，事先接触或经常与外国人口音对话可能会影响教师的评分一致性。对这三组学生的严厉程度指标进行比较后发现，在评估全球熟练程度和口音方面，传统老师比非传统（即熟悉和不熟悉）的老师宽容。熟悉和不熟悉的教师组之间的严重程度差异不显着。