Prosody Perception on Spontaneous English by Korean Learners of English and Native English Speakers

The present study aims to look at whether Korean English learners’ prosody perception differed from those of native English speakers on the spontaneous English speech. Findings from the study revealed that the Korean English learners significantly differed from the native English speakers in the judgment of prominence while there was no significant group difference in the judgment of boundaries. Among three groups of Korean English learners, the significant group difference was not found in the judgment of prominence and boundaries despite their different English speaking proficiency levels and lengths of residence. The word type (i.e., content word and function word) and boundaries (i.e., intermediate phrase and intonational phrase) appeared to play an important role on the perception of English prosody by the Korean English learners. Also, Korean L1 transfer seemed to have an effect on the perception of prominence and boundaries by the Korean subjects. The results of the study contribute to an understanding of Korean English learners’ perception and of English prosody in a second language. Practical suggestions for future research were also identified.