Self-reported vs. self-rated pronunciation in a non-native language

Abstract

The study investigates how their own accent in English is self-perceived by Polish learners. More specifically, we compare how, and to what extent, self-reported pronunciation differs from self-rated pronunciation prior to and after the exposure to one’s recorded speech. Previous research on non-native accent rating has concentrated on scores obtained from native speakers or other proficient speakers of English. In the current study, we concentrate on how learners evaluate their own accent in English for parameters such as pronunciation, articulation, and fluency. We also introduce an independent variable of proficiency to see if it interacts with the perception of learners’ pronunciation. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted and the result showed that there are no major differences between how learners report their accent in English and how they rate it from the recording of their own speech. It indicates that the general self-image of one’s accent is fairly stable and exposure to the sample of one’s speech does not change the overall self-perception