Speech Rate and Young EFL Learners’ Listening Comprehension

Abstract

Speech rate is one of the salient characteristics that speakers modify their speech for second or foreign language learners to gain more comprehensive input (Krashen, 1987). For young EFL learners, a slower speech rate can be a critical factor that helps them properly process linguistic input and increase self-confidence in listening comprehension. The present study investigated the effect of speech rate on listening comprehension performance among young EFL learners in Taiwan. Sixty-six junior high school students from two homogeneous classes participated in two elementary-level listening comprehension tests. All participants took the first test at the delivery rate of 116 words per minute (wpm) set by Taiwan’s General English Proficiency Test. In the second test, the two classes of participants were examined at two slower delivery rates—98 wpm and 58 wpm, respectively. Results reveal a facilitating effect of the slightly slower speech rate of 98 wpm on the participants’ listening comprehension; however, slower speech does not make a significant difference at the much slower rate of 58 wpm. The results of the study are then discussed, and implications are drawn.