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Cognitive Load Theory and Listening to Accent Variations in English

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Cognitive Load Theory and Listening to Accent Variations in English CLT AND ACCENT VARIATIONS IN ENGLISH Cognitive Load Theory and Listening to Accent Variations in English Bipasha Binte Haque BA Honours in English (Dhaka), MA in English Literature (Dhaka), MA in ELSM (Warwick) A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Education Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences August 2014 COGNITIVE LOAD THEORY AND LISTENING TO ACCENT VRIATIONS IN ENGLISH iii iii COGNITIVE LOAD THEORY AND LISTENING TO ACCENT VRIATIONS IN ENGLISH ii ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed …………………………………………….............. Date…………………………………………………………. COGNITIVE LOAD THEORY AND LISTENING TO ACCENT VRIATIONS IN ENGLISH iii Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Haque First name: Bipasha Other name/s: Binte Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: PhD School: Education Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Title:Cognitive load theory and listening to accent variations in English iii COGNITIVE LOAD THEORY AND LISTENING TO ACCENT VRIATIONS IN ENGLISH iv Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE) Accent variability is an emerging field of study in listening to varieties of English. Mutual intelligibility of accent variations in monolingual, as well as multilingual settings may become challenging for native as well as non-native speakers of English. In a CLT framework this thesis examined the accent variability effect and the expertise reversal effect in listening to native and foreign-accented English with different levels of expertise groups. The three experiments reported in this thesis addressed issues of how accent variability boosted meaningful understanding of listening comprehensions, and how instructional design could aide learning in perceptual listening environments so that learners did not become entangled in the novelty of the accents; at the same time maximising the learning of such instructional procedures.In Experiment 1 three single- accent conditions and six multiple-accent conditions were used. The accents were Australian English, Chinese-accented English and Russian-accented English. These three accents were permuted in six combinations to have the six multiple-accent conditions. The results of Experiment 1 did not support the hypotheses. The low expertise learners did not perform better in single-accent conditions and the high expertise learners did not perform better in multiple-accent conditions. In Experiment 2 Russian-accented English and Australian English were employed. The results partially supported the hypotheses. It was found that the single-accent condition was not easier for the low expertise students whereas the dual-accent condition was easier for the high and very high expertise students. In Experiment 3 the low expertise group listening to Indian-accented English found the accent condition easier than the low expertise group listening to both Indian and Arabic-accented English. The high and very high expertise students learned more listening to Arabic and Indian-accented English than listening to Indian-accented English only. The low expertise individuals were more prone to be challenged by the novelty of the dual-accent conditions. The findings of the experiments were explained in terms of accent variability effect and expertise reversal effect in a CLT framework. Instructional design, as pertaining to this thesis facilitated the naïve, as well as expert English language learners’ abilities in extracting accent-independent global adaptation to English within a CLT framework. iv COGNITIVE LOAD THEORY AND LISTENING TO ACCENT VRIATIONS IN ENGLISH v Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). …………………………………………… ………………………………..…… ……….. Signature Witness Date The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award: THIS SHEET IS TO BE GLUED TO THE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THE THESIS v COGNITIVE LOAD THEORY AND LISTENING TO ACCENT VRIATIONS IN ENGLISH vi Acknowledgements I am deeply indebted to a number of individuals and institutions, without whose generous support I could not have completed the writing of this thesis. Thanks are due first and foremost to my supervisors, Emeritus Professor John Sweller and Dr. Wan NG who provided guidance with the utmost generosity for the entire period of my candidature. Their meticulous perusals of the thesis and their thoughtful comments have provided me with invaluable guidance, without which this dissertation could not have been completed. Thanks are also due to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (former AusAID), Australia, for awarding me Australian Leadership Award. The financial support provided by this scholarship enabled me to undertake this research project. A special thanks to my family.I am deeply indebted to my husband Mia Mahmudur Rahim. Mahmud, it is your constant encouragement and dedication and dream that are at the heart of this thesis. You owe a lot.I am indebted to Raya and Rida, my nine and six year old girls. In all the ups and downs they have patiently borne all the issues that came up from time to time and encouraged me to move forward. Words cannot express how grateful I am to my mother-in law, my mother, father and my brother for all of the sacrifices that you’ve made on my behalf. Your prayer for me was what sustained me thus far. I am positive that my mother and father would be the proudest in my achievement were they living to see me completing the thesis. I would also like to thank all of my friends who motivated me to strive towards my goal. I collected data for my first experiment from three universities in Dhaka, Bangladesh. I am indebted to the Chairmen of English Departments and the students of University of Dhaka; Bangladesh University of Business and Technology; and Stamford University who cordially supported me to collect the data. For the second and third experiments I worked vi COGNITIVE LOAD THEORY AND LISTENING TO ACCENT VRIATIONS IN ENGLISH vii with students from University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The Principal of the Foundation Courses, Mr. Paul Sutton at UNSW Global deserves special thanks to support me. The Deputy Principal Ms. Elizabeth Rosser who provided me with the logistics support for organising the experiments will be remembered with gratitude. The undergraduate participants who gave their time willingly and cheerfully, and without whose kind participation the thesis would have remained incomplete: I am deeply indebted to these students. vii COGNITIVE LOAD THEORY AND LISTENING TO ACCENT VRIATIONS IN ENGLISH viii Abstract Accent variability is an emerging field of study in listening to varieties of English. Mutual intelligibility of accent variations in monolingual, as well as multilingual settings may become challenging for native as well as non-native speakers of English. In a CLT framework this thesis examined the accent variability effect and the expertise reversal effect in listening to native and foreign-accented English with different levels of expertise groups. The three experiments reported in this thesis addressed issues of how accent variability boosted meaningful understanding of listening comprehensions, and how instructional design could aide learning in perceptual listening environments so that learners did not become entangled in the novelty of the accents; at the same time maximising the learning of such instructional procedures.In Experiment 1 three single-accent conditions and six multiple- accent conditions were used. The accents were Australian English, Chinese-accented English and Russian-accented English. These three accents were permuted in six combinations to have the six multiple-accent conditions. The results of Experiment 1 did not support the hypotheses. The low expertise learners did not perform better in single-accent conditions and the high expertise
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