Assessing the Intelligibility of Korean-Accented English for Hong Kong English Speakers

Bohyon Chung; Noble Lo; Hyun Kyung Miki Bong

Abstract

English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is associated with the concept of diverse Englishes / and different ways of
speaking the language. The abundance of non-native varieties of English gives rise to various controversies,
including concerns regarding the comprehensibility of its speakers. While the use of Korean-accented English in
international contexts is acknowledged, it remains an area that has not been extensively explored. This study aimed
to examine the Korean-accented English by investigating the following questions: (1) What level of Korean accent
in English pronunciation can be considered understandable to Hong Kong English users? (2) Which pronunciation
features lead to failures in comprehension? The intelligibility of Korean-accented English speech was assessed
through a binary forced-choice task performed by undergraduate students in Hong Kong. This study also discusses
the significant features that present the greatest challenges for Korean-speaking English learners in in international
communication.

Original language	English
Publication status	Published - 16 Sept 2023
Event	ESP Korea 2023: Direction and Strategy for ESP Education in the Digital Transformation Era - Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of Duration: 16 Sept 2023 → 16 Sept 2023 http://espkorea.org/

Conference

Conference	ESP Korea 2023
Country/Territory	Korea, Republic of
City	Seoul
Period	16/09/23 → 16/09/23
Internet address	http://espkorea.org/

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 4 Quality Education

Access to Document

2023 ESP Korea Proceedings

Cite this

@conference{b67ec0fba53c4cbaae342315cc17fb14,

title = "Assessing the Intelligibility of Korean-Accented English for Hong Kong English Speakers",

abstract = "English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is associated with the concept of diverse Englishes / and different ways of speaking the language. The abundance of non-native varieties of English gives rise to various controversies, including concerns regarding the comprehensibility of its speakers. While the use of Korean-accented English in international contexts is acknowledged, it remains an area that has not been extensively explored. This study aimed to examine the Korean-accented English by investigating the following questions: (1) What level of Korean accent in English pronunciation can be considered understandable to Hong Kong English users? (2) Which pronunciation features lead to failures in comprehension? The intelligibility of Korean-accented English speech was assessed through a binary forced-choice task performed by undergraduate students in Hong Kong. This study also discusses the significant features that present the greatest challenges for Korean-speaking English learners in in international communication.",

author = "Bohyon Chung and Noble Lo and Bong, \{Hyun Kyung Miki\}",

year = "2023",

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day = "16",

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TY - CONF

T1 - Assessing the Intelligibility of Korean-Accented English for Hong Kong English Speakers

AU - Chung, Bohyon

AU - Lo, Noble

AU - Bong, Hyun Kyung Miki

PY - 2023/9/16

Y1 - 2023/9/16

N2 - English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is associated with the concept of diverse Englishes / and different ways of speaking the language. The abundance of non-native varieties of English gives rise to various controversies, including concerns regarding the comprehensibility of its speakers. While the use of Korean-accented English in international contexts is acknowledged, it remains an area that has not been extensively explored. This study aimed to examine the Korean-accented English by investigating the following questions: (1) What level of Korean accent in English pronunciation can be considered understandable to Hong Kong English users? (2) Which pronunciation features lead to failures in comprehension? The intelligibility of Korean-accented English speech was assessed through a binary forced-choice task performed by undergraduate students in Hong Kong. This study also discusses the significant features that present the greatest challenges for Korean-speaking English learners in in international communication.

AB - English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is associated with the concept of diverse Englishes / and different ways of speaking the language. The abundance of non-native varieties of English gives rise to various controversies, including concerns regarding the comprehensibility of its speakers. While the use of Korean-accented English in international contexts is acknowledged, it remains an area that has not been extensively explored. This study aimed to examine the Korean-accented English by investigating the following questions: (1) What level of Korean accent in English pronunciation can be considered understandable to Hong Kong English users? (2) Which pronunciation features lead to failures in comprehension? The intelligibility of Korean-accented English speech was assessed through a binary forced-choice task performed by undergraduate students in Hong Kong. This study also discusses the significant features that present the greatest challenges for Korean-speaking English learners in in international communication.

M3 - Abstract

T2 - ESP Korea 2023

Y2 - 16 September 2023 through 16 September 2023

ER -