**3. Listener training**

## **3.1 Listener training in the assessment contexts**

Given the effect of listener background factors on the assessment of L2 performance, it is of utmost importance to mitigate the variance of these trait-irrelevant variables. One way to curb the magnitude of the bias exerted by the listeners' background is training listeners. Training listeners would reduce, if not eradicate, the error inserted by the aforementioned listener variables. For example, some scholars recommended listener training for minimizing the effect of accent familiarity as a factor leading to listener bias [37–39]. On the importance of listener training, Cumming [40] maintained that trained listeners are less likely to be deviated by background variables, as they gravitate more toward trait-relevant variables, such as language use, content, and rhetorical organization. Regarding the effect of listener background and training on rating reliability, Shohamy et al.'s [41] study indicated that regardless of the professional background of the listeners, whether they be English teachers or lay persons, and their training status, whether they be trained or native, all groups of listeners achieved high inter-listener reliability in rating writing samples; however, inter-listener reliability was higher among trained listeners. In a more recent study, Kang et al. [3] researched the effect of listener training on reducing the amount of divergence between novice and trained listeners. The results of that study indicated that for the novice listeners who underwent training, the impact of trait-irrelevant listener variables reduced by 75% for oral proficiency holistic rating and by 50% for comprehensibility rating. As a result of listener training, the listeners who were previously scattered on each extreme of rating continuum converged, meaning that the distance between the listeners who tended to be extremely severe or lenient prior to the training reduced and they became more moderate.

#### **3.2 Structured contact activities to mediate listeners' bias in social contexts**

Another approach to listener training, which is more concerned with preparing NS listeners for accomplishing successful intercultural communication with NNSs, rather than calibrating their ratings of NNSs' speech, is structured intergroup

**9**

*Listener Background in L2 Speech Evaluation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89414*

to reduce the efficacy of intergroup contact [42, 43].

are not the only legitimate ones to manage the world [43].

Kang et al. [44] investigated the effect of a brief intergroup contact on American undergraduates' perception of international teaching assistants' (ITAs) teaching competence and speech performance. At the heart of this contact intervention, undergraduates engaged in doing some cooperative activities (solving puzzles) with ITAs. Comparing the results of undergraduates' ratings in the pretest and the posttest indicated that undergraduates rated ITAs' speech performance and teaching competence more highly in the posttest. Interestingly, those undergraduates who had the aversion to participate in the intervention owing to their prior negative experiences with ITAs underwent a more remarkable change in attitude toward ITAs' speech performance and teaching competence. The results of this study are

contact. As a consequence of globalization, there is more urgent need for people from different fields of science to communicate with interlocutors from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Thus, it is critical to devise an intervention that fosters a successful communication between NSs (ingroup) and NNSs (outgroup). A slew of research in the field of social psychology has provided support for structuring intergroup contact for reducing NSs' existing prejudices. Intergroup contact involves interaction between members of two groups (ingroup and outgroup) who do not seem to share similar identities, beliefs, and religions [42]. Intergroup contact is based on the assumption that contact across groups minimizes the alienation and promotes positive attitude toward members of outgroup. For an intergroup contact to be effective, the following five conditions should be met. First, within the contact situation, groups should have (or inculcated that they have) equal status. Second, groups should have shared objectives or common goals that make contact activities goal oriented. Third, there should be a sense of cooperation, rather than a competition between the groups for fulfilling the common goals. Fourth, there should be someone in the position of power who sanctions and regulates the contact situation. Fifth, the dynamic of the contact situation should be conducive to intergroup intimacy and encourage the members of ingroup to establish rapport with the members of outgroup. The violation of each one of the principles has been alleged

Pettigrew [43] maintained that the alteration of negative attitude through intergroup contact is a function of four interconnected processes, namely, learning about the outgroup, changing behavior, generating affective ties, and ingroup reappraisal. The first process is deemed to be most critical due to the fact that prejudice reduction is a direct consequence of correcting negative attitude harbored by the ingroup which occurs as a result of new learning about the outgroup. It is also important to note that the dynamics of contact situation acts as a catalyst for the attitude reform. Any alteration in the ingroup members' attitude should be preceded by a change in their behavior which is a response to the expectations of the situation. For example, if expectations of the situation call for accepting outgroup members, in response to those expectations, ingroup members modify their behaviors and, as a result, their attitude changes [43]. Although anxiety might be overwhelming in the initial encounters of the groups, as intergroup contact continues and a sense of intimacy augments between the two groups, this negative emotion would deplete and be gradually replaced with a sense of empathy for the members of outgroup. This friendship between the groups provides a fertile ground for improving positive attitude toward the outgroup as a whole. Finally, as a result of having more contact with members of the outgroup, ingroup members would revisit their established norms and customs, as they find them to be too restrictive and instead develop a perspective which is more universal. In other words, not only do ingroup members change their attitudes and become more accepting of the outgroup, but they also perceive that the norms they have set and ardently supported

#### *Listener Background in L2 Speech Evaluation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89414*

*Metacognition in Learning*

**3. Listener training**

became more moderate.

the speakers from that stigmatized social group.

**3.1 Listener training in the assessment contexts**

Munro's argument and lent credence to the role of listeners' attitudinal biases. For example, Kang and Rubin's [2] RLS study revealed that the listeners presented with the picture of an Asian scored lower in the listening comprehension test than those who were presented with the picture of a Caucasian. They attributed this phenomenon to the listeners' biased perception stemming from their prior experience such as their negative experience with international teaching assistants. In another study, Wolff [36] reported that in his experiment involving Nembe and Kalabari speakers, two languages of Eastern Niger delta, Nembe speakers reported to have found more linguistic similarity between their language and Kalabari and had a more complete perception of Kalabari speakers, whereas the opposite was reported by Kalabari speakers. Lindemann and Subtirelu [28] associated this discrepancy in perception with the "asymmetrical attitude" held by the listeners toward different language groups (p. 577). Therefore, it can be concluded that listeners' predispositions make significant contributions to what listeners perceive and the attitudinal biases held by listeners toward the speakers of a particular social group, especially a low prestigious one, would impair their perceptual encoding of the speech signal produced by

Given the effect of listener background factors on the assessment of L2 performance, it is of utmost importance to mitigate the variance of these trait-irrelevant variables. One way to curb the magnitude of the bias exerted by the listeners' background is training listeners. Training listeners would reduce, if not eradicate, the error inserted by the aforementioned listener variables. For example, some scholars recommended listener training for minimizing the effect of accent familiarity as a factor leading to listener bias [37–39]. On the importance of listener training, Cumming [40] maintained that trained listeners are less likely to be deviated by background variables, as they gravitate more toward trait-relevant variables, such as language use, content, and rhetorical organization. Regarding the effect of listener background and training on rating reliability, Shohamy et al.'s [41] study indicated that regardless of the professional background of the listeners, whether they be English teachers or lay persons, and their training status, whether they be trained or native, all groups of listeners achieved high inter-listener reliability in rating writing samples; however, inter-listener reliability was higher among trained listeners. In a more recent study, Kang et al. [3] researched the effect of listener training on reducing the amount of divergence between novice and trained listeners. The results of that study indicated that for the novice listeners who underwent training, the impact of trait-irrelevant listener variables reduced by 75% for oral proficiency holistic rating and by 50% for comprehensibility rating. As a result of listener training, the listeners who were previously scattered on each extreme of rating continuum converged, meaning that the distance between the listeners who tended to be extremely severe or lenient prior to the training reduced and they

**3.2 Structured contact activities to mediate listeners' bias in social contexts**

Another approach to listener training, which is more concerned with preparing NS listeners for accomplishing successful intercultural communication with NNSs, rather than calibrating their ratings of NNSs' speech, is structured intergroup

**8**

contact. As a consequence of globalization, there is more urgent need for people from different fields of science to communicate with interlocutors from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Thus, it is critical to devise an intervention that fosters a successful communication between NSs (ingroup) and NNSs (outgroup). A slew of research in the field of social psychology has provided support for structuring intergroup contact for reducing NSs' existing prejudices. Intergroup contact involves interaction between members of two groups (ingroup and outgroup) who do not seem to share similar identities, beliefs, and religions [42]. Intergroup contact is based on the assumption that contact across groups minimizes the alienation and promotes positive attitude toward members of outgroup. For an intergroup contact to be effective, the following five conditions should be met. First, within the contact situation, groups should have (or inculcated that they have) equal status. Second, groups should have shared objectives or common goals that make contact activities goal oriented. Third, there should be a sense of cooperation, rather than a competition between the groups for fulfilling the common goals. Fourth, there should be someone in the position of power who sanctions and regulates the contact situation. Fifth, the dynamic of the contact situation should be conducive to intergroup intimacy and encourage the members of ingroup to establish rapport with the members of outgroup. The violation of each one of the principles has been alleged to reduce the efficacy of intergroup contact [42, 43].

Pettigrew [43] maintained that the alteration of negative attitude through intergroup contact is a function of four interconnected processes, namely, learning about the outgroup, changing behavior, generating affective ties, and ingroup reappraisal. The first process is deemed to be most critical due to the fact that prejudice reduction is a direct consequence of correcting negative attitude harbored by the ingroup which occurs as a result of new learning about the outgroup. It is also important to note that the dynamics of contact situation acts as a catalyst for the attitude reform. Any alteration in the ingroup members' attitude should be preceded by a change in their behavior which is a response to the expectations of the situation. For example, if expectations of the situation call for accepting outgroup members, in response to those expectations, ingroup members modify their behaviors and, as a result, their attitude changes [43]. Although anxiety might be overwhelming in the initial encounters of the groups, as intergroup contact continues and a sense of intimacy augments between the two groups, this negative emotion would deplete and be gradually replaced with a sense of empathy for the members of outgroup. This friendship between the groups provides a fertile ground for improving positive attitude toward the outgroup as a whole. Finally, as a result of having more contact with members of the outgroup, ingroup members would revisit their established norms and customs, as they find them to be too restrictive and instead develop a perspective which is more universal. In other words, not only do ingroup members change their attitudes and become more accepting of the outgroup, but they also perceive that the norms they have set and ardently supported are not the only legitimate ones to manage the world [43].

Kang et al. [44] investigated the effect of a brief intergroup contact on American undergraduates' perception of international teaching assistants' (ITAs) teaching competence and speech performance. At the heart of this contact intervention, undergraduates engaged in doing some cooperative activities (solving puzzles) with ITAs. Comparing the results of undergraduates' ratings in the pretest and the posttest indicated that undergraduates rated ITAs' speech performance and teaching competence more highly in the posttest. Interestingly, those undergraduates who had the aversion to participate in the intervention owing to their prior negative experiences with ITAs underwent a more remarkable change in attitude toward ITAs' speech performance and teaching competence. The results of this study are

significant in that despite the short duration of the intervention, it brought about dramatic changes in undergraduates' attitude. The authors attributed this accomplishment to their strict adherence to the principles of optimal intergroup contact established by Allport.

In a similar study, Staples et al. [45] developed a structured contact program to investigate its effect on US undergraduate students' (USUGs) perception of ITAs' comprehensibility, accentedness, and instructional competence. In this study, USUGs met with ITAs once a week for an hour over a span of 8 weeks. Similar to the previous study, USUGs are involved in doing collaborative activities with ITAs aiming at accomplishing common goals. The results of the study revealed that as a result of participating in the structured contact program, USUGs' attitudes toward and perceptions of ITAs improved and they were manifested in their three outcome ratings. Both of these two studies provide evidence in support of reducing NS's preconception biases of ITAs' language ability through the successful application of an intergroup contact program.

#### **3.3 L2 listening strategy instruction and self-efficacy**

As an effective approach to enhancing L2 listeners' self-efficacy and rendering them more efficient listeners both in classroom and real-life settings, L2 researchers and practitioners have emphasized equipping L2 listeners with an array of listening strategies. Given the fact that those listening strategies do not develop spontaneously, educators advocate developing carefully designed interventions to incorporate those strategies and instruct them to L2 listeners.

Broadly defined as "beliefs in one's capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments" ([46], p. 3), self-efficacy is regarded to determine what tasks individuals choose to perform, how willing they are to face challenges, and the level of persistence they devote to accomplishing them. The relationship between L2 listening self-efficacy and L2 listening performance has been explored in the literature. Chen [47] reported that self-efficacy beliefs among Taiwanese university students predicted their listening performance and its magnitude was larger than other variables, such as listening anxiety. In a similar study, Mills et al. [48] found a positive correlation between self-efficacy for listening and listening proficiency in their study, and both of these two constructs were inversely correlated with listening anxiety.

Self-efficacy in listening, however, can be enhanced through explicit instruction of listening strategies focusing on scaffolding of learning and learner reflection [49]. Strategies taught within this framework would be based upon listeners' needs and are specific to the task and the situation within which the task is performed. This type of strategy instruction accompanied by instructors' immediate feedback on the efficacy of the strategy employed would increase listeners' sense of control and draw their attention to the relationship between the strategy just used and the observable outcomes ensued [49]. In Graham's [50] study listeners were encouraged to jot down and keep diaries of the listening strategies they employed in accomplishing assigned tasks. The researchers then perused the strategies used and rectified those less efficient ones and encouraged the listeners to use new strategies. This model of intervention improved listeners' self-efficacy and helped them gain more control over the tasks they performed.

Another listening strategy reported to have salubrious effect on L2 listeners' self-efficacy is verbalization. According to this model, first employed by Schunk and Rice [51], listeners think aloud the strategies they plan to use prior to performing tasks after they have been modeled by their teachers. Verbalization not only draws the attention of the listeners to the strategies and facilitates the encoding

**11**

NS and NNS.

*Listener Background in L2 Speech Evaluation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89414*

**4. Implications and future research directions**

to happen in real-life interactions.

criticisms of NSs.

of upcoming information, but it also provides an opportunity for the listeners to have the veracity of their selected strategies confirmed by their teachers. Thus, if there is a mismatch between the strategies verbalized by the listeners with those modeled by their teachers, the teacher can intervene and rectify those mismatches. Taken as a whole, self-efficacy and listening performance are both amenable to improvement which can be achieved through judicious selection and instruction of effective listening strategies. What is more, it is assumed that L2 listeners with stronger self-efficacy would be more willing to run the risk of exposing themselves to real-life interactions involving NSs and would be more tolerant of the harsh

There are some important implications that researchers and educators can draw from the findings of the existing research investigated in this desktop review. First, researchers should be informed of the fact that NSs' judgments of NNSs' speech performance involve a varying degree of listener bias. Any research that involves subjective judgments of NS listeners should control such confounding variables and curtail their intervening effects. Second, intelligibility is as much a function of listeners' effort as that of speakers, meaning that the intelligibility of speech is not solely determined by speakers but by listeners. In measuring the intelligibility of an L2 speech variety, listeners play an active role. A speech sample might be highly intelligible for a particular group of listeners but less intelligible for another group. Communication is a two-way street. Sharing responsibility between both speakers and listeners would be the first step to take for successful communication. Finally, acknowledging the active role of listeners in determining L2 speech intelligibility challenges the research instruments prevalently used in research for measuring speech intelligibility. The stimuli used in intelligibility-based research are recorded speeches that do not provide an opportunity for listeners to employ effective communication strategies and to negotiate meaning with speakers [28]. Thus, intelligibility remains to be determined still solely by speakers. Future research should take the initiative to utilize interactive stimuli in which intelligibility is more realistically measured as a joint effort between a listener and a speaker as it is what is expected

Given the importance attached to listeners as active contributors to speech intelligibility and communication success between NSs and NNSs, L2 pronunciation educators would require to dedicate a substantial amount of their instruction to introducing and practicing successful communication strategies such as how to paraphrase, do circumlocution, and use nonlinguistic signals. Additionally, in lieu of setting NS pronunciation norms and encouraging L2 learners to approximate their pronunciations to those norms, educators should emphasize the pronunciation features which contribute more to speech intelligibility and prioritize them over those less critical features in their instruction [28]. As of yet, research on the efficacy of this type of instruction is scarce. Future research will be needed to determine to what extent this type of instruction promotes the communication between

It is also important to note that those L2 learners who experience varying degrees of bias in their encounter with NSs tend to report having lower self-efficacy expectations, which would, as a consequence, impair their self-estimate of their language abilities. Self-efficacy expectations would predict one's performance beyond their true abilities. Those L2 learners with lowered self-efficacy expectations would be less willing to initiate and maintain interaction with NSs both in classroom and

#### *Listener Background in L2 Speech Evaluation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89414*

*Metacognition in Learning*

established by Allport.

an intergroup contact program.

**3.3 L2 listening strategy instruction and self-efficacy**

rate those strategies and instruct them to L2 listeners.

were inversely correlated with listening anxiety.

more control over the tasks they performed.

significant in that despite the short duration of the intervention, it brought about dramatic changes in undergraduates' attitude. The authors attributed this accomplishment to their strict adherence to the principles of optimal intergroup contact

In a similar study, Staples et al. [45] developed a structured contact program to investigate its effect on US undergraduate students' (USUGs) perception of ITAs' comprehensibility, accentedness, and instructional competence. In this study, USUGs met with ITAs once a week for an hour over a span of 8 weeks. Similar to the previous study, USUGs are involved in doing collaborative activities with ITAs aiming at accomplishing common goals. The results of the study revealed that as a result of participating in the structured contact program, USUGs' attitudes toward and perceptions of ITAs improved and they were manifested in their three outcome ratings. Both of these two studies provide evidence in support of reducing NS's preconception biases of ITAs' language ability through the successful application of

As an effective approach to enhancing L2 listeners' self-efficacy and rendering them more efficient listeners both in classroom and real-life settings, L2 researchers and practitioners have emphasized equipping L2 listeners with an array of listening strategies. Given the fact that those listening strategies do not develop spontaneously, educators advocate developing carefully designed interventions to incorpo-

Broadly defined as "beliefs in one's capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments" ([46], p. 3), self-efficacy is regarded to determine what tasks individuals choose to perform, how willing they are to face challenges, and the level of persistence they devote to accomplishing them. The relationship between L2 listening self-efficacy and L2 listening performance has been explored in the literature. Chen [47] reported that self-efficacy beliefs among Taiwanese university students predicted their listening performance and its magnitude was larger than other variables, such as listening anxiety. In a similar study, Mills et al. [48] found a positive correlation between self-efficacy for listening and listening proficiency in their study, and both of these two constructs

Self-efficacy in listening, however, can be enhanced through explicit instruction of listening strategies focusing on scaffolding of learning and learner reflection [49]. Strategies taught within this framework would be based upon listeners' needs and are specific to the task and the situation within which the task is performed. This type of strategy instruction accompanied by instructors' immediate feedback on the efficacy of the strategy employed would increase listeners' sense of control and draw their attention to the relationship between the strategy just used and the observable outcomes ensued [49]. In Graham's [50] study listeners were encouraged to jot down and keep diaries of the listening strategies they employed in accomplishing assigned tasks. The researchers then perused the strategies used and rectified those less efficient ones and encouraged the listeners to use new strategies. This model of intervention improved listeners' self-efficacy and helped them gain

Another listening strategy reported to have salubrious effect on L2 listeners' self-efficacy is verbalization. According to this model, first employed by Schunk and Rice [51], listeners think aloud the strategies they plan to use prior to performing tasks after they have been modeled by their teachers. Verbalization not only draws the attention of the listeners to the strategies and facilitates the encoding

**10**

of upcoming information, but it also provides an opportunity for the listeners to have the veracity of their selected strategies confirmed by their teachers. Thus, if there is a mismatch between the strategies verbalized by the listeners with those modeled by their teachers, the teacher can intervene and rectify those mismatches. Taken as a whole, self-efficacy and listening performance are both amenable to improvement which can be achieved through judicious selection and instruction of effective listening strategies. What is more, it is assumed that L2 listeners with stronger self-efficacy would be more willing to run the risk of exposing themselves to real-life interactions involving NSs and would be more tolerant of the harsh criticisms of NSs.
