Native Speakers' Reactions to Non -Native Stress in English Discourse

Abstract

While some differences among experimental groups were more robust than others, the consistent patterns in these results provide some evidence supporting the general hypothesis that native speakers process, understand, and respond more positively to non-native English speech when primary stress is used correctly compared to when it is not. Practical implications include suggestions for incorporating the teaching of English prosody as a component of communicative competence for international teaching assistants and other non-native speakers.