The relationship between a musical background and French pronunciation for novice adult learners: A mixed methods study

Brittingham, Lisa

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125515 Copy

Description

Title

The relationship between a musical background and French pronunciation for novice adult learners: A mixed methods study

Author(s)

Brittingham, Lisa

Issue Date

2024-06-11

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Mroz, Aurore P

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Mroz, Aurore P

Committee Member(s)

• Fagyal, Zsuzsanna
• Yan, Xun
• Shosted, Ryan

Department of Study

French and Italian

Discipline

French

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• French Pronunciation
• Musical Background

Abstract

This study focused on two central variables: L2 French pronunciation (intelligibility and nativelikeness, perceived fluency and utterance fluency) and musical background (musical aptitude and musical training). College level novice learners of French (N = 148) completed three questionnaires, a read-aloud task, and a semi-spontaneous production task which were analyzed to investigate if a relationship existed between the two central variables. Additionally, several participants (n = 27) participated in semi-structured interviews as the qualitative element of the study. Multiple regressions were conducted to determine which musical, demographic, and language learning variables were predictors of pronunciation variables. Results indicated no relationship between intelligibility and nativelikeness. However, there was a relationship found between musical aptitude and musical training. Additionally, a positive relationship between perceived fluency and utterance fluency as well as intelligibility and perceived fluency was discovered. Using hierarchical and K-means cluster analyses, the participants were divided into four different groups: (1) the cluster with the highest intelligibility rate and highest level of perceived fluency and utterance fluency also had the second highest level of musical training and musical aptitude, (2) the cluster with the highest nativelikeness rate had the lowest intelligibility rate, (3) the cluster with the highest level of musical aptitude and the most years of musical training had the second highest level of intelligibility and perceived fluency, and (4) the cluster with a moderate level of intelligibility and the lowest level of utterance fluency had very little musical influence. Thus, the study was successful in determining an indirect influence between a musical background and French pronunciation as well as clearly establishing a difference between intelligibility and nativelikeness.

Graduation Semester

2024-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125515

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2024 Lisa Brittingham

Owning Collections