대학수학능력시험 영어듣기평가에서 다양한 발화속도가 고등학생의 듣기이해에 미치는 영향 : The Effect of Different Speech Rates on Korean High School Students’ Listening Comprehension in the College Scholastic Ability Test

국문 초록 (Abstract)

본 연구는 대학수학능력시험(이하 수능) 외국어영역의 듣기평가 문항에 사용되는 녹음자료를 중심으로 영어 말하기 속도가 듣기이해에 미치는 영향을 살펴보고, 현재 우리나라 고등학생들의 듣기실력을 평가하는데 알맞은 말하기 속도를 제안할 수 있는 근거를 제시하는데 그 목적이 있다. 1994학년도부터 현재에 이르기까지 20년 간 실시되고 있는 수능 외국어영역은 문항구성이나 배점 등의 형식적인 유형만 조금씩 변하였을 뿐, 듣기평가에 사용되는 음성녹음파일의 말하기 속도에는 거의 변함이 없다. 실생활에서 원어민의 평균 말하기 속도가 1분 당 160-190 단어인 것을 감안했을 때, 수능 듣기평가의 평균 말하기 속도는 1분 당 140-160 단어로 시험에 사용되는 듣기자료의 진정성이 현저하게 떨어지는 것을 알 수 있다. 더욱이 1997년부터 초등학교에서도 영어 교육이 시행되어 이전보다 조기영어교육이 보편화되고 원어민 교사와 접할 기회도 많으며 인터넷과 각종 미디어매체의 발달로 실제적인 영어에 노출되는 빈도가 높은 환경에서 자란 요즘 학생들의 귀에는 시험상황 이라는 특수성을 감안하더라도 인위적으로 낮춘 속도가 자연스럽게 들리지 않는다. 실생활에서 쓰이는 실제적인 영어와 최대한 비슷한 자료로 교육하고 평가한다는 정부의 영어교육과정계획에도 불구하고 이를 가장 잘 반영해야 하는 수능 듣기평가에서는 오히려 비정상적으로 느린 속도의 말하기 속도를 사용하고 있는 것이다. 이러한 현실의 문제점을 개선하는데 쓰일 수 있는 타당한 근거를 제시하기 위해 본 연구자는 다음과 같은 실험을 수행하였다. 우선, 수능 듣기평가에 사용되는 말하기 속도가 현재보다 빨라지면 학생들의 듣기이해 결과에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지를 알아보기 위해 속도를 각각 10%, 20%, 30%씩 상향 조정하여 고등학생 241명을 대상으로 듣기평가를 실시하였다. 또한, 설문지를 통해 말하기 속도와 듣기평가에 대한 학생들의 인식을 조사하였다. 수집된 자료를 학생들의 평소 듣기실력과 실험에 사용된 문항의 난이도를 중심으로 통계 분석한 결과, 빨라진 듣기 속도는 전반적으로 시험점수에 유의미한 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로 판단되었으며, 오히려 ‘상’ 수준의 학생은 현재 수능 듣기속도 보다 30% 가량 높여서 본 실험 점수가 근소하게나마 가장 높은 것으로 나타났다. ‘하’ 수준의 학생들 역시 10% 가량 높인 속도에서보다 20% 높인 속도에서의 점수가 더욱 높게 나타났다. 즉, 듣기 평가 속도가 빨라진다고 해서 학생들의 듣기 성적이 무조건 떨어지는 것은 아니었다. 또한, 학생들의 평소 듣기실력은 세가지 빠른 말하기 속도의 시험결과에서 유의미한 영향을 미친 것으로 보아 속도가 빨라진다고 해서 학생들의 평소 듣기 실력이 왜곡된 시험결과를 우려할 필요는 없는 것으로 나타났다. 듣기 속도에 따른 문항난이도별 시험결과를 분석한 결과, 문항의 난이도는 유의미한 영향을 미치지 못했지만, 20% 상향 조정된 속도에서 문항난이도에 관계없이 학생들의 정답률이 가장 높은 것으로 나타난 반면, 30% 빠른 속도에서는 정답률이 비교적 떨어졌다. 설문지의 응답을 분석한 결과, 학생들은 전체적으로 수능듣기의 속도가 부자연스럽게 느리다는 것을 인정하면서도 정작 시험의 말하기속도가 빨라지는 것에 대해서는 부정적인 의견을 나타냈다. 이는 빨라진 속도로 인해 시험점수가 낮아질 것에 대한 우려 때문인 것으로 해석된다. 그러나 그들의 듣기점수가 빠른 속도로 제공된 시험에서도 큰 차이가 없었다는 점을 고려해볼 때, 현재보다 약 20%정도 상향 조정된 자연스러운 말하기 속도 (175 wpm정도)를 수능 영어 듣기평가에 적용한다면, 지금보다 더욱 진정성 있는 듣기평가 및 실제적인 듣기학습이 이루어질 수 있을 것으로 기대해 볼 수 있다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study examines how different speech rates affect Korean high school students’ listening comprehension to suggest appropriate speech rate for the listening items in the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). The speech rates of listening items in the CSAT, which are slower than the normal speech rates of English native speakers, have been almost static for the past 20 years. Even though high school students these days are familiar with normal native speech rates, and are exposed to more authentic and various English sources than ever before, the listening items in the CSAT do not seem to reflect this trend. To investigate whether or not test takers may be able to cope with faster speech rates in the CSAT, the researcher had 241 high school students take a set of listening tests. The test consisted of actual CSAT listening question items, and the students, split into three different groups, took the test with one of three different speech rates (110%, 120%, and 130%). Also, students filled a survey questionnaire related to their perceptions of speech rates in listening tests. Results from the test and survey were analyzed and compared to students' listening proficiency. In addition, the difficulty of each item on the test was taken into account. Statistical findings show that students' scores were not significantly affected by the varying speech rates. In contrast, students’ listening proficiency did affect their listening test scores significantly. Thus, it can be interpreted that faster speech rates in listening tests do not always negatively affect students’ test scores. Even though the level of difficulty on each test item did not affect students’ scores in any statistically significant way, speech rates sped up by 30% resulted in lower scores. However, test speech rates sped up by 10% and 20% respectively did not significantly affect results regardless of item difficulty. According to the survey questionnaire, students would not like to see an increase in speech rates on the CSAT, even though they recognize that current speech rates are unnaturally slow. The cause of this disinclination may be due to the fact that they worry that the faster speech rates may negatively affect their CSAT scores. However, as demonstrated by the research conducted and reported in this dissertation, students’ worries are not well founded. Listening test speech rates increased by 20% will result in more authentic test items and effective listening practice.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• I. Introduction 1
• 1.1 Background of the Study 1
• 1.2 Purpose of the Study 4
• 1.3 Research Questions 5
• 1.4 Significance of the Study 6
• 1.5 Organization of the Dissertation 6
• II. Literature Review 8
• 2.1 Importance of Listening and Speaking Fluency 8
• 2.2 Speech Rate and Listening Comprehension 9
• 2.3 Speech Rates of English Listening Proficiency Tests 12
• 2.3.1 NEAT 13
• 2.3.2 TEPS 15
• 2.3.3 TOEFL 16
• 2.3.4 TOEIC 17
• 2.4 Speech Rate of Listening Items in CSAT 18
• 2.5 Summary 23
• III. Pilot Study 25
• 3.1 Data Collection 25
• 3.1.1 Participants 25
• 3.1.2 Listening Materials of Three Different Speech Rates 26
• 3.1.3 Survey Questionnaire about Perceptions of Speech Rate forEnglish Listening Materials 27
• 3.2 Findings and Discussion 28
• 3.2.1 Students' Recognition of Different Speech Rates 28
• 3.2.2 Students' Recognition of the Order of Faster Speech Rates 29
• 3.2.3 Students' Recognition of ‘the Most Natural Speech Rate' 30
• 3.2.4 Students' Recognition of Similar Speech Rate Using Listening Items from the CSAT 31
• 3.2.5 Students’ Recognition of the Difference Between NativeRates of Speech and Those of the CSAT Listening Section 33
• 3.2.6 Students’ Opinions about Using Native English Speech Rates in English Listening Practice 33
• 3.2.7 Students’ Opinion about Using Normal Speech Rate of Native Speakers for English Listening Test 34
• 3.3 Summary 36
• IV.Methodology 37
• 4.1 Participants 37
• 4.2 Data Collection 40
• 4.3 Instruments 41
• 4.3.1 Listening Test with Different Speech Rates 41
• 4.3.1.1 Speech Rate Calculation 41
• 4.3.1.2 Converting Speech Rates 43
• 4.3.1.3 Listening Items for the Test 45
• 4.3.2 Survey Questionnaire about Students' Perceptions of Various Speech Rates on Listening Tests Speech Rate and Listening Test 51
• 4.3.2.1 Opinions about the Speech Rate of the Listening Test (Question Number 1) 52
• 4.3.2.2 Opinions about the Speech Rate in General (Questions Number 2 to Number 4) 52
• 4.3.2.3 Opinions about Speech Rates on CSAT Listening Items (Questions Number 5 to Number 9) 53
• 4.3.2.4 Students’ Educational Experience (Questions Number 10 to Number 13) 54
• 4.4 Data Analysis 54
• V.Findings 56
• 5.1 Results of Listening Test with Three Different Speech Rates 56
• 5.1.1 All Participants 56
• 5.1.2 The Comparison of Test Scores Based on the Students' Listening Proficiency 57
• 5.1.3 The Comparison of Test Scores Based on Item Difficulty 60
• 5.2 The Results of Survey Questionnaire about Students' Perceptions of Speech Rate 63
• 5.2.1 Students’ Perceptions of Different Listening Test Speech Rates 63
• 5.2.2 Students’ Perceptions of Different Speech Rates According to Their Listening Proficiency 65
• 5.2.2.1 Beginners’ Perceptions of Different Speech Rates 66
• 5.2.2.2 Intermediate Students’ Perceptions of Different Speech Rates 68
• 5.2.2.3 Advanced Students’ Perceptions of Different Speech Rates 69
• 5.2.3 Students’ Perceptions of Different Speech Rates According to Their Experience of Taking Official English Tests 70
• 5.2.4 Students’ Perceptions of Different Speech Rates According to Their Experience of Studying English Abroad 72
• VI. Discussion 74
• 6.1 The Effect of High School Students’ Listening Proficiency on Listening Test with Different Speech Rates 74
• 6.2 The Effect of Item Difficulty on Listening Test with Different Speech Rates 75
• 6.3 High School Students’ Perceptions of Speech Rates on Listening Test 76
• VII. Conclusion 79
• 7.1 Summary of the Study 79
• 7.2 Implications for English Listening Items in CSAT 80
• 7.3 Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for Further Study 82
• References 84
• Appendix A: Script of Listening Materials for the Pilot Study 90
• Appendix B: Survey Questionnaires for the Pilot Study (Korean Version, English Version) 91
• Appendix C: Test Papers for the Main Study for 11th Graders (Korean Version, English Version) 95
• Appendix D: Test Papers for the Main Study for 10th Graders (Korean Version, English Version) 104
• Appendix E: Survey Questionnaire for the Main Study (Korean Version, English Version) 112
• 국문초록 116

참고문헌 (Reference)

• 1 Buck, Gary, "Assessing listening", Cambridge University Press, Assessing Listening, 2001
• 2 GoldWave Computer Software, "St. John's, Newfoundland", "St. John's, 2013
• 3 Bachman,L.F., Palmer,A., "Language testing in practice", 1996
• 4 Underwood, "Teaching Listening (7th Ed.)", 1997
• 5 Allison, Tauroza, "Speech rates in British English", 1990
• 6 Rivers, Wilga M, "Teaching foreign-language skills", Tower Press, 1968
• 7 Ur, "Teaching listening comprehension", 1984
• 8 Boyle, "Factors affecting listening comprehension", 1984
• 9 Choi, "The aural perception of fast-speech phenomena", 1990
• 10 Bachman, Lyle F., "Fundamental considerations in language testing", Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., Fundamental considerations in language testing, 1988
• 11 Komos, "Speech Production and Second Language Acquisition", 2006
• 12 Griffiths, "Language classroom speech rates: A descriptive study", 1991
• 13 Richards, "Listening comprehension: Approach, design, procedu re", "Listening comprehension: Approach, 1983
• 14 Goh, "Metacognitive awareness and second language listeners", 1997
• 15 Chastain, "Developing second language skills: Theory and practice", 1998
• 16 Cucchiarini, Binnenpoorte, Strik, "L2 pronunciation quality in read and spontaneous speech", 2000
• 17 Towell, Bazergut, Hawkins, "The development of fluency inadvanced learners of French", 1996
• 18 Ahn, "July 11). I am an English speaker, too (2). The Korea Times", "July 11). I am an English speaker, 2011
• 19 Heo, "The use of the Internet for the effective English listening", 2003
• 20 Kim, "A study on improvement of the college scholastic ability test", 2009
• 21 Cha, "A study of impediments in listening to English news broadcasts", 2000
• 22 Blau, "The effect of syntax speed, and pauses on listening comprehension", "The effect of syntax, 1990
• 23 Vinther, Jensen, "Exact repetition as input enhancement in second language acquisition", 2003
• 24 Cha, "English listening items on the College Scholastic Ability Test of Korea", English listening items on the college scholastic ability test of Korea, 1997
• 25 Choi, "Impact of varying degree of English speech rate on listening comprehension", 2010
• 26 Rost, "Listening in action: Activities for developing listening inlanguage teaching", 1991
• 27 Griffiths, "Speech rate and listening comprehension: Further evidence of the relationship", 1992
• 28 Fry, Fry, E., "Fry’s readability graph: Clarifications, validity, and extension to level 17", "Fry’s readability graph: Clarifications, 1977
• 29 Griffiths, "Speech rate and NNS comprehension: a preliminary study in time-benefitanalysis", 1990
• 30 Park, "November 3). “Suneung yeongeo, jagyeok siheomeuro bakkuja”. The Daily Focus", "November 3). “Suneung yeongeo, 2009
• 31 Goh, "A cognitive perspective on language learners’ listening comprehension problems", 2000
• 32 Zhao, "The effects of listener’s control of speech rate on second language comprehension", 1997
• 33 Shin, "The effect of the speech rates on the improvement of listening comprehension ability", 2002
• 34 Yoon, Heo, "The effect that speech rate has on English listening comprehension of Korean high school students", 2003
• 35 Lee, "Some comprehensive suggestions for the improvement of the College Scholastic Abilities Test (CSAT)", 2001
• 36 Dunkel, Chiang, "T he effect of speech modification,pr ior knowledge, and listening proficiency on EFL lecturelearning", "The effect of speech modification, 1992
• 37 Munro, Derwing, "Modeling perceptions of the accentedness and comprehensibility of L2 speech: The role of speaking rate", 2001
• 38 Wu, "Research and development of online adaptive placement test of listening comprehension: A preliminary report", 2005
• 39 Boves, Strik, Cucchiarini, "Quantitative assessment of second language learners' fluency by means of automatic speech recognition technology", 2002
• 40 Lee, "A study on the relationship between fluency ratings and temporal variables in English speech by Korean learners of English", 2011
• 41 Yoon, Heo, "A study of college scholastic ability test on English listening: Based on the survey of English teachers and college students", 2004
• 42 Zellner, "Pauses and the temporal structure of speech. In Keller, E. ed., Fundamentals of speech synthesis and speech recognition, 41-62", "Pauses and the temporal structure of speech. In Keller, 1994
• 43 Hancock, Furey, Pimsleur, "Speech rate and listening comprehension. In M. Burt, H. Dulary, & M. Finocchiaro (Eds.), Viewpoints on English as a second language", "Speech rate and listening comprehension. In M. Burt, 1977
• 44 Park, Lee, "A study on the comprehensibility of Korean speakers’ English utterances and affecting factors for native and non-native English listeners", 2013
• 45 Hong, "September 14). “536 eok deurin NEAT, 1 geup eungsija dan 600 myeong ‘TOEIC heupsu’ chwijiwa dalli oemyeon”. Seoul Shinmun. Retrieved from http", "September 14). “536 eok deurin NEAT, 2013
• 46 Freed, "What makes us think that students who study abroad become fluent?. In Freed, B. F. ed., Second Language Acquisition in a Study Abroad Context, 123-148", "What makes us think that students who study abroad become fluent?. In Freed, 1995
• 47 Han, "An analysis of the listening comprehension questions in the Korean SATs: Focused on the 5th grammar-focused curriculum and the 6th and 7th communicative curriculum", 2008
• 48 Lee, "September 8). “[Suneung wonseo jeopsu bunseok] Yeongeo B hyeong seontaek biyul 68%... Joreopsaeng eungsija daepok jureo”. The Kyunghyang Shinmum. Retrieved from http", 2013