Volume 12, Number 1, Spring 2017

How Do Language Experience and Processing Speed Influence the Acquistion of Narrow Phonetic Transcription?

AUTHOR(S):

• Amy Louise Schwarz, PhD, CCC-SLP, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
• Maria Dolores Resendiz, PhD, CCC-SLP, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
• JoAnn Hervey, BS and Charlsa Matson, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
• Kathryn Breon, MS, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX

ABSTRACT

Between 2010 and 2014, one-third of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in Communication Disorders programs in California, Texas, and Florida were culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD). No published studies report on how CLD students acquire phonetic transcription of non-disordered and disordered spoken English, a critical skill for assessing and treating clients with articulation and/or phonological disorders. We tested whether language experience (i.e., monolingual English experience, early Spanish experience) and processing speed predict acquisition of narrow phonetic transcription. In this retrospective exploratory study, self-reported data on transcription accuracy across 15 periods from 44 undergraduates majoring in Communication Disorders were analyzed using growth curve models. For disordered spoken English, early Spanish experience students initially reported significantly lower transcription accuracy rates and grew at a faster rate than their monolingual English peers. The groups did not differ significantly in processing speed. For non-disordered spoken English, neither processing speed nor language experience predicts acquisition. Although narrow transcription of disordered spoken English is difficult for all students, it may tap a speech perception threshold for students with early Spanish experience.

DOI:

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