Chinese EFL Learners' Perception of English Prosodic Focus

Focus in a sentence can be realized prosodically in speech communication. It has been found not easy for L2 learners to acquire. The present study examines Chinese learners' perception of English prosodic focus, specifically the effects of learners' English proficiency, intonation type, sentence length, and focus location on the perceptual accuracy of English prosodic focus by Chinese EFL learners. Results of two trials in the perception experiment reveal that focus location, intonation type, and English proficiency significantly impacted Chinese learners' perceptual accuracy of both single focus and dual focus in English. Focus in statements was perceived more accurately than that in questions for both single focus and dual focus. Focus located on sentence-final words in questions was perceived more accurately than that on non-final words in questions. Learners' English proficiency positively correlated to the accuracy of focus perception, especially for dual focus.