Time Group Analysis of Chinese EFL learners' Rhythmic Pattern and Duration Assignment of English Sentence

Based on the Time Group Analysis (TGA), which provides efficient computational support to cope with speech data, by comparing native speakers' speech data with Chinese EFL learners' data, this paper explores: (1) the differences of the rhythmic pattern between the NS and Chinese EFL learners; (2) their differences in the duration assignment. Results show that native speakers have higher rPVI-C and lower nPVI-V than EFL learners. Furthermore, male EFL learners' rPVI are lower than female EFL learners'. In terms of duration assignment, native speakers present a variety of contrast stress, while Chinese EFL learners intend to utter every sound in a similar tempo and duration, which indicates the influence of syllable timed rhythmic pattern.