The Provision of Input on Elision and Its Effectiveness on Improving Native Mandarin Speakers’ Listening Skills

Abstract

This paper describes an action research project, which was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of input on elision on comprehension in the language classroom. Data was generated from first-year native Chinese undergraduates majoring as English teachers, who were provided with the input of 21 model sentences featuring 31 examples of elision, including those featuring a sound’s voiced or unvoiced equivalent, with all the consonant sounds covered apart from /ʒ/, /h/ and /ŋ/. This was provided to 31 of the 51 participants, all of whom then listened to the output of a native speaker. The analysis of what was perceived to have been said illustrates the fact that input on this feature significantly increases learners’ ability to comprehend such speakers. Therefore, it is recommended that the provision of input on this often-neglected language feature is undertaken in order to enhance learners’ effectiveness in comprehending native speakers’ oral production, as opposed to the common practice of using comprehension questions to test, for example.