Korean Nasalization as L1 Interference on English Production by Korean EFL Learners

Abstract

The present study aims to analyze how L1 interference of Korean nasalization processes influences English speech by Korean EFL speakers according to their English proficiency. 20 Korean EFL speakers (experimental group) and four native speakers of English (control group) participated in this study. Korean EFL speakers were divided into two groups of ten according to their English proficiency. This study measures the values of three factors: the frequency of nasalization processes, final stop release, and vowel insertion. Through this study, the following results were found. The English proficiency of Korean EFL speakers is found to influence the realization of nasalization processes and vowel insertion in their English speech in that they are realized more frequently by the group with lower English proficiency than the group with higher English proficiency. For final stop release, although no particular difference is found when comparing the frequency of the final stop release of the three speaker groups, it is found that the group with English native speakers has a higher frequency of final stop release than the two Korean speaker groups, and the group with higher English proficiency is likely to have a higher frequency of final stop release compared to the group with lower English proficiency in most cases. The findings suggest that the group with higher English proficiency speaks closer to English native speakers than the group with lower English proficiency.