Developing and validating a rating scale of speaking prosody ability for learners of Chinese as a second language

Abstract

This study aims to develop a rating scale for evaluating speech prosody of learners of Chinese as a second language (CSL). The researchers first gathered 41 descriptors that were perceived as crucial indicators of prosody ability through interviewing ten CSL teachers, analyzing existing Chinese speaking proficiency scales from five universities in Mainland China. After rating the perception of the selected descriptors by ninety-four CSL teachers and consulting with four expert-teachers, 15 out of 41 descriptors remained to form a rating scale. Principal component analysis revealed that 15 descriptors with three different dimensions (prosodic strategic competence, fluency, prosodic naturalness) could meaningfully describe CSL prosody. Finally, using the 15 descriptors, 29 samples of CSL learners’ speech were evaluated by four raters. A combination of the structural equation modeling and the Many-Facets Rasch modeling confirmed that all the 15 descriptors fit well with the construct of prosody ability measured, demonstrating a good validity of this rating scale.