A Study of Pauses in Oral Reading of One's Native Language and English

Abstract

Seventy-two students, representing equally Hindi, Spamsh, and Japanese speakers, served as experimental subjects. Each group was equally subdivided between students who were more and ones who were less proficient in aural comprehension of English. All participants recorded a philosophical essay in both their native language and in English. The statistical treatment was based upon the median duration of each speaker's distribution of pauses in reading a two-minute portion of the passage. The groups of higher and lower levels of proficiency in the aural reception of English differed significantly both in the median length of pauses and the accompanying semi-interquartile range. Language groups differed in median duration of pauses, but not in semi-interquartile range. There was no difference in the length or distribution of pauses that the students used in reading in their native language and in English.