what the body remembers by shauna singh baldwin

The present era of technology brought a new phenomenon in text messaging and writing in the cyber world with a “modern style” that breaks the rules of conventional written language and offers self-created symbols of expression. Considering that external factors other than acculturation were controlled, the study concluded that their high acculturation predicts their pronunciation proficiency. The pronunciation test implied that the participants mastered English sound blending, stress, intonation, and rhythm. The two strategies show high acculturation levels, indicating L2 cultural competence in Fenner’s (2000) classification of cultural exposure outcomes.

The findings showed that the selected participants adapted integrative and assimilation acculturation strategies. Berry’s (1980) East Asian Acculturate Measure (EAAM) was used to measure their cultural competence level. Pronunciation proficiency was tested using Brooks’ (1999) pronunciation test, which assesses the mastery of four main aspects: blending sounds, stress, intonation, and rhythm. WhatsApp (i.e., a smartphone application mainly used for text messaging). Their learning experience data were collected through unstructured interviews via. Three methods were used in this study regarding the participants’ learning experience, pronunciation proficiency, and cultural competence. This study explored the possible relationship between L2 cultural competence and pronunciation proficiency in seven advanced learners of English as a foreign language (EFL).

What the body remembers by shauna singh baldwin