Can a Speaker of Syllable-timed L1 (Spanish) Recognize the Stress-timed Pattern of the English Language?

Abstract

This is an action-based case study focusing on the ability of a Spanish speaking adult female learner (Lucy) to recognize her incorrect sentence stress in English and recognize what the target stress pattern should be. Following a pre and post-test procedure to collect data over the course of four consecutive once-a-week sessions the participant of the study is interviewed and recorded on the first and the last session while the sessions in between are interventional. The results of the study revealed that adult learners of English are able to recognize and be aware of the English sentence stress pattern but need practice to achieve the target pronunciation.