The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of practice with rate-controlled speech as compared with practice with speech delivered at normal rates on short-term listening comprehension and levels of confidence of advanced Chinese EFL learners. The present study was designed by incorporating an information processing theory of language learning, a concept of confidence, and the compressed speech technology.;A pretest-posttest control group design was adopted in this study. Twenty-four Chinese advanced EFL learners were randomly assigned to either the experimental (compressed) or the control (normal) group. No significant difference in short-term listening ability or in levels of confidence was detected between the two treatment groups on pretests.;A total of twenty hours of practice was given to the subjects, one hour daily for a period of four weeks. A 35-item short-term listening material was used for each practice session. The experimental group first listened to speech extended (20%) to rates between 120 and 145 wpm, and then to speech at normal rates between 150 and 180 wpm, and finally to speech compressed (20%) to rates between 180 and 215 wpm. Contrastively, the subjects in the control group listened to speech presented at normal rates throughout each practice session.;After adjusting for initial differences in both short-term listening and confidence scores on the covariates (pretests), a significant difference was found between mean short-term listening and mean confidence scores on the posttests at the.05 level.;The data provide strong evidence for significant effects of practice with rate-controlled speech on short-term listening comprehension and confidence level in advanced Chinese EFL learners.
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