In this chapter, a detailed analysis of the results of the experiment is provided. After the three
listener-judges had finished giving the four hundred scores, the latter were typed into tables,
found in Appendix E. A close examination of these scores, as well as the calculation of each
group’s mean scores, will enable us to confirm – or invalidate – the central hypothesis of this
work. Although the experimental procedure only included read speech, the results will offer
an insight into the actual role and importance of suprasegmentals in the acquisition of
English as a Foreign Language by French learners, with respect to the role and importance of
segments.
In section 4.1., the between-groups design of the experiment is focused on, with a
comparison of the post-training scores of Group A with the post-training scores of Group B.
The other section, 4.2., centres on the within-groups design and the – independent, and then
compared – evolutions of the two groups before and after their respective trainings. Finally,
section 4.3. is a discussion of the results, which also comprises a parallel between our
findings and those reported in previous similar studies, and an account of the
methodological limits of the whole protocol.