This study is a preliminary investigation of L2 speech rhythm in a study abroad context. Five students from an Englishmedium secondary school in Hong Kong were recorded twice: once before a 16-day study tour to New Zealand, and once after they returned. Both spontaneous speech and read speech were recorded. Several durational speech rhythm metrics were employed to measure utterances from the two sets of recordings (%V, PVI and Varco of vocalic, intervocalic, and syllabic intervals). The results indicate wide individual differences among the students. Two students showed differences in vocalic and syllabic variability while the other three students had no differences between recordings. As for vowel reduction, four out of five students had significant differences in F2 values in read speech after the study tour. One of these four also had significantly different F1 values. The results, as stated, are preliminary and call for further longitudinal study in this area.
Index Terms: speech rhythm, L2 acquisition, Cantonese, English