Learning English vowels with different first-language vowel systems: Perception of formant targets, formant movement, and duration

2007 ◽  
Vol 122 (5) ◽  
pp. 2842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Iverson ◽  
Bronwen G. Evans
Keyword(s):  
First Language ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Vowel Systems ◽  
Learning English

Vowel development in young Mandarin-English bilingual children

Phonetica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Yang
Keyword(s):  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
High Group ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Vowel Systems ◽  
Phonetic Features ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
L1 And L2

Abstract This study examined the development of vowel categories in young Mandarin -English bilingual children. The participants included 35 children aged between 3 and 4 years old (15 Mandarin-English bilinguals, six English monolinguals, and 14 Mandarin monolinguals). The bilingual children were divided into two groups: one group had a shorter duration (<1 year) of intensive immersion in English (Bi-low group) and one group had a longer duration (>1 year) of intensive immersion in English (Bi-high group). The participants were recorded producing one list of Mandarin words containing the vowels /a, i, u, y, ɤ/ and/or one list of English words containing the vowels /i, ɪ, e, ɛ, æ, u, ʊ, o, ɑ, ʌ/. Formant frequency values were extracted at five equidistant time locations (the 20–35–50–65–80% point) over the course of vowel duration. Cross-language and within-language comparisons were conducted on the midpoint formant values and formant trajectories. The results showed that children in the Bi-low group produced their English vowels into clusters and showed positional deviations from the monolingual targets. However, they maintained the phonetic features of their native vowel sounds well and mainly used an assimilatory process to organize the vowel systems. Children in the Bi-high group separated their English vowels well. They used both assimilatory and dissimilatory processes to construct and refine the two vowel systems. These bilingual children approximated monolingual English children to a better extent than the children in the Bi-low group. However, when compared to the monolingual peers, they demonstrated observable deviations in both L1 and L2.

Speaking English – Understanding the Aboriginal Learner’s Problems

1978 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.W. Harris
Keyword(s):  
First Language ◽  
Know How ◽  
Complex Problems ◽  
Recent Innovation ◽  
Language Problems ◽  
Child Learning ◽  
Lack Of Knowledge ◽  
Learning English

In areas where children’s first language is an Aboriginal language, the very nature of the Aboriginal language itself poses complex problems, not only for the child learning English but also for the teacher whose basic first step in solving these problems is to understand what the problems are. Except for a few fortunate teachers who were given some linguistics in college, (a rather recent innovation) and a few conscientious people who have taken courses later, most of us who teach in Aboriginal schools know far too little about linguistics. We therefore don’t know how to approach some language problems in the classroom or, even worse, we don’t recognize that the problems exist. Some teachers who have tried to do something about their lack of knowledge have been put off by technical linguistic terminology, phonetic script and so on.This small article is an attempt by a teacher who is NOT a linguist, to show his fellow teachers who are NOT linguists, that we can still understand the linguistic problems in our classrooms, and have therefore a reasonable chance of coming to grips with them.

scholarly journals ACOUSTIC MEASUREMENT ON VOWEL PRODUCTION OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE BY INDONESIAN EFL LEARNERS

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Rudha Widagsa ◽  
Ahmad Agung Yuwono Putro
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
British English ◽  
Formant Frequencies ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Second Formant

Indonesian is the most widely spoken language in Indonesia. More than 200 million people speak the language as a first language. However, acoustic study on Indonesian learners of English (ILE) production remains untouched. The purpose of this measurement is to examine the influence of first language (L1) on English vowels production as a second language (L2). Based on perceptual magnet hypothesis (PMH), ILE were predicted to produce close sounds to L1 English where the vowels are similar to Indonesian vowels. Acoustic analysis was conducted to measure the formant frequencies. This study involved five males of Indonesian speakers aged between 20-25 years old. The data of British English native speakers were taken from previous study by Hawkins & Midgley (2005). The result illustrates that the first formant frequencies (F1) which correlates to the vowel hight of Indonesian Learners of English were significantly different from the corresponding frequencies of British English vowels. Surprisingly, the significant differences in second formant (F2) of ILE were only in the production of /ɑ, ɒ, ɔ/ in which /ɑ/=p 0.002, /ɒ/ =p 0,001, /ɔ/ =p 0,03. The vowel space area of ILE was slightly less spacious than the native speakers. This study is expected to shed light in English language teaching particularly as a foreign language.Keywords: VSA, EFL, Indonesian learners, formant frequencies, acoustic

scholarly journals The Influence of L2 English Acquisition of the Request Speech Act on Persian Preschool Children

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Firooz Sadighi ◽  
Shahrzad Chahardahcherik ◽  
Maryam Delfariyan ◽  
Fariba Feyzbar
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
First Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
Instructional Effects ◽  
Request Strategies ◽  
Learning English

In Iran the age of learning English as a foreign language is decreasing yearly. It is obvious that learning English at a very early age is a most appropriate time to start. The investigation in this study is focused on the speech act of request. Instructional effects of learning request strategies are assessed in preschoolers who received instruction to find out whether the exposure to the foreign language learning enhances the development of request strategy use and brings about changes in their first language strategy use features. The data were collected from 10 preschool Iranian learners of English as a foreign language. The participants of the study took a two-semester speaking course in an academic setting in Iran. The study had a pretest and posttest design in which 10 conversations were used including polite request strategies of English to analyze instructional effects on the learners’ first language after the posttest, by comparing and measuring the backward transfer against the pretest results. The oral task was in the form of role plays which were also utilized for communicative practice with the learners. The data were rated for the extent of a foreign language effect on the first language by experienced tutors and linguistic analyses were done to identify the foreign language components of request strategies features in the first language production. Results showed that frequent use of English request strategy features in the first language was an indication of L2 students’ beneficial experience in their L1.

scholarly journals Transfer, Similarity or Lack of Awareness? Inconsistencies of German Learners in the Pronunciation of LOT, THOUGHT, STRUT, PALM and BATH

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Kautzsch
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
American English ◽  
First Year ◽  
Close Approximation ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
British English ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Vowel Systems ◽  
Acoustic Analyses ◽  
University Level

The current study presents acoustic analyses of non-high back vowels and low central vowels in the lexical sets LOT, THOUGHT, STRUT, PALM and BATH as pronounced by German learners of English. The main objective is to show that learners of English at university level are highly inconsistent in approximating the vowels of their self-chosen target accents British English (BrE) and American English (AmE). To that end, the acoustic qualities of the English vowels of learners are compared to their native German vowels and to the vowels of native speakers of BrE and AmE. In order to facilitate statements about the effect of increased experience, the study differentiates between students in their first year at university and in their third year or later. The results obtained are highly variable: In some cases the learners transfer their L1 vowels to English, other cases show clear approximations to the target vowels, while other cases again document the production of new vowels neither found in German nor in English. However, close approximation to the target vowels only sometimes correlates with higher proficiency. This might be an indicator of a low level of awareness of systematic differences between the BrE and AmE vowel systems. But the data also indicate that the more advanced learners produce more distinct AmE BATH vowels and BrE THOUGHT vowels than the less advanced learners, which points to a partial increase of awareness resulting from increased experience. All in all it seems that raising the awareness of differences between target accents in L2 instruction is necessary if the envisage goal is for learners to reach near-native pronunciation.

The Production of New and Similar Vowels by Adult German Learners of English

1992 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ocke-Schwen Bohn ◽  
James Emil Flege
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
L1 English ◽  
Positive Effect

The study reported in this paper examined the effect of second language (L2) experience on the production of L2 vowels for which acoustic counterparts are either present or absent in the first language (L1). The hypothesis being tested was that amount of L2 experience would not affect L1 German speakers' production of the “similar” English vowels /i, l, ∈/, whereas English language experience would enable L1 Germans to produce an English-like /æ/, which has no counterpart in German. The predictions were tested in two experiments that compared the production of English /i, l, ∈, æ/ by two groups of L1 German speakers differing in English language experience and an L1 English control group. An acoustic experiment compared the three groups for spectral and temporal characteristics of the English vowels produced in /bVt/ words. The same tokens were assessed for intelligibility in a labeling experiment. The results of both experiments were largely consistent with the hypothesis. The experienced L2 speakers did not produce the similar English vowels /i, l, ∈/ more intelligibly than the inexperienced L2 speakers, not did experience have a positive effect on approximating the English acoustic norms for these similar vowels. The intelligibility results for the new vowel /æ/ did not clearly support the model. However, the acoustic comparisons showed that the experienced but not the inexperienced L2 speakers produced the new vowel /æ/ in much the same way as the native English speakers.

Auditory training for experienced and inexperienced second-language learners: Native French speakers learning English vowels

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAUL IVERSON ◽  
MELANIE PINET ◽  
BRONWEN G. EVANS
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Natural Variability ◽  
High Variability ◽  
Auditory Training ◽  
Natural Speech ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Learning English

ABSTRACTThis study examined whether high-variability auditory training on natural speech can benefit experienced second-language English speakers who already are exposed to natural variability in their daily use of English. The subjects were native French speakers who had learned English in school; experienced listeners were tested in England and the less experienced listeners were tested in France. Both groups were given eight sessions of high-variability phonetic training for English vowels, and were given a battery of perception and production tests to evaluate their improvement. The results demonstrated that both groups learned to similar degrees, suggesting that training provides a type of learning that is distinct from that obtained in more naturalistic situations.

scholarly journals A Survey on the Effectiveness of Mother Tongue on Learning L2 Vocabulary by Iranian Pre-intermediate EFL Learners

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Mohammadreza Khodareza ◽  
Maryam Kaviani
Keyword(s):  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proposal A ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Objective Structures ◽  
L2 Vocabulary ◽  
Learning English

<p>This study investigated the role of mother tongue on learning English vocabulary by Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners. For this purpose, 30 female pre-intermediate learners were chosen. After administering a Nelson test participants were selected from the intact classes at Foreign Language Institute in Babol. These 30 partners were randomly allocated to 2 gatherings (one laboratory and the other control) each comprising of 15 partners. The participants received a pre-test comprising 70 English words to ensure that they did not have previous information of objective structures. Experimental group received their instruction, meaning of each target word, and translation of target words with their mother tongue (Persian). But control group just received target language (English) for all activities or instructions. Both teacher and students in this group didn’t allow using Persian. After the treatment, the same pre-test was given to the participants as a post-test to measure the effectiveness of therapy gained. After collecting the data, to respond the research proposal, a t-test was conducted. The results indicated that first language had significant effect on learning English words. The findings of this study are considered to be useful in methodology issue.</p>

scholarly journals “WAYS FOR TERTIARY LEVEL STUDENTS IN BUILDING ENGLISH SPEAKING PERFORMANCE”

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Fika Megawati ◽  
Vidya Mandarani
Keyword(s):  
English Education ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
First Language ◽  
Tertiary Level ◽  
Study Program ◽  
Common Strategy ◽  
Language Communication ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Speaking Performance ◽  
Learning English

Abstract: This study aims to find out the strategies used by tertiary level students in performing English communication. This research was a descriptive study involving English Education Study Program students. Data analysis included in-depth transcribing on the students’ speaking performance and the result of interview. The findings show that the communication strategies used in the conversation consisted of avoidance, paraphrase, borrowing, appeal for assistance, and mime. The common strategy lied on mime, while avoidance and paraphrase strategies were not frequently applied. The results show communication strategies were effective in helping the first language students in learning English as their foreign language. Communication strategies give solution to cope with difficulties in learning English. Communication strategies are highly suggested to be socialized to EFL learners as an alternative way to improve speaking performance.

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