Articulatory and perceptual cues to non-native phoneme perception: Cross-modal training for early learners

2020 ◽  
pp. 026765832092121
Author(s):  
Emily Cibelli
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Perceptual Learning ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Auditory Discrimination ◽  
Perceptual Cues ◽  
Perceptual Training ◽  
Early Learners ◽  
Phoneme Perception

Non-native phoneme perception can be challenging for adult learners. This article explores two routes to strengthening early representations of non-native targets: perceptual training, which focuses on auditory discrimination of novel contrasts, and articulatory training, which highlights the articulatory gestures of non-native categories. Of particular interest is whether cross-modal transfer from production to perception is beneficial to improving discrimination. A longitudinal experiment integrating both training types found that articulatory training did not improve discrimination once perceptual learning had taken place. However, a follow-up experiment found an equivalent benefit for perceptual and articulatory training when each was presented as the only learning style to separate groups of learners. These findings suggest that articulatory learning can ‘cross over’ to assist acquisition in the perceptual domain, and may play a key role for second language (L2) learners struggling with both perception and production of novel phoneme categories.

scholarly journals Phoneme acquisition: Infants and second language learners

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
James Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Language Model ◽  
High Variability ◽  
Phoneme Perception ◽  
Infant Language ◽  
Perception Training

This paper argues for explicit phoneme perception training. It discusses infant phoneme acquisition studies and relates these studies to second language learners. The first half of the article is an account of infant language acquisition studies and uses the Native Language Model, as developed by Patricia Kuhl, to conceptualize an infant’s phoneme acquisition process. The second half of this paper deals with what L1 phoneme acquisition means for adult second language learners. Three questions are addressed: First, to what extent can L2 learners’ perceptual patterns be modified after the initial neural commitment? Second, is phonemic training with adult learners worthwhile? And, third, what methodologies are the most effective for modifying an L2 learner’s initial L1 phoneme structure? The techniques discussed are contrastive exposure, making the phoneme salient, and high-variability. 本論は、明示的に行う音素認識トレーニングについて論じる。乳幼児の音素習得研究を論議し、これらの研究を第2言語学習者に関連づける。前半は乳幼児の言語習得研究の説明において、Patricia Kuhlの乳幼児の音素習得プロセスを概念したNative Language Magnet Theoryを用いている。後半では、乳幼児の第１言語音素習得が大人である第2言語学習者にどのような意味を持つのかを述べる。次の3点を検討する。1）第2言語学習者の音素認識パターンは、第1言語でのパターンが確立した後、どの程度修正されることができるのか。2）大人の学習者に対する音素認識トレーニングは価値があるのか。3）第2言語学習者における第１言語の音素構造を修正するには、どのような方法が最も効果的なのか。論議されている手法は、音素を際立たせ、高い変動性をもたらす対照提示である。

The effect of glossing on incidental vocabulary acquisition in the learning of Chinese as a second language

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-43
Author(s):  
Xiaoling He
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Incidental Learning ◽  
Relative Effectiveness ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
Incidental Vocabulary ◽  
Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition

AbstractResearch on L2 vocabulary acquisition shows that under the right conditions, incidental learning can take place through reading. It is also known that the likelihood of such learning can be enhanced through effective instructional intervention, mainly in the form of reading glosses. Compared to English and other European languages, relatively little is known about glossing and vocabulary acquisition in the context of Chinese as a second language. In this study, we focus on incidental vocabulary acquisition in Chinese and investigate the relative effectiveness of three kinds of glosses: paper-based glosses (PB); e-dictionary glosses (ED), Pop-up glosses (PD). As a related issue, we also consider whether there are differences in learning style and learning preferences between adult learners and teenage learners with specific reference their use of different kinds of glosses. Regarding the effectiveness of different kinds of glossing, it is found that glossing (of different varieties) is generally useful in bringing about some positive outcome. While no significant differences were found generally between different kinds of glosses, it is found that paper-based glosses performed at least as well as CLL-based ones for the adult learners. Adult learners also differ from the younger group in long-term retention rates. Several possible reasons are offered to explain these differences which relate to the learning styles and preferences of different age groups.

Cross-linguistic evidence for the nature of age effects in second language acquisition

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT DEKEYSER ◽  
IRIS ALFI-SHABTAY ◽  
DORIT RAVID
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
Steep Decline ◽  
Considerable Controversy ◽  
Exact Shape ◽  
Early Learners ◽  
Ultimate Attainment

ABSTRACTFew researchers would doubt that ultimate attainment in second language grammar is negatively correlated with age of acquisition, but considerable controversy remains about the nature of this relationship: the exact shape of the age-attainment function and its interpretation. This article presents two parallel studies with native speakers of Russian: one on the acquisition of English as a second language in North America (n= 76), and one on the acquisition of Hebrew as a second language in Israel (n= 64). Despite the very different nature of the languages being learned, the two studies show very similar results. When age at testing is partialed out, the data reveal a steep decline in the learning of grammar before age 18 in both groups, followed by an essentially horizontal slope until age 40. This is interpreted as evidence in favor of the critical period. Both groups show a significant correlation between ultimate attainment and verbal aptitude for the adult learners, but not for the early learners. This is interpreted as further evidence that the learning processes in childhood and adulthood not only yield different levels of proficiency but are also different in nature.

Lexical and statistical evidence in the acquisition of second language phonemes

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Hayes-Harb
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Perceptual Learning ◽  
Statistical Information ◽  
Statistical Evidence ◽  
Minimal Pairs ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Accurate Perception

Adults can often improve their perception of novel phoneme contrasts with exposure to a second language, but there is yet little understanding of how they accomplish this. The primary aim of this study was to compare two types of evidence that learners might use to learn the phonemes of second language: minimal pairs, or the lexicon, and statistical information. It was found that adults show evidence of perceptual learning based on statistical information alone, but that the availability of minimal pairs leads to more accurate perception of a novel contrast. In a follow-up experiment, it was found that adults can exhibit knowledge of a novel contrast without yet being able to use the contrast to distinguish words in a lexical task.

Semantic and perceptual cues in the acquisition of second language vocabulary

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Michael ◽  
Judith Kroll ◽  
Aruna Sanicaranarayanan
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Perceptual Cues

A Review on the Application of Blog, Blogger, Widget and Hypertext to Develop a Web-Based Instructional Tool

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Boon Yih Mah ◽  
Suzana Ab Rahim
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Perceptual Learning ◽  
User Interfaces ◽  
English Language ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Graphical Form ◽  
Instructional Tool ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Writing Skill ◽  
The Impact

The use of the internet for teaching and learning has become a global trend among the education practitioners over the recent decades. The integration of technology and media into Malaysian English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms has altered the methods in English Language Teaching (ELT). In response to the impact of technology in ELT, the needs of a supplementary instructional platform, and the limitations of the learning management system (LMS) in fostering second language (L2) writing skill, a web-based instructional tool was designed and developed based on a theoretical-and-pedagogical framework namely Web-based Cognitive Writing Instruction (WeCWI). To determine the key concepts while identifying the research gap, this study conducted a literature review using online search on specific keywords including “blog”, “Blogger”, “widget”, and “hyperlink” found in the scholarly articles. Based on the review of literature, Blogger was opted due to its on-screen customisable layout editing features that can be embedded with web widgets and hypertext that share the identical features. By looking into the relationship between perceptual learning preferences on perceived information and the visual representations in iconic and symbolic views, the blogs can come with two different user interfaces embedded with web widgets or hypertext. The blog with web widgets appears in a graphical form of iconic view; while hypertext only displays textual form of symbolic view without involving the visual references. With the injection of web widgets and hypertext into the blogs, WeCWI attempts to offer a technological enhanced ELT solution to overcome the poor writing skill with a better engagement while learning online through the learners’ preferred perceptual learning preferences.

The visual signature of non-understanding: A systematic replication of McDonough, Trofimovich, Lu, and Abashidze ()

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Kim McDonough ◽  
Rachael Lindberg ◽  
Pavel Trofimovich ◽  
Oguzhan Tekin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Replication Study ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Visual Cue ◽  
Systematic Replication ◽  
Dynamic Movement

Abstract This replication study seeks to extend the generalizability of an exploratory study (McDonough et al., 2019) that identified holds (i.e., temporary cessation of dynamic movement by the listener) as a reliable visual cue of non-understanding. Conversations between second language (L2) English speakers in the Corpus of English as a Lingua Franca Interaction (CELFI; McDonough & Trofimovich, 2019) with non-understanding episodes (e.g., pardon?, what?, sorry?) were sampled and compared with understanding episodes (i.e., follow-up questions). External raters (N = 90) assessed the listener's comprehension under three rating conditions: +face/+voice, −face/+voice, and +face/−voice. The association between non-understanding and holds in McDonough et al. (2019) was confirmed. Although raters distinguished reliably between understanding and non-understanding episodes, they were not sensitive to facial expressions when judging listener comprehension. The initial and replication findings suggest that holds remain a promising visual signature of non-understanding that can be explored in future theoretically- and pedagogically-oriented contexts.

The neural timecourse of American English vowel discrimination by Japanese, Russian and Spanish second-language learners of English

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Valerie L. Shafer ◽  
Sarah Kresh ◽  
Kikuyo Ito ◽  
Miwako Hisagi ◽  
Nancy Vidal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
American English ◽  
First Language ◽  
Perceptual Task ◽  
Temporal Contrast ◽  
Asymmetrical Pattern ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract This study investigated the influence of first language (L1) phoneme features and phonetic salience on discrimination of second language (L2) American English (AE) vowels. On a perceptual task, L2 adult learners of English with Spanish, Japanese or Russian as an L1 showed poorer discrimination of the spectral-only difference between /æ:/ as the oddball (deviant) among frequent /ɑ:/ stimuli compared to AE controls. The Spanish listeners showed a significant difference from the controls for the spectral-temporal contrast between /ɑ:/ and /ʌ/ for both perception and the neural Mismatch Negativity (MMN), but only for deviant /ɑ:/ versus /ʌ/ (duration decrement). For deviant /ʌ/ versus /ɑ:/, and for deviant /æ:/ versus /ʌ/ or /ɑ:/, all participants showed equivalent MMN amplitude. The asymmetrical pattern for /ɑ:/ and /ʌ/ suggested that L2 phonetic detail was maintained only for the deviant. These findings indicated that discrimination was more strongly influenced by L1 phonology than phonetic salience.

scholarly journals A qualitative analysis of perceptions of fluency in second language French

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Préfontaine ◽  
Judit Kormos
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Cognitive Demand ◽  
Word Choice ◽  
Speech Features

AbstractIn the field of second language (L2) fluency, there is a common adherence to quantitative methods to examine characteristics and features of speech. This study extends the field by reporting on an investigation that analyzed native-speaker listeners’ perceptions of L2 fluency in French from a qualitative perspective. Three untrained judges rated students’ performance on speech tasks varying in cognitive demand and provided justifications for their perceptions of fluency. The goal of the research was to examine the factors that affect raters’ evaluations of fluency in response to three oral performances from 40 adult learners of French of varying proficiency. Qualitative analysis revealed that the main speech features that influenced native listeners’ perceptions of L2 fluency were speed, rhythm, pause phenomena, self-correction and efficiency/effortlessness in word choice, but also in target-like rhythm and prosody. The results of using such qualitative methodology highlights the important role that rhythm plays in fluency judgements in syllable-timed languages such as French, a factor which has not always been given much prominence in previous L2 fluency quantitative research.

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