Effects of HVPT on perception and production of English fricatives by
Japanese learners of English
This study investigated the effects of High Variability Phonetic Training (HVPT) on beginner level English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Japanese learners’ perceptions and productions of the English fricatives /f/, /v/ and /θ/. With the use of the computer program ‘English Accent Coach’ (EAC, Thomson, 2017), two groups of participants were engaged in learning the sounds in a two-syllable environment: target consonant + vowels (CV) and target consonant + vowels + consonant (CVC). The perception training with EAC was conducted for five weeks between a pre-test and a post-test in perception and production. Production was measured in the form of recorded reading aloud and was evaluated by native English speakers and a Japanese teacher of English. The results indicated the advantageous effects of CVC environments on perception as well as on production.