Home Linguistics & Semiotics Chapter 9. Speech perception in French immersion students in Western Canada
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Chapter 9. Speech perception in French immersion students in Western Canada

  • Fangfang Li and Nicole Netelenbos
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Child Bilingualism and Second Language Learning
This chapter is in the book Child Bilingualism and Second Language Learning

Abstract

The present study reports on stop consonant perception of voice onset time (VOT) in Anglophone children enrolled in a French immersion (FI) elementary school in Western Canada. Fifty-seven children in grades 1, 3, and 5 were tested in both English and French for the three pairs of stops (/p/-/b/, /t/-/d/, and /k/-/g/). They were asked to identify words that begin with these stop consonants when listening to the audio prompts. We found that FI students’ French perception exhibits language-appropriate VOT boundaries for all three pairs but they have difficulty with identifying French voiced stops. Children’s French perception remains constant across grades. Our findings highlight the role played by educational context and the social status of L2 in second language learning.

Abstract

The present study reports on stop consonant perception of voice onset time (VOT) in Anglophone children enrolled in a French immersion (FI) elementary school in Western Canada. Fifty-seven children in grades 1, 3, and 5 were tested in both English and French for the three pairs of stops (/p/-/b/, /t/-/d/, and /k/-/g/). They were asked to identify words that begin with these stop consonants when listening to the audio prompts. We found that FI students’ French perception exhibits language-appropriate VOT boundaries for all three pairs but they have difficulty with identifying French voiced stops. Children’s French perception remains constant across grades. Our findings highlight the role played by educational context and the social status of L2 in second language learning.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. Chapter 1. Integrating multiple views and multiple disciplines in the understanding of child bilingualism and second language learning 1
  5. Part I. Theoretical overviews
  6. Chapter 2. The application of bilingual phonological learning models to early second language development 9
  7. Chapter 3. Issues for second language pronunciation in children 29
  8. Part II. Bilingualism and second language learning
  9. Chapter 4. Two solitudes? 45
  10. Chapter 5. Using a novel sorting game to explore the role of phonotactic probability and linguistic environment in nonword processing by Spanish-English bilingual children 65
  11. Chapter 6. Effects of nonnative input on language abilities in Spanish-English bilinguals 87
  12. Chapter 7. Phonetic characteristics of filled pauses in Hungarian-English bilingual and Hungarian monolingual speech 113
  13. Chapter 8. Current developments in bilingual primary education in the Netherlands 137
  14. Chapter 9. Speech perception in French immersion students in Western Canada 167
  15. Chapter 10. Second first language acquisition following international adoption 189
  16. Part III. Methodological approaches
  17. Chapter 11. Phonological development 223
  18. Chapter 12. Using Phon to analyze phonological and speech data 249
  19. Chapter 13. Wordlikeness and nonword repetition in Spanish-speaking bilingual children 275
  20. Index 303
https://doi.org/10.1075/bpa.10.09li

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. Chapter 1. Integrating multiple views and multiple disciplines in the understanding of child bilingualism and second language learning 1
  5. Part I. Theoretical overviews
  6. Chapter 2. The application of bilingual phonological learning models to early second language development 9
  7. Chapter 3. Issues for second language pronunciation in children 29
  8. Part II. Bilingualism and second language learning
  9. Chapter 4. Two solitudes? 45
  10. Chapter 5. Using a novel sorting game to explore the role of phonotactic probability and linguistic environment in nonword processing by Spanish-English bilingual children 65
  11. Chapter 6. Effects of nonnative input on language abilities in Spanish-English bilinguals 87
  12. Chapter 7. Phonetic characteristics of filled pauses in Hungarian-English bilingual and Hungarian monolingual speech 113
  13. Chapter 8. Current developments in bilingual primary education in the Netherlands 137
  14. Chapter 9. Speech perception in French immersion students in Western Canada 167
  15. Chapter 10. Second first language acquisition following international adoption 189
  16. Part III. Methodological approaches
  17. Chapter 11. Phonological development 223
  18. Chapter 12. Using Phon to analyze phonological and speech data 249
  19. Chapter 13. Wordlikeness and nonword repetition in Spanish-speaking bilingual children 275
  20. Index 303
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