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Investigating the role of attention in phonetic learning

  • Susan G. Guion and Eric Pederson
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Language Experience in Second Language Speech Learning
This chapter is in the book Language Experience in Second Language Speech Learning

Abstract

Flege’s Speech Learning Model posits that adult second language learners retain the abilities of child learners for the perception and formation of novel phonetic categories. For novel categories to be formed, learners must discern at least some of the phonetic differences between the novel L2 and the closest L1 sound. However the model does not fully specify the mechanisms by which learners may come to discern relevant phonetic differences. This paper presents two studies investigating learners’ abilities to attend to novel perceptual dimensions and the effect of attention on discerning phonetic differences. In one study, English, Mandarin, Japanese, and advanced late-learners of Mandarin gave similarity judgments of synthesized tones. Mandarin listeners judged on the basis of both average F0 and F0 slope. English and Japanese listeners did not use slope, whereas advanced Mandarin learners did. This suggests that late-learners can learn to attend to novel perceptual dimensions. In the other study, English monolinguals were grouped into those instructed to attend to Hindi phonetic contrasts and those instructed to attend to sound-meaning correspondences of the same stimuli. For the novel [???-??] contrast, the sound-attending group showed better discrimination post-training. This suggests that with explicit directing of attention, adult learners can better discern novel phonetic contrasts.

Abstract

Flege’s Speech Learning Model posits that adult second language learners retain the abilities of child learners for the perception and formation of novel phonetic categories. For novel categories to be formed, learners must discern at least some of the phonetic differences between the novel L2 and the closest L1 sound. However the model does not fully specify the mechanisms by which learners may come to discern relevant phonetic differences. This paper presents two studies investigating learners’ abilities to attend to novel perceptual dimensions and the effect of attention on discerning phonetic differences. In one study, English, Mandarin, Japanese, and advanced late-learners of Mandarin gave similarity judgments of synthesized tones. Mandarin listeners judged on the basis of both average F0 and F0 slope. English and Japanese listeners did not use slope, whereas advanced Mandarin learners did. This suggests that late-learners can learn to attend to novel perceptual dimensions. In the other study, English monolinguals were grouped into those instructed to attend to Hindi phonetic contrasts and those instructed to attend to sound-meaning correspondences of the same stimuli. For the novel [???-??] contrast, the sound-attending group showed better discrimination post-training. This suggests that with explicit directing of attention, adult learners can better discern novel phonetic contrasts.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Dedication ix
  4. Alphabetical List of Contributors xi
  5. Acknowledgments xv
  6. Biographical Note xvii
  7. PART I: The nature of L2 speech learning
  8. The study of second language speech learning 3
  9. Nonnative and second-language speech perception 13
  10. Cross-language phonetic similarity of vowels 35
  11. Investigating the role of attention in phonetic learning 57
  12. You are what you eat phonetically 79
  13. PART II: The concept of foreign accent
  14. Nativelike pronunciation among late learners of French as a second language 99
  15. Second language acquisition of a regional dialect of American English by native Japanese speakers 117
  16. Acoustic variability and perceptual learning 135
  17. PART III: Consonants and vowels
  18. Strategies for Realization of L2-Categories 153
  19. Temporal remnants from Mandarin in nonnative English speech 167
  20. Cross-language consonant identification 185
  21. The relationship between identification and discrimination in cross-language perception 201
  22. PART IV: Beyond consonants and vowels
  23. Music and language learning 221
  24. Behavioral and cortical effects of learning a second language 239
  25. The perception of tones and phones 259
  26. Prosody in second language acquisition 281
  27. PART V: Emerging issues
  28. Implications of James E. Flege’s research for the foreign language classroom 301
  29. Speech learning, lexical reorganization, and the development of word recognition by native and non-native English speakers 315
  30. Phonemic errors in different word positions and their effects on intelligibility of non-native speech 331
  31. The graphical basis of phones and phonemes 349
  32. References 367
  33. Author Index 399
  34. Subject Index 405
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.17.09gui

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Dedication ix
  4. Alphabetical List of Contributors xi
  5. Acknowledgments xv
  6. Biographical Note xvii
  7. PART I: The nature of L2 speech learning
  8. The study of second language speech learning 3
  9. Nonnative and second-language speech perception 13
  10. Cross-language phonetic similarity of vowels 35
  11. Investigating the role of attention in phonetic learning 57
  12. You are what you eat phonetically 79
  13. PART II: The concept of foreign accent
  14. Nativelike pronunciation among late learners of French as a second language 99
  15. Second language acquisition of a regional dialect of American English by native Japanese speakers 117
  16. Acoustic variability and perceptual learning 135
  17. PART III: Consonants and vowels
  18. Strategies for Realization of L2-Categories 153
  19. Temporal remnants from Mandarin in nonnative English speech 167
  20. Cross-language consonant identification 185
  21. The relationship between identification and discrimination in cross-language perception 201
  22. PART IV: Beyond consonants and vowels
  23. Music and language learning 221
  24. Behavioral and cortical effects of learning a second language 239
  25. The perception of tones and phones 259
  26. Prosody in second language acquisition 281
  27. PART V: Emerging issues
  28. Implications of James E. Flege’s research for the foreign language classroom 301
  29. Speech learning, lexical reorganization, and the development of word recognition by native and non-native English speakers 315
  30. Phonemic errors in different word positions and their effects on intelligibility of non-native speech 331
  31. The graphical basis of phones and phonemes 349
  32. References 367
  33. Author Index 399
  34. Subject Index 405
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