Cover not available

Article published In: Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism
Vol. 13:3 (2023) ► pp.372–408

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

How explicit instruction improves phonological awareness and perception of L2 sound contrasts in younger and older adults

ORCiD logo with link | Radboud University
 | Radboud University
 | Radboud University
 | Radboud University
Published online: 2 November 2021
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.20113.fel
Abstract
Despite the importance of conscious awareness in second language acquisition theories, little is known about how L2 speech perception can be improved by explicit phonetic instruction. This study examined the relationship between phonological awareness and perception in Dutch younger and older adult L2 listeners, focusing on English contrasts of two types: a familiar contrast in an unfamiliar position (word-final /t/-/d/) and an unfamiliar contrast (/æ/-/ε/). Awareness was assessed with a task in which written minimal pairs and homophone pairs had to be judged as sounding the same or different. Perception was assessed with a two-alternative forced-choice identification task with auditorily presented words from minimal pairs. We investigated whether listeners’ awareness and perception improved after a video-based explicit instruction that oriented their attention to one of these contrasts, and we tested whether including information about the phonetic cue of vowel duration increased learning. Awareness and perception of each contrast were shown to be moderately correlated at the study’s outset. Furthermore, awareness and perception for each contrast generally improved more after the instruction drawing attention to that contrast. However, the effectiveness of explicit phonetic instruction varied depending on the combination of the contrast, cue information, and listener age group.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1The present study
      • 1.1.1Research questions
      • 1.1.2Study design
      • 1.1.3Hypotheses
  • 2.Methods
    • 2.1Participants
    • 2.2Materials
      • 2.2.1Phonological awareness test
      • 2.2.2Perception test
      • 2.2.3Phonetic instruction videos
    • 2.3Procedures
      • 2.3.1Pre-Tests and post-tests
      • 2.3.2Phonetic instruction video
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Relationship between awareness and perception (RQ1)
    • 3.2Effect of phonetic instruction on awareness (RQ2)
      • 3.2.1Awareness in younger adults
      • 3.2.2Awareness in older adults
      • 3.2.3Summary of awareness results
    • 3.3Effect of phonetic instruction on perception (RQ3)
      • 3.3.1Perception in younger adults
      • 3.3.2Perception in older adults
      • 3.3.3Summary of perception results
  • 4.Discussion
  • Notes
  • References
References (43)
References
Anthony, J. L. & Francis, D. J. (2005). Development of phonological awareness. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(5), 255–259. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bassetti, B., Escudero, P., & Hayes-Harb, R. (2015). Second language phonology at the interface between acoustic and orthographic input. Applied Psycholinguistics, 36(1), 1–6. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bates, D., Maechler, M., Bolker, B., & Walker, S. (2015). Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software, 67(1), 1–48. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Best, C. T., & Tyler, M. D. (2007). Non-native and second-language speech perception: Commonalities and complementarities. In O. -S. Bohn & M. Munro. (Eds.), Language experience in second-language speech learning: In honor of James Emil Flege (pp. 13–34). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bieber, R. E., & Gordon-Salant, S. (2021). Improving older adults’ understanding of challenging speech: Auditory training, rapid adaptation and perceptual learning. Hearing Research, 4021, 108054. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Broersma, M. (2010). Perception of final fricative voicing: native and nonnative listeners’ use of vowel duration. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 127(3), 1636–1644. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2012). Increased lexical activation and reduced competition in second-language listening. Language and Cognitive Processes, 27(7–8), 1205–1224. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Broersma, M., & Cutler, A. (2008). Phantom word activation in L2. System, 36(1), 22–34. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brown, A. (1995). Minimal pairs: Minimal importance? ELT Journal, 49(2), 169–175. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Booij, G. (1999). The phonology of Dutch. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brysbaert, M., & New, B. (2009). Moving beyond Kučera and Francis: A critical evaluation of current word frequency norms and the introduction of a new and improved word frequency measure for American English. Behavior Research Methods, 411, 977–990. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chandrasekaran, B., Yi, H., Smayda, K. E., & Maddox, W. T. (2016). Effect of explicit dimensional instruction on speech category learning. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 781, 566–582. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chen, Y., & Pederson, E. (2017). Directing attention during perceptual training: A preliminary study of phonetic learning in Southern Min by Mandarin speakers. In Proceedings of Interspeech 2017 (pp. 1770–1774). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Collins, B., & Mees, I. M. (1996). The phonetics of English and Dutch (3rd ed.). E. J. Brill.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Díaz, B., Mitterer, H., Broersma, M., & Sebastián-Gallés, N. (2012). Individual differences in late bilinguals’ L2 phonological processes: From acoustic-phonetic analysis to lexical access. Learning and Individual Differences, 22(6), 680–689. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Eisner, F. & McQueen, J. M. (2005). The specificity of perceptual learning in speech processing. Perception & Psychophysics, 67(2), 224–238. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Field, J. (2008). Listening in the language classroom. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Flege, J. E. & Bohn, O. -S. (2021). The revised Speech Learning Model (SLM-r). In R. Wayland. (Ed.), Second language speech learning: Theoretical and empirical progress (pp. 3–83). Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Francis, A. L., & Nusbaum, H. C. (2002). Selective attention and the acquisition of new phonetic categories. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 28(2), 349–366. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Guion, S. G., & Pederson, E. (2007). Investigating the role of attention in phonetic learning. In O. S. Bohn & M. Munro. (Eds.), Language experience in second language speech learning (pp. 57–77). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gordon-Salant, S. (2005). Hearing loss and aging: New research findings and clinical implications. Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 42(4), 9–24. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hisagi, M., & Strange, W. (2011). Perception of Japanese temporally-cued contrasts by American English listeners. Language and Speech, 54(2), 241–264. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
House, A. S. (1961). On vowel duration in English. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 33(9), 1174–1178. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hillenbrand, J. M., Getty, L. A., Clark, M. J., & Wheeler, K. (1995). Acoustic characteristics of American English vowels. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 97(5), 3099–3111. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Janssen, C., Segers, E., McQueen, J. M., & Verhoeven, L. (2015). Lexical specificity training effects in second language learners. Language Learning, 65(2), 358–389. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kissling, E. M. (2014). Phonetics instruction improves learners’ perception of L2 sounds. Language Teaching Research, 19(3), 254–275. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Krenca, K., Segers, E., Chen, X., Shakory, S., Steele, J., & Verhoeven, L. (2020). Phonological specificity relates to phonological awareness and reading ability in English-French bilingual children. Reading and Writing, 331, 267–291. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kubo, R., & Akahane-Yamada, R. (2006). Influence of aging on perceptual learning of English phonetic contrasts by native speakers of Japanese. Acoustical Science and Technology, 27(1), 59–61. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Maddox, W. T., Chandrasekaran, B., Smayda, K., & Yi, H. (2013). Dual systems of speech category learning across the lifespan. Psychology and Aging, 28(4), 1042–1056. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pederson, E., & Guion-Anderson, S. (2010). Orienting attention during phonetic training facilitates learning. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 127(2), EL54–59. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Peelle, J. E., & Wingfield, A. (2005). Dissociations in perceptual learning revealed by adult age differences in adaptation to time-compressed speech. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 31(6), 1315–1330. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pichora-Fuller, M. K., & Souza, P. E. (2003). Effects of aging on auditory processing of speech. International Journal of Audiology, 42(Suppl2), 2S11–2S16. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Porretta, V. J., & Tucker, B. V. (2014). Perception of non-native consonant length contrast: The role of attention in phonetic processing. Second Language Research, 31(2), 239–265. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Raphael, L. J. (2005). Acoustic cues to the perception of segmental phonemes. In D. B. Pisoni & R. E. Remez. (Eds.), The handbook of speech perception (pp. 182–206). Blackwell Publishing. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sakai, M., & Moorman, C. (2018). Can perception training improve the production of second language phonemes? A meta-analytic review of 25 years of perception training research. Applied Psycholinguistics, 391, 187–224. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schepens, J., Dijkstra, T., & Grootjen, F. (2012). Distributions of cognates in Europe as based on Levenshtein distance. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15(1), 157–166. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Scharenbourg, O., & Janse, E. (2013). Comparing lexically guided perceptual learning in younger and older listeners. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 751, 525–536. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Slis, I. H., & Cohen, A. (1969). On the complex regulating the voiced-voiceless distinction I. Language and Speech, 12(2), 80–102. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sommers, M. S. (1997). Stimulus variability and spoken word recognition. II. The effects of age and hearing impairment. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 101(4), 2278–2288. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Svalberg, A. M. L. (2007). Language awareness and language learning. Language Teaching, 40(4), 287–308. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tomlin, R. S., & Villa, V. (1994). Attention in cognitive science and second language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 161, 183–203. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
van der Feest, S. V. H., & Swingley, D. (2011). Dutch and English listeners’ interpretation of vowel duration. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 129(3), EL57–EL63. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
van Leussen, J. -W., & Escudero, P. (2015). Learning to perceive and recognize a second language: The L2LP model revised. Frontiers in Psychology, 61, 1000. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (3)

Cited by three other publications

Lee, KyungA & Hyunkee Ahn
2025. Blended Phonetic Training with HVPT Features for EFL Children: Effects on L2 Perception and Listening Comprehension. Languages 10:6 ► pp. 122 ff. DOI logo
Mahmood, Rizgar Qasim
2024. EFL Learners' Perspectives on Online Pronunciation Instruction. In Teacher and Student Perspectives on Bilingual and Multilingual Education [Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design, ], ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Wei, Rining, Jinxian Chen & Jing Wang
2024. Learning a Lx Among Older Adults. In Language, Aging and Society, ► pp. 247 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 24 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue