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Auditory training for experienced and inexperienced second-language learners: Native French speakers learning English vowels

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2011

PAUL IVERSON ,
MELANIE PINET  and
BRONWEN G. EVANS
PAUL IVERSON*
Affiliation:
University College London
MELANIE PINET
Affiliation:
University College London
BRONWEN G. EVANS
Affiliation:
University College London
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Paul Iverson, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, Chandler House, 2 Wakefield Street, London WC1N 1PF, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This study examined whether high-variability auditory training on natural speech can benefit experienced second-language English speakers who already are exposed to natural variability in their daily use of English. The subjects were native French speakers who had learned English in school; experienced listeners were tested in England and the less experienced listeners were tested in France. Both groups were given eight sessions of high-variability phonetic training for English vowels, and were given a battery of perception and production tests to evaluate their improvement. The results demonstrated that both groups learned to similar degrees, suggesting that training provides a type of learning that is distinct from that obtained in more naturalistic situations.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 145 - 160
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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