The effect of perception training with synthetic and natural stimuli on the identification of English vowels by Brazilians

Elisabeth Ann Bunch Oliveira da Rosa; Rosane Silveira

doi:10.5007/2175-8026.2024.e98089

Autores

Elisabeth Ann Bunch Oliveira da Rosa Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1388-4031
Rosane Silveira Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0329-0376

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2024.e98089

Palavras-chave:

English, Vowel perception, High variability training, Synthetic stimuli

Resumo

The present study investigates the effectiveness of synthetic versus natural stimuli for perception training on the ability of Brazilians to identify the English vowels /æ-ɛ/. Fifty-six native Brazilians participated in this study, and they were randomly divided into three groups: natural stimuli, synthetic stimuli, and control groups (experimental groups). The participants assigned to the experimental groups underwent perception training sessions, with the natural group listening to recordings containing vowels that did not have their duration altered, while the synthetic group listened to recordings containing vowels that had their duration altered to 350ms. Pre and post training perception tests were administered to measure their progress. Results indicate that perception training with both synthetic and natural stimuli is effective for the identification of /æ-ɛ/.

Biografia do Autor

Elisabeth Ann Bunch Oliveira da Rosa, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

Elisabeth Ann Bunch Oliveira da Rosa holds an MA degree from the English Graduate program and her research interest is on perception training effects on the development of L2 speech.

Rosane Silveira, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

Associate professor at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Faculty member of the English Graduate
Program and the Department of Foreign Language and Literature. CNPq research fellow. Coordinator of
the Núcleo de Fonética e Fonologia Aplicadas à Lingua Estrangeira research group.

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