The acquisition of a novel phonetic category in a foreign language setting: Input versus phonological awareness
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2023.e94529Keywords:
Pronunciation, Foreign Language, Input, Language Awareness, Phonological AwarenessAbstract
Input-related factors are fundamental for the acquisition of new second language (L2) phones (e.g., Flege et al., 1995). Nonetheless, evidence from instructional settings suggests that, in foreign language contexts, input alone may not be sufficient for the formation of new phonetic categories. In the present study, we investigated to what extent the acquisition of a novel L2 phone (/ð/) is associated with input-related variables and phonological awareness. First language (L1) Brazilian Portuguese speakers of English answered a language background, a phonological self-awareness questionnaire, and completed a paragraph reading task and a phonological awareness test. The recordings were submitted to acoustic analysis and accuracy assessment by Brazilian teachers of English. Linear mixed-effects models revealed that perceived accuracy was predicted by input quality and phonological self-awareness, suggesting that greater interaction with L1 speakers of the target language and heightened phonological self-awareness play an important role in the acquisition of the tested L2 phone.
References
Aoyama, K., & Flege, J. E. (2011). Effects of L2 experience on perception of English /r/ and /l/ by native Japanese speakers. Journal of the Phonetic Society of Japan, 15(3), 5–13. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.24467/onseikenkyu.15.3_5
Barto?, K. (2023). MuMIn: Multi-model inference. R package version 1.47.1, https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=MuMIn
Bates, D., Mächler, M., Bolker, B., & Walker, S. (2015). Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software, 67(1), 1–48. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v067.i01
Boersma, P., & Weenink, D. (2018). Praat: Doing phonetics by computer (6.1.41) [Computer software].
Brown, A. (1988). Functional load and the teaching of pronunciation. TESOL Quarterly, 22(4), 593–606. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587258
Denes, P. B. (1963). On the statistics of spoken English. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 35(6), 892–904. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1918622
Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J. (2015). Pronunciation fundamentals: Evidence-based perspectives for L2 teaching and research. John Benjamins.
Douven, I. (2018). A Bayesian perspective on Likert scales and central tendency. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 25(3), 1203–1211. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-017-1344-2
Dragojevic, M., & Giles, H. (2016). I don’t like you because you’re hard to understand: The role of processing fluency in the language attitudes process. Human Communication Research, 42(3), 396–420. https://doi.org/10.1111/hcre.12079
Ellis, N. C. (2018). Salience in usage-based SLA. In S. M. Gass, P. Spinner, & J. Behney (Eds.), Salience and second language acquisition (pp. 21–40). Routledge.
Flege, J. E. (2018). It’s input that matters most, not age. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 21(5), 919–920. https://doi.org/10.1017/S136672891800010X
Flege, J. E. (2019). A non-critical period for second-language learning. In A. M. Nyvad, M. Hejná, A. Højen, A. B. Jespersen, & M. H. Sørensen (Eds.), A sound approach to language matters: In honor of Ocke-Schwen Bohn (pp. 501–541). Dept. of English, School of Communication & Culture, Aarhus University. https://doi.org/10.7146/aul.322.218
Flege, J. E. (2021). New methods for second language (L2) speech pesearch. In R. Wayland (Ed.), Second language speech learning: Theoretical and impirical progress (pp. 119–156). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108886901.004
Flege, J. E., & Bohn, O.-S. (2021). The revised Speech Learning Model (SLM-r). In R. Wayland (Ed.), Second language speech learning: Theoretical and impirical progress (pp. 3–83). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108886901.003
Flege, J. E., Bohn, O.-S., & Jang, S. (1997). Effects of experience on non-native speakers’ production and perception of English vowels. Journal of Phonetics, 25(4), 437–470. https://doi.org/10.1006/jpho.1997.0052
Flege, J. E., & Liu, S. (2001). The effect of experience on adults’ acquisition of a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23(4), 527–552. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263101004041
Flege, J. E., & MacKay, I. R. A. (2004). Perceiving vowels in a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26(1), 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263104026117
Flege, J. E., Munro, M. J., & MacKay, I. R. A. (1995). Factors affecting strength of perceived foreign accent in a second language. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 97(5), 3125–3134. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.413041
Flege, J. E., Munro, M. J., & MacKay, I. R. A. (1996). Factors affecting the production of word-initial consonants in a second language. In R. Bayley & D. Preston (Eds.), Second language acquisition and linguistic variation (pp. 47–73). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.10.03fle
Flege, J. E., & Wayland, R. (2019). The role of input in native Spanish late learners’ production and perception of English phonetic segments. Journal of Second Language Studies, 2(1), 1–44. https://doi.org/10.1075/jsls.00004.fle
Foote, J. A., & Trofimovich, P. (2018). Is it because of my language background? A study of language background influence on comprehensibility judgments. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 74(2), 253–278. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.2017-0011
Forster, K. I., & Forster, J. C. (2012). DMDX (4.0.6.0).
Ingvalson, E. M., McClelland, J. L., & Holt, L. L. (2011). Predicting native English-like performance by native Japanese speakers. Journal of Phonetics, 39(4), 571–584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2011.03.003
Jenkins, J. (2000). The phonology of English as an International Language. Oxford University Press.
Kennedy, S., & Trofimovich, P. (2008). Intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness of L2 speech: The role of listener experience and semantic context. Canadian Modern Language Review, 64(3), 459–489. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.64.3.459
Kennedy, S., & Trofimovich, P. (2010). Language awareness and second language pronunciation: A classroom study. Language Awareness, 19(3), 171–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2010.486439
Kivistö de Souza, H. (2015). Phonological awareness and pronunciation in a second language [Doctoral dissertation, Universitat de Barcelona]. Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/393726
Kivistö de Souza, H. (2017). Brazilian EFL learners' awareness about L2 phones: Is mall pronounced as 'mall'? Trabalhos em Linguística Aplicada, 56(1), 235–258. https://doi.org/10.1590/010318135071200021
Kivistö de Souza, H. (2021). Consciência fonológica. In F. F. Kupske, U. K. Alves, & R. Lima Jr. (Eds.), Investigando os sons de línguas não nativas: Uma introdução (pp. 153–174). Editora da Abralin. http://doi.org/10.25189/9788568990117
Kuznetsova, A., Brockhoff, P. B., & Christensen, R. H. B. (2017). lmerTest package: Tests in linear mixed effects models. Journal of Statistical Software, 82(13), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v082.i13
Lee, J., Jang, J., & Plonsky, L. (2015). The effectiveness of second language pronunciation instruction: A meta-analysis. Applied Linguistics, 36(3), 345–366. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amu040
Leech, G., Rayson, P., & Wilson, A. (2001). Word frequencies in written and spoken English. Routledge.
Levis, J. M., Sonsaat, S., Link, S., & Barriuso, T. A. (2016). Native and nonnative teachers of L2 pronunciation: Effects on learner performance. TESOL Quarterly, 50(4), 894–931. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.272
Lucarevschi, C. R. (2018). The role of storytelling in the development of pronunciation of Brazilian learners of English as a foreign language [University of Victoria]. UVicSpace. https://doi.org/http://hdl.handle.net/1828/9267
Meara, P. M. (2005). X_Lex: The Swansea vocabulary levels test (2.05). Lognostics.
Meara, P. M., & Miralpeix, I. (2006). Y_Lex: The Swansea advanced vocabulary levels test (2.05). Lognostics.
Milton, J. (2010). The development of vocabulary breadth accross the CEFR levels. In I. Bartning, M. Martin, & I. Vedder (Eds.), Communicative proficiency and linguistic development: Intersections between SLA and language testing research (pp. 211–232). Eurosla.
Moyer, A. (2004). Age, accent and experience in second language acquisition. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853597190
Moyer, A. (2008). Input as a critical means to an end: Quantity and quality of experience in L2 phonological attainment. In T. Piske & M. Young-Scholten (Eds.), Input matters in SLA (Issue 2, pp. 159–174). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847691118-011
Moyer, A. (2011). An investigation of experience in L2 phonology: Does quality matter more than quantity? Canadian Modern Language Review, 67(2), 191–216. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.67.2.191
Muñoz, C. (2008). Symmetries and asymmetries of age effects in naturalistic and instructed L2 learning. Applied Linguistics, 29(4), 578–596. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amm056
Munro, M. J., & Derwing, T. M. (2006). The functional load principle in ESL pronunciation instruction: An exploratory study. System, 34(4), 520–531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2006.09.004
Nagle, C. (2022). Individual difference factors for second language pronunciation. In S. Li, P. Hiver, & M. Papi (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition and individual differences (pp. 269–281). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003270546-23
Norris, R., & French, A. (2008). Ready for CAE. Macmillan.
O’Brien, M. G. (2019). Attending to second language lexical stress: Exploring the roles of metalinguistic awareness and self-assessment. Language Awareness, 28(4), 310–328. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2019.1625912
Pennington, M. C. (2021). Teaching pronunciation: The state of the art 2021. RELC Journal, 52(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882211002283
Piske, T., MacKay, I. R. A., & Flege, J. E. (2001). Factors affecting degree of foreign accent in an L2: A review. Journal of Phonetics, 29(2), 191–215. https://doi.org/10.1006/jpho.2001.0134
R Core Team (2023). R: A language and environment for statistical computing (Version 4.3.0) [Computer software]. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org
Reis, M. S. (2006). The perception and production of English interdental fricatives by Brazilian EFL learners [Master's thesis, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina]. Repositório Institucional UFSC. http://repositorio.ufsc.br/xmlui/handle/123456789/89154
Saito, K. (2019). Individual differences in second language speech learning in classroom settings: Roles of awareness in the longitudinal development of Japanese learners’ English /?/ pronunciation. Second Language Research, 35(2), 149–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658318768342
Saito, K. (2021). What characterizes comprehensible and native-like pronunciation among English-as-a-second-language speakers? Meta-analyses of phonological, rater, and instructional factors. TESOL Quarterly, 55(3), 866–900. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3027
Saito, K., Suzuki, S., Oyama, T., & Akiyama, Y. (2019). How does longitudinal interaction promote second language speech learning? Roles of learner experience and proficiency levels. Second Language Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658319884981
Saito, K., Trofimovich, P., Isaacs, T., & Webb, S. (2016). Re-examining phonological and lexical correlates of second language comprehensibility: The role of rater experience. In T. Isaacs & P. Trofimovich (Eds.), Second language pronunciation assessment: Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 141–156). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/ISAACS6848
Schadech, T. S., & Silveira, R. (2013). How do the non-target pronunciations of the consonants /?/ and /ð/ by Brazilian learners of English affect comprehensibility? Cadernos do IL, 46, 4–23. https://doi.org/10.22456/2236-6385.35862
Schmidt, R. (1990). The role of consciousness in second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 11(2), 129–158. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/11.2.129
Schmidt, R. (1995). Consciousness and foreign language learning: A tutorial on the role of attention and awareness in learning. In R. Schmidt (Ed.), Attention and awareness in foreign language learning (pp. 1–64). University of Hawai’i Press.
Schmidt, R. (2001). Attention. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Cognition and second language instruction (pp. 3–32). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524780.003
Sewell, A. (2017). Functional load revisited: Reinterpreting the findings of “lingua franca” intelligibility studies. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 3(1), 57–79. https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.3.1.03sew
Shi, R., Morgan, J. L., & Allopena, P. (1998). Phonological and acoustic bases for earliest grammatical category assignment: A cross-linguistic perspective. Journal of Child Language, 25(1), 169–201. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000997003395
Suzukida, Y., & Saito, K. (2021). Which segmental features matter for successful L2 comprehensibility? Revisiting and generalizing the pedagogical value of the functional load principle. Language Teaching Research, 25(3), 431–450. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168819858246
Teló, C., Trofimovich, P., & O'Brien, M. G. (2022). Disentangling professional competence and foreign accent. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 8(3), 413–443. https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.22013.tel
Thomson, R. I., & Derwing, T. M. (2015). The effectiveness of L2 pronunciation instruction: A narrative review. Applied Linguistics, 36(3), 326–344. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amu076
Uchihara, T., & Clenton, J. (2020). Investigating the role of vocabulary size in second language speaking ability. Language Teaching Research, 24(4), 540–556. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168818799371
Venkatagiri, H. S., & Levis, J. M. (2007). Phonological awareness and speech comprehensibility: An exploratory study. Language Awareness, 16(4), 263–277. https://doi.org/10.2167/la417.0
Wulff, S., & Ellis, N. C. (2018). Usage-based approaches to second language acquisition. In D. Miller, F. Bayram, J. Rothman, & L. Serratrice (Eds.), Bilingual cognition and language: The state of the science accross its subfields (pp. 37–56). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.54.03wul
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Cesar Teló, Hanna Kivistö de Souza
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
![Creative Commons Licence](https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.