Consonant Cluster Acquisition by L2 Thai Speakers

Abstract

Attempts to account for consonant cluster acquisition are always made into two aspects. One is transfer of the first language (L1), and another is markedness effects on the developmental processes in second language acquisition. This study has continued these attempts by finding out how well Thai university students were able to perceive English onset and coda clusters when they were second year and fourth year students. This paper also aims to investigate Thai speakers’ opinions about their listening and speaking skills, and whether their course subjects enhanced their performance. To fulfil the first objective, a pretest and posttest were launched to measure how the 34 Thai participants were able to identify 40 onset and 120 coda clusters at different periods of time. The statistical findings show that even though their overall scores in the fourth year were higher than those in the second year, there was no statistically significant difference in both major types of clusters [t = -1.29; p value >0.05 in onsets; t = -0.28; p value >0.05 in codas]. The Thai participants performed slightly better in onset (84% / 86%) than in coda (70% / 71%). To complete the second objective of the study, a 24-item questionnaire was distributed to the participants. The responses indicated positive opinions about their listening and speaking skills and the English courses they took in a four-year study. However, they still had difficulty identifying some English consonant clusters even though those were widely used or found. Finally, most participants claimed that English Phonetics and Phonology Course was one of the significant course subjects instrumental in establishing their fundamental knowledge of how to pronounce English words and develop their listening skill as well.