Effects of corrective feedback on receptive skills in non-native contrasts: A training study in Taiwan Southern Min

Abstract

The benefits of corrective feedback (CF) have been proposed in numerous L2 speech perception training studies, concerning that it provides learners with opportunities to retrieve, restructure, and consolidate their phonological representations. Moreover, different types of CF have been investigated considering that different effects will be triggered owing to involving different types of cognitive processes. This study examines the role of different types of CF in receptive skill, focusing on voiceless-voiced contrasts in Taiwan Southern Min, which is absent in Mandarin. Native speakers of Taiwan Mandarin who are also non-native listeners of Taiwan Southern Min are randomly assigned to three groups with different types of CF: Target, Non-target, and Combination of target and non-target. Preliminary results showed that among the three CF groups, identification accuracy significantly improved when participants are provided with combination CF. More generally, the results suggest that corrective feedback can play an influential role in identifying phonemic contrasts that may not occur in listeners’ native language. The benefits of corrective feedback (CF) have been proposed in numerous L2 speech perception training studies, concerning that it provides learners with opportunities to retrieve, restructure, and consolidate their phonological representations. Moreover, different types of CF have been investigated considering that different effects will be triggered owing to involving different types of cognitive processes. This study examines the role of different types of CF in receptive skill, focusing on voiceless-voiced contrasts in Taiwan Southern Min, which is absent in Mandarin. Native speakers of Taiwan Mandarin who are also non-native listeners of Taiwan Southern Min are randomly assigned to three groups with different types of CF: Target, Non-target, and Combination of target and non-target. Preliminary results showed that among the three CF groups, identification accuracy significantly improved when participants are provided with combination CF. More generally, the results suggest that corrective feedback can...