Effects of perceptual phonetic training on the perception and production of second language syllable structure

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of perceptual training on second language (L2) learners' perception and production of syllable structure, thereby shedding light on the relationship between L2 speech perception and production and on the nature of stored representations. Korean L2 learners of English completed perceptual training on palatal codas in a pretest–post-test design. We compared the effects of training on improvements in perception and production for trained and new words and talkers. A control group who completed an unrelated perceptual training was included for comparison. Results indicated that learners who received perceptual training on palatal codas outperformed those who did not in perception and production tasks and generalized learning to new words and new talkers. Yet perception improvements were not directly linked to production improvements. The finding that perceptual training improved production and allowed for generalizability to new words and talkers in both perception and production provides evidence that L2 perception and production systems are linked. However, the lack of a one-to-one relationship between perception and production improvements suggests that the representations underlying L2 speech perception and production may be distinct.