The evolution of vowel perception in second language learners of Spanish

Abstract

Given the importance of understanding speech perception in language acquisition research (Best, 1991) and building on the methodology of Garcia de las Bayonas (2004), this remotely conducted study explores the acquisition of correct Spanish vowel perception by English-speaking learners with special attention paid to the role of syllable stress. Participants include Spanish speakers (n = 4), English speakers (n = 7), and beginning Spanish students (n = 9). In a discrimination task, learners performed most accurately with Spanish vowels in stressed syllables (88.6%) with less accuracy discriminating those in unstressed syllables (82.2%). This is likely due to the tendency of American English to reduce many unstressed vowels. In an identification task, participants selected vowel sounds (from English and Spanish inventories) believed to belong in Spanish words. High accuracy was shown identifying Spanish vowels /i/, /o/, and /u/ but all groups struggled to correctly identify /e/ and /a/, likely because these vowels occupy similar acoustic spaces as English vowels /ɛ/ and /æ/. Despite imperfect perception, learners report high confidence in their responses, indicating under-developed vowel inventories in the target language. At the time of presentation, these results will include larger and more diverse participant groups, including students at different stages of experience with the target language.