Vowel perception in second language acquisition

Abstract

This study investigates the perception of ten English and five Spanish vowels by native-speakers (NS) and learners (L) at two levels of acquisition, and compares these vowels cross-linguistically. Research on the acquisition of vowels indicates that learners can improve their perception with exposure to the second language (L2) [Bohn and Flege (1990)]. Using Flege’s (1995) Speech Learning Model as a theoretical framework, this investigation incorporated a method of adjustment (MOA) task [Johnson et al., (1993)] used to analyze NS perception and production data, to add the dimension of the L2 learner data. The research question was: Are vowels selected differently by NS and L in an MOA task depending on level of proficiency? Spanish learners (n=40) and English learners (n=80) completed MOA tasks in which they were exposed to 120 synthetically produced vowels to analyze spectral variation in the acquisition of both sound systems, and how the learners vowel system may vary from that of the NS. In the MOA tasks they were asked to select which synthesized vowel sounds most resembled the ones whose spelling was presented to them. Results indicated that vowels are selected differently by NS and L, but there are differences among vowels.