High Variability Phonetic Training Research Articles

Investigating Perception to Production Transfer in Children With Cochlear Implants: A High Variability Phonetic Training Study.

This study builds upon an established effective training method to investigate the advantages of high variability phonetic identification training for enhancing lexical tone perception and production in Mandarin-speaking pediatric cochlear implant (CI) recipients, who typically face ongoing challenges in these areas. Thirty-two Mandarin-speaking children with CIs were quasirandomly assigned into the training group (TG) and the control group (CG). The 16 TG participants received five sessions of high variability phonetic training (HVPT) within a period of 3 weeks. The CG participants did not receive the training. Perception and production of Mandarin tones were administered before (pretest) and immediately after (posttest) the completion of HVPT via lexical tone recognition task and picture naming task. Both groups participated in the identical pretest and posttest with the same time frame between the two test sessions. TG showed significant improvement from pretest to posttest in identifying Mandarin tones for both trained and untrained speech stimuli. Moreover, perceptual learning of HVPT significantly facilitated trainees' production of T1 and T2 as rated by a cohort of 10 Mandarin-speaking adults with normal hearing, which was corroborated by acoustic analyses revealing improved fundamental frequency (F0) median for T1 and T2 production and enlarged F0 movement for T2 production. In contrast, TG children's production of T3 and T4 showed nonsignificant changes across two test sessions. Meanwhile, CG did not exhibit significant changes in either perception or production. The results suggest a limited and inconsistent transfer of perceptual learning to lexical tone production in children with CIs, which challenges the notion of a robust transfer and highlights the complexity of the interaction between perceptual training and production outcomes. Further research on individual differences with a longitudinal design is needed to optimize the training protocol or tailor interventions to better meet the diverse needs of learners.

Enhancing L2 sound learning through the integration of audio-visual information: Phonetic training in the classroom

The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an audio-visual high variability phonetic training (AV-HVPT) approach in improving the pronunciation of English interdental sounds /θ, ð/ and vowel /ɪ/ among a group of Chinese graduates. A total of 70 participants were randomly assigned to two groups: one received AV-HVPT instruction (Class 1) and the other one received traditional teacher-led instruction (Class 2). The overall findings showed that Class 1 significantly improved /θ, ð/ pronunciation but Class 2 did not. No improvement in /ɪ/ pronunciation was observed in either group. This may suggest that the effectiveness of the AV-HVPT approach in the classroom might be limited in the learning of sounds with salient articulatory gestures.

Enhancing Pronunciation Learning through High Variability Phonetic Training: A Meta-analysis

High-Variability Phonetic Training (HVPT) has demonstrated effectiveness in second language (L2) acquisition. This study utilizes a meta-analysis to explore the influence of high variability on learning L2 pronunciation and identifies the factors that moderate this impact. The studies were collected using a keyword search in the SCOPUS database. In total, our meta-analysis incorporated 18 primary studies that presented results obtained from experimental and control group designs, encompassing a total of 22 effect sizes. The results of our meta-analysis revealed that the overall effect size of HVPT on L2 pronunciation was medium (g = 0.77). Specifically, the effect size was large for consonant sounds and lexical tones, particularly pronounced when utilized by advanced learners. For beginners, the effect size was medium. The context in which the training was conducted also played a role, with a medium effect size observed when sentences were used. Additionally, the number of talkers involved in the study influenced the effect size, with a medium effect size found when 5 to 8 talkers were included. In other cases, the reported effect sizes were either small or non-significant.

Using high variability phonetic training as a contextualized tool in the development of English consonant clusters pronunciation among Saudi EFL learners

Using high variability phonetic training as a contextualized tool in the development of English consonant clusters pronunciation among Saudi EFL learners

Sustainable Benefits of High Variability Phonetic Training in Mandarin-speaking Kindergarteners With Cochlear Implants: Evidence From Categorical Perception of Lexical Tones.

Although pitch reception poses a great challenge for individuals with cochlear implants (CIs), formal auditory training (e.g., high variability phonetic training [HVPT]) has been shown to provide direct benefits in pitch-related perceptual performances such as lexical tone recognition for CI users. As lexical tones in spoken language are expressed with a multitude of distinct spectral, temporal, and intensity cues, it is important to determine the sources of training benefits for CI users. The purpose of the present study was to conduct a rigorous fine-scale evaluation with the categorical perception (CP) paradigm to control the acoustic parameters and test the efficacy and sustainability of HVPT for Mandarin-speaking pediatric CI recipients. The main hypothesis was that HVPT-induced perceptual learning would greatly enhance CI users' ability to extract the primary pitch contours from spoken words for lexical tone identification and discrimination. Furthermore, individual differences in immediate and long-term gains from training would likely be attributable to baseline performance and duration of CI use. Twenty-eight prelingually deaf Mandarin-speaking kindergarteners with CIs were tested. Half of them received five sessions of HVPT within a period of 3 weeks. The other half served as control who did not receive the formal training. Two classical CP tasks on a tonal continuum from Mandarin tone 1 (high-flat in pitch) to tone 2 (mid-rising in pitch) with fixed acoustic features of duration and intensity were administered before (pretest), immediately after (posttest), and 10 weeks posttraining termination (follow-up test). Participants were instructed to either label a speech stimulus along the continuum (i.e., identification task) or determine whether a pair of stimuli separated by zero or two steps from the continuum was the same or different (i.e., discrimination task). Identification function measures (i.e., boundary position and boundary width) and discrimination function scores (i.e., between-category score, within-category score, and peakedness score) were assessed for each child participant across the three test sessions. Linear mixed-effects (LME) models showed significant training-induced enhancement in lexical tone categorization with significantly narrower boundary width and better between-category discrimination in the immediate posttest over pretest for the trainees. Furthermore, training-induced gains were reliably retained in the follow-up test 10 weeks after training. By contrast, no significant changes were found in the control group across sessions. Regression analysis confirmed that baseline performance (i.e., boundary width in the pretest session) and duration of CI use were significant predictors for the magnitude of training-induced benefits. The stringent CP tests with synthesized stimuli that excluded acoustic cues other than the pitch contour and were never used in training showed strong evidence for the efficacy of HVPT in yielding immediate and sustained improvement in lexical tone categorization for Mandarin-speaking children with CIs. The training results and individual differences have remarkable implications for developing personalized computer-based short-term HVPT protocols that may have sustainable long-term benefits for aural rehabilitation in this clinical population.

Perceptual training of Arabic consonants in English-speaking learners of the Quran

In the Muslim community, accurate perception of classical Arabic phones is considered of importance in order to understand and recite the Quran, which is read, studied and recited in its original Arabic language. In this study, high variability phonetic training (HVPT) was used to train accurate perception of Arabic consonants that do not exist in American English. HVPT develops new phonemic categories by exposing learners to a variety of productions of new phonemes. Results indicated significant improvement in perception of Arabic consonants (pre-test mean = 58.5%, post-test mean = 64.8%, difference = 6.3%, w = 11, z = –1.36). Improvements were specifically seen for the contrasts /d-d/, /k-q/ and /h-h/. No significant relationship between HVPT outcomes and language learning variables was found. Overall results of the study indicate the effectiveness of training perception of Arabic phonemic contrasts in English-speaking learners of the Quran.

Incidental and Multimodal High Variability Phonetic Training: Potential, Limits, and Future Directions

AbstractScholars have extensively investigated the effectiveness of high variability phonetic training (HVPT), that is, identification and discrimination of second language speech sounds produced by multiple speakers followed by trial‐by‐trial feedback. Building on the notion of incidental and multimodal learning in cognitive psychology (e.g., Lim & Holt, 2011), we developed a new, HVPT‐based videogame paradigm in which participants aimed to shoot clay targets as fast as possible while being guided to learn sound cues as a by‐product of planned learning. Focusing on the speech acquisition of 58 Japanese English‐as‐a‐foreign‐language learners, the current study set out to test the pedagogical potential and limits of the incidental HVPT approach. According to the results of statistical analyses, the effectiveness of incidental HVPT can be more clearly observed if it focuses on more learnable targets (e.g., acquisition of English [æ]–[ʌ] rather than [r]–[l] contrasts) with gains being more generalizable from trained to new speakers’ voices and from perception to production dimensions.

Audiovisual high variability phonetic training promotes second language lexical tone learning: An event-related potential study

This study investigated the efficacy of a modified high variability phonetic training (HVPT) protocol in second language learning. The target Mandarin lexical tones in the training stimuli were acoustically exaggerated at four levels in terms of duration, pitch range, and pitch contour. Seven audiovisual perceptual training sessions were designed to deliver the training stimuli adaptively based on the listener's identification score. Pre- and post-tests used behavioral identification and discrimination tasks with natural speech, synthetic speech, and non-speech control stimuli. ERP experiments were also conducted with synthetic speech stimuli in a passive listening oddball paradigm. A total of 24 adult monolingual American English speakers were randomly assigned to the training group and control group. Behavioral data showed significant improvement in identifying the four lexical tones in the trainees but not in the controls. There was also training-induced enhancement of categorical perception of the lexical tones for the synthetic speech stimuli. Posttest versus pretest comparison in the trainees showed an increased mismatch negativity (MMN) response with decreased MMN peak latency for the across-category lexical tone stimuli. Collectively, the results demonstrate fundamental neural sensitivity changes at the pre-attentive level underlying training-induced behavioral identification and discrimination changes in second language learners.

Training the pronunciation of L2 vowels under different conditions: the use of non-lexical materials and masking noise.

The current study extends traditional perceptual high-variability phonetic training (HVPT) in a foreign language learning context by implementing a comprehensive training paradigm that combines perception (discrimination and identification) and production (immediate repetition) training tasks and by exploring two potentially enhancing training conditions: the use of non-lexical training stimuli and the presence of masking noise during production training. We assessed training effects on L1-Spanish/Catalan bilingual EFL learners' production of a difficult English vowel contrast (/æ/-/ʌ/). The participants (N=62) were randomly assigned to either non-lexical (N=24) or lexical (N=24) training and were further subdivided into two groups, one trained in noise (N=12) and one in silence (N=12). An untrained control group (N=14) was also tested. Training gains, measured through spectral distance scores (Euclidean distances) with respect to native speakers' productions of /æ/ and /ʌ/, were assessed through delayed word and sentence repetition tasks. The results showed an advantage of non-lexical training over lexical training, detrimental effects of noise for participants trained with nonwords, but not for those trained with words, and less accurate production of vowels elicited in isolated words than in words embedded in sentences, where training gains were only observable for participants trained with nonwords.

The roles of task, segment type, and attention in L2 perceptual training

AbstractPrevious studies show that attention plays an important role in second language (L2) phonetic attainment. This study compares the effect of two high variability phonetic training methods (identification (ID) and categorical AX discrimination (DIS)) on specifically targeted sounds and on implicitly exposed but untargeted sounds. Four groups of Spanish/Catalan bilingual learners of English were trained on either a subset of English vowels (/iː ɪ æ ʌ ɜː/) or word-initial and word-final stops. The study also examined if the potential effect of training generalized to new stimuli and persisted two months after training. Results revealed that trainees significantly outperformed the controls in their identification of targeted sounds, and improvement generalized to new stimuli and was maintained after training, showing the efficacy of both training methodologies. However, while all trainees performed similarly with initial stops, ID trainees outperformed DIS trainees in vowel perception. Interestingly, only DIS trainees showed a significant improvement in the perception of untargeted sounds, indicating that this training method (possibly due to the absence of labels and the exposure to two physically present stimuli in each trial) may be more suited to enhance learners’ perception of both targeted and untargeted sounds.

Modified Input Training and Cue Reweighting in Second Language Vowel Perception

Many studies have shown that the High Variability Phonetic Training method can help L2 learners acquire nonnative phoneme contrasts. However, few studies have explored how this paradigm can work using modified input. We investigate L1 Mandarin learners of English as a foreign language and their perception of the tense/lax [i]/[ɪ] contrast. Mandarin learners rely on durational (rather than spectral) cues to distinguish these L2 vowels. In an ABX discrimination task, the experimental group was trained using both natural and synthesized stimuli whose vowels had been systematically lengthened or shortened thus removing the reliability of the durational cue. The control group was trained using natural stimuli only. The pre- and post-tests were identification tasks. An ANCOVA comparing the pre- and post-test identification accuracy revealed that the experimental group improved significantly more than the control group. The modified durational input allows participants to re-weight their processing cues and attend to spectral differences.

The Role of Talker Variability in Nonnative Phonetic Learning: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

High-variability phonetic training (HVPT) has been found to be effective on adult second language (L2) learning, but results are mixed in regards to the benefit of multiple talkers over single talker. This study provides a systematic review with meta-analysis to investigate the talker variability effect in nonnative phonetic learning and the factors moderating the effect. We collected studies with keyword search in major academic databases including EBSCO, ERIC, MEDLINE, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, Elsevier, Scopus, Wiley Online Library, and Web of Science. We identified potential participant-, training-, and study-related moderators and conducted a random-effects model meta-analysis for each individual variable. On the basis of 18 studies with a total of 549 participants, we obtained a small-level summary effect size (Hedges' g = 0.46, 95% confidence interval [CI; 0.08, 0.84]) for the immediate training outcomes, which was greatly reduced (g = -0.04, 95% CI [-0.46, 0.37]) after removal of outliers and correction for publication bias, whereas the effect size for immediate perceptual gains was nearly medium (g = 0.56, 95% CI [0.13, 1.00]) compared with the nonsignificant production gains. Critically, the summary effect sizes for generalizations to new talkers (g = 0.72, 95% CI [0.15, 1.29]) and for long-term retention (g = 1.09, 95% CI [0.39, 1.78]) were large. Moreover, the training program length and the talker presentation format were found to potentially moderate the immediate perceptual gains and generalization outcomes. Our study presents the first meta-analysis on the role of talker variability in nonnative phonetic training, which demonstrates the heterogeneity and limitations of research on this topic. The results highlight the need for further investigation of the influential factors and underlying mechanisms for the presence or absence of talker variability effects. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16959388.

The effect of age on English /r/-/l/ perceptual training outcomes for Japanese speakers

Younger learners are better at acquiring second-language (L2) phoneme contrasts than are older learners, but this general correlation between age and learning ability is often confounded with factors such as how late learners use their L2 in daily life. The present study trained Japanese speakers across a wide age range (young children through adults) on English /r/-/l/, using a computer-based high variability phonetic training program, in order to control the /r/-/l/ inputs across age during the training period. The results demonstrated that training improved Japanese speakers’ perception and production of the English /r/-/l/ contrast, and age affected their improvement in perception. Over the 10 training sessions, younger learners (children and adolescents) improved their perception more than adult learners, suggesting that L2 phoneme learning may indeed decline with age. Children did not improve their identification, perceptual sensitivity to the primary acoustic cue (F3), and category discrimination as much as adolescents, possibly due to their immature cognition and phonemic awareness.

Working memory, selective attention, and input variability differentially contribute to non-native phonetic learning

Our recent training study demonstrated that acoustic variability, independent of talker variability, promotes nonnative phonetic learning with an enhanced audiovisual adaptive protocol of high variability phonetic training (HVPT). In this follow-up study, we further investigated how cognitive factors may contribute to the learning process. Forty native Chinese adults were randomly assigned to a multiple-talker (MT) group and a single-talker (ST) group to learn the English /i/-/I/ contrast. Pre- and two-post-tests (one week after training and three months after training) employed the natural word identification task. Participants were also tested on working memory and selective attention prior to training. Consistent with previous results, MT and ST training produced similar improvements in the immediate post-test. While significant retention was observed only in the ST group after three months, retention was also found in some participants in the MT group. More importantly, in the MT group, working memory capacity predicted the immediate improvements, while selective attention predicted the amount of retained training effects. No such associations were found in the ST group. These results added new evidence for the differential roles of working memory and selective attention in speech learning. Learners with greater working memory abilities and attentional resources are more likely to benefit from increased acoustic variability in HVPT.

The Impact of Phonetic Training in the Perception and Poduction of European Portuguese Stops by Mandarin Speakers

This study aims to improve knowledge regarding the process of L2 consonants acquisition and investigate the effectiveness of training strategies that can favor its learning. It compares the effect of a phonetic training using two High Variability Phonetic Training (HVPT) methods on training the perception of European Portuguese (EP) stop consonants by Mandarin native speakers, learners of EP as a L2. More specifically, it will investigate if the expected improvement is greater under the HVPT approach using an identification task (ID) or through an AX discrimination task (DIS). In a pretest-training-posttest design, thirty L2 learners of EP will be divided into 2 experimental groups and a control group. Experimental groups will differ in the training method: ID task and DIS task. Participants will be tested on their ability to perceive the target sounds presented in non-words and real words before training, after training and two months later. Thus, this study will address the following questions: a) whether training can improve the perception and production of trained as well as untrained segments, b) whether improvement generalizes to novel stimuli and talkers, c) if improvement is retained over time, and d) which training method is more effective (ID or DIS).

Phonetic symbols vs keywords in perceptual training: the learners’ views

Abstract The potential of high-variability phonetic training (HVPT) to help FL learners improve their pronunciation is well documented. However, research exploring learners’ perceptions of the approach adopted after having experienced training is scarce. Likewise, the choice of labels adopted for training is not self-evident and has not been studied empirically. This study investigates EFL learners’ perceptions towards HVPT and the use of phonetic symbols vs keywords as labels for perceptual training. Seventy-one EFL learners followed four HVPT sessions using two types of labels (symbols and keywords). The results of Likert-type items and open questions in a questionnaire completed after training suggest that learners considered HVPT useful and that they would be willing to adopt it as part of their routine. The participants’ perceptions were positive towards both labels, although the group trained with symbols generally showed more positive attitudes towards training and were willing to continue using it more often.

High-Variability Phonetic Training Benefits Lexical Tone Perception: An Investigation on Mandarin-Speaking Pediatric Cochlear Implant Users.

Purpose Lexical tone perception is known to be persistently difficult for individuals with cochlear implants (CIs). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of high-variability phonetic training (HVPT) in improving Mandarin tone perception for native-speaking children with CIs. Method A total of 28 Mandarin-speaking pediatric CI recipients participated in the study. Half of the children with CIs received a five-session HVPT within a period of 3 weeks. Identification and discrimination of lexical tones produced by familiar talkers (used during training) and novel talkers (not used during training) were measured before, immediately after, and 10 weeks after training termination. The other half untrained children served as control for the identical pre- and posttests. Results Lexical tone perception significantly improved in both trained identification task and untrained discrimination task for the trainees. There was also a significant effect in transfer of learning to perceiving tones produced by novel talkers. Moreover, training-induced gains were retained for up to 10 weeks after training. By comparison, no significant pre-post changes were observed in the control group. Conclusion The results provide the first systematical assessment for the efficacy of the HVPT protocol for Mandarin-speaking pediatric CI users with congenital hearing loss, which supports the clinical utility of intensive short-term HVPT in these children's rehabilitative regimens.

Is talker variability a critical component of effective phonetic training for nonnative speech?

The current investigation adopted high variability phonetic training with additional audiovisual input and adaptive acoustic exaggeration to examine the role of talker variability. Sixty native Chinese-speaking adults were randomly assigned to a multiple-talker (MT) training group, a single-talker (ST) training group, and a control (CTRL) group without training. The target sounds were the English /i/-/ɪ/ contrast, delivered in 7 sessions using minimal pair word lists. Pre- and post-tests employed natural word identification, synthetic phoneme identification, and word production. Unlike the CTRL group, both training groups showed significant identification improvements, and the effects generalized to novel talkers and new phonetic contexts. Although training did not improve speech intelligibility, there was a significant gain in the use of the primary spectral cues and a decrease in the secondary durational cue. No differences were observed between the MT and ST groups. By removing the “enhancement” features, however, the training program with independent samples was able to verify the advantages of MT over ST training. These results provide the first evidence for the efficacy of other facilitative training features, independent of talker variability, in retuning second language learners’ attention to critical acoustic cues for the target speech contrast and producing transfer of learning.

The Effect of High-Variability Phonetic Training and Low-Variability Phonetic Training on Chinese Primary Learners’ Perception of Intonation: Focusing on Grammatical Function and Emotional/Attitudinal Function of Intonation

The Effect of High-Variability Phonetic Training and Low-Variability Phonetic Training on Chinese Primary Learners’ Perception of Intonation: Focusing on Grammatical Function and Emotional/Attitudinal Function of Intonation

コンピュータを利用した知覚ベースの高変動音素訓練 （HVPT）が調音パフォーマンスに及ぼす影響

コンピュータを利用した知覚ベースの高変動音素訓練 （HVPT）が調音パフォーマンスに及ぼす影響