ERIC Number: EJ1484383
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Sep
Pages: 36
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0023-8333
EISSN: EISSN-1467-9922
Available Date: 2024-09-25
Training Child Learners on Nonnative Vowel Contrasts with Phonetic Training: The Role of Task and Variability
Gwen Brekelmans1,2; Bronwen G. Evans3; Elizabeth Wonnacott2,4
Language Learning, v75 n3 p666-701 2025
Substantial research suggests that high variability (multitalker) phonetic training helps second language (L2) adults improve differentiation of challenging nonnative speech sounds. Is such training also useful for L2 children? Existing studies have mixed findings and important limitations. We investigate the potential benefits of computerized phonetic training for 50 Dutch 7-year-olds and 39 11-year-olds trained on English vowel contrasts in a 2-week study in a classroom setting. Half received multitalker, and half received single-talker input (i.e., high variability vs. low variability; HV vs. LV), with learning evaluated by a battery of tests. Both groups improved in training; however, 11-year-olds improved more. Moreover, 11-year-olds showed generalization to novel talkers, and 7-year-olds did not, with Bayes factor analyses providing evidence for the null. Generalisation in 11-year-olds was no greater following HV than LV input, with evidence for the null on one of two tasks where generalization was found. Results are discussed in terms of the interplay between age, task demands, and talker variability.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Preadolescents, Young Children, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Vowels, Phonetics, Age Differences, Contrastive Linguistics
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www-wiley-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Netherlands
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Data File: URL: https://doi-org.bibliotheek.ehb.be/10.17605/OSF.IO/BGDXP
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, Queen Mary University of London; 2Department of Language and Cognition, University College London; 3Department of Speech, Hearing & Phonetic Sciences, University College London; 4Department of Education, University of Oxford

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