Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T06:00:34.822Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Domain-general auditory processing determines success in second language pronunciation learning in adulthood: A longitudinal study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2020

Kazuya Saito Open the ORCID record for Kazuya Saito [Opens in a new window] ,
Hui Sun  and
Adam Tierney
Kazuya Saito*
Affiliation:
University College London
Hui Sun
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
Adam Tierney
Affiliation:
Birkbeck, University of London
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: k.saito@ucl.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this study, we propose a hypothesis that domain-general auditory processing, a perceptual–cognitive anchor of first language (L1) acquisition, can serve as an important deciding factor for successful postpubertal second language (L2) pronunciation learning. To examine this hypothesis, samples of spontaneous speech were elicited from a total of 30 L1 Chinese L2 English learners at two points (outset and endpoint) during an 8-month study-abroad period in the United Kingdom. The participants were tested on three different components of auditory processing ability (formant, pitch, and duration discrimination) using behavioral instruments. The auditory processing scores were then linked to the segmental, prosodic, and fluency dimensions of their L2 pronunciation proficiency development throughout the project. Overall, most learners’ speech became smoother, faster, and more fluent (fewer pauses, faster articulation rate, and more optimal perceived tempo). Certain learners with high-level auditory processing ability (more precise formant discrimination) appeared to further attain more correct pronunciation of individual sounds and words (greater segmental and word stress accuracy), leading to more advanced L2 phonological skills (fluent and accurate). The findings suggest that auditory processing abilities can be a root of language learning throughout the life span and may apply to the initial- to midphase of naturalistic L2 pronunciation learning in adulthood.

Keywords

auditory processingindividual differencesL2 speechpronunciation
Type
Original Article
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 41 , Issue 5 , September 2020 , pp. 1083 - 1112
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amitay, S., Ahissar, M., & Nelken, I. (2002). Auditory processing deficits in reading disabled adults. Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, 3, 302–320.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bates, D., Maechler, M., Bolker, B., & Walker, S. (2015). lme4: Linear mixed-effects models using Eigen and S4. [Computer software] R package version 1.1–21.Google Scholar
Bidelman, G. M., Gandour, J. T., & Krishnan, A. (2011). Musicians and tone-language speakers share enhanced brainstem encoding but not perceptual benefits for musical pitch. Brain and Cognition, 77, 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohn, O. S., & Flege, J. E. (1992). The production of new and similar vowels by adult German learners of English. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 14, 131–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bosker, H. R., Pinget, A.-F., Quené, H., Sanders, T., & de Jong, N. H. (2013). What makes speech sound fluent? The contributions of pauses, speed and repairs. Language Testing, 30, 159–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, K. L., & Tyler, L. K. (2018). Language-related domain-specific and domain-general systems in the human brain. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 21, 132–137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carroll, J. B., & Sapon, S. M. (1959). Modern language aptitude test. London: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Casini, L., Pech-Georgel, C., & Ziegler, J. C. (2018). It’s about time: Revisiting temporal processing deficits in dyslexia. Developmental Science, 21, e12530.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chandrasekaran, B., Kraus, N., & Wong, P. C. (2011). Human inferior colliculus activity relates to individual differences in spoken language learning. Journal of Neurophysiology, 107, 1325–1336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cutler, A., & Butterfield, S. (1992). Rhythmic cues to speech segmentation: Evidence from juncture misperception. Journal of Memory and Language, 31, 218–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeKeyser, R. (2012). Interactions between individual differences, treatments, and structures in SLA. Language Learning, 62, 189–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derwing, T. M., Munro, M. J., Thomson, R. I., & Rossiter, M. J. (2009). The relationship between L1 fluency and L2 fluency development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 31, 533–557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diaz, B., Mitterer, H., Broersma, M., Escera, C., & Sebastian-Galles, N. (2016). Variability in L2 phonemic learning originates from speech-specific capabilities: An MMN study on late bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 19, 955–970.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doughty, C. J. (2019). Cognitive language aptitude. Language Learning, 69, 101–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
EIKEN Foundation of Japan. (2016). EIKEN Pre–1 level: Complete questions collection. Tokyo: Oubunsha.Google Scholar
Flege, J. (2016). The role of phonetic category formation in second language speech acquisition. Plenary address, New Sounds, Aarhus, Denmark.Google Scholar
Flege, J., Takagi, N., & Mann, V. (1995). Japanese adults learn to produce English /ɹ/ and /l/ accurately. Language and Speech, 38, 25–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foster, P, Tonkyn, A., & Wigglesworth, G. (2000). Measuring spoken language. Applied Linguistics, 21, 354–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, L. Y., Hogben, J. H., & Fletcher, J. (2006). Visual and auditory processing and component reading skills in developmental dyslexia. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 23, 621–642.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Giuliano, R. J., Pfordresher, P. Q., Stanley, E. M., Narayana, S., & Wicha, N. Y. (2011). Native experience with a tone language enhances pitch discrimination and the timing of neural responses to pitch change. Frontiers in Psychology, 2, 146.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goswami, U. (2015). Sensory theories of developmental dyslexia: Three challenges for research. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16, 43–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goswami, U., Wang, H. L. S., Cruz, A., Fosker, T., Mead, N., & Huss, M. (2011). Language-universal sensory deficits in developmental dyslexia: English, Spanish, and Chinese. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23, 325–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Granena, G., & Long, M. H. (2013). Age of onset, length of residence, language aptitude, and ultimate L2 attainment in three linguistic domains. Second Language Research, 29, 311–343.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamrick, P., Lum, J. A. G., & Ullman, M. T. (2018). Child first language and adult second language are both tied to general-purpose learning systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115, 1487–1492.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hayes, E. A., Warrier, C. M., Nicol, T. G., Zecker, S. G., & Kraus, N. (2003). Neural plasticity following auditory training in children with learning problems. Clinical Neurophysiology, 114, 673–684.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hornickel, J., Knowles, E., & Kraus, N. (2012). Test-retest consistency of speech-evoked auditory brainstem responses in typically-developing children. Hearing Research, 284, 52–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Isaacs, T., & Trofimovich, P. (2012). Deconstructing comprehensibility: Identifying the linguistic influences on listeners’ L2 comprehensibility ratings. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 34, 475–505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jasmin, K., Dick, F., Holt, L., & Tierney, A. (2020). Tailored perception: Individuals’ speech and music perception strategies fit their perceptual abilities. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 149, 914–939. doi: 10.1037/xge0000688 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jasmin, K., Sun, H., & Tierney, A. (2020). Effects of language experience on domain-general perceptual strategies. bioRxiv, 892943. doi: 10.1101/2020.01.02.892943 Google ScholarPubMed
Kachlicka, M., Saito, K., & Tierney, A. (2019). Successful second language learning is tied to robust domain-general auditory processing and stable neural representation of sound. Brain and Language, 192, 15–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kempe, V., Thoresen, J. C., Kirk, N. W., Schaeffler, F., & Brooks, P. J. (2012). Individual differences in the discrimination of novel speech sounds: Effects of sex, temporal processing, musical and cognitive abilities. PLOS ONE, 7, e48623.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koester, D., Gunter, T. C., Wagner, S., & Friederici, A. D. (2004). Morphosyntax, prosody, and linking elements: The auditory processing of German nominal compounds. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 16, 1647–1668.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krizman, J., Slater, J., Skoe, E., Marian, V., & Kraus, N. (2015). Neural processing of speech in children is influenced by extent of bilingual experience. Neuroscience Letters, 585, 48–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuhl, P. K., Stevens, E., Hayashi, A., Deguchi, T., Kiritani, S., & Iverson, P. (2006). Infants show a facilitation effect for native language phonetic perception between 6 and 12 months. Developmental Science, 9, F13–F21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lahmann, C., Steinkrauss, R., & Schmid, M. S. (2017). Speed, breakdown, and repair: An investigation of fluency in long-term second-language speakers of English. International Journal of Bilingualism, 21, 228–242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, A. H., & Lyster, R. (2016). The effects of corrective feedback on instructed L2 speech perception. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 38, 35–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lengeris, A., & Hazan, V. (2010). The effect of native vowel processing ability and frequency discrimination acuity on the phonetic training of English vowels for native speakers of Greek. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 128, 3757–3768.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levitt, H. C. C. H. (1971). Transformed up-down methods in psychoacoustics. Journal of the Acoustical society of America, 49, 467–477.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, M., & DeKeyser, R. (2017). Perception practice, production practice, and musical ability in L2 Mandarin tone-word learning. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 39, 593–620.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, S. (2016). The construct validity of language aptitude: A meta-analysis. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 38, 801–842.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linck, J. A., Hughes, M. M., Campbell, S. G., Silbert, N. H., Tare, M., Jackson, S. R., & Doughty, C. J. (2013). Hi-LAB: A new measure of aptitude for high-level language proficiency. Language Learning, 63, 530–566.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marslen-Wilson, W. D., Tyler, L. K., Warren, P., Grenier, P., & Lee, C. S. (1992). Prosodic effects in minimal attachment. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 45, 73–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAllister, R., Flege, J. E., & Piske, T. (2002). The influence of L1 on the acquisition of Swedish quantity by native speakers of Spanish, English and Estonian. Journal of Phonetics, 30, 229–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McArthur, G. M., & Bishop, D. V. (2005). Speech and non-speech processing in people with specific language impairment: A behavioural and electrophysiological study. Brain and Language, 94, 260–273.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meara, P. (2005). Llama language aptitude tests: The manual. Swansea: Lognostics.Google Scholar
Mora, J. C., & Valls-Ferrer, M. (2012). Oral fluency, accuracy, and complexity in formal instruction and study abroad learning contexts. TESOL Quarterly, 46, 610–641.Google Scholar
Muñoz, C., & Llanes, Á. (2014). Study abroad and changes in degree of foreign accent in children and adults. Modern Language Journal, 98, 432–449.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munro, M. J., & Derwing, T. (2001). Modeling perceptions of the accentedness and comprehensibility of L2 speech: The role of speaking rate. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23, 451–468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munro, M. J., & Derwing, T. M. (2008). Segmental acquisition in adult ESL learners: A longitudinal study of vowel production. Language learning, 58, 479–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munro, M. J., Derwing, T. M., & Saito, K. (2013). English L2 vowel acquisition over seven years. In. Levis, J. & LeVelle, K. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 4th Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference (pp. 112–119). Ames, IA: Iowa State University.Google Scholar
Patel, A. D., Gibson, E., Ratner, J., Besson, M., & Holcomb, P. J. (1998). Processing syntactic relations in language and music: An event-related potential study. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 10, 717–733.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Piske, T., Flege, J., MacKay, & Meador, D. (2011). Investigating native and non-native vowels produced in conversational speech. In Wrembel, M., Kul, M., & Dziubalska-Kołaczyk, K. (Eds.), Achievements and Perspectives in the Acquisition of Second Language Speech: New Sounds 2010 (pp. 195–205). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Ghanbar, H. (2018). Multiple regression in L2 research: A methodological synthesis and guide to interpreting R2 values. Modern Language Journal, 102, 713–731.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
R Core Team. (2018). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Available from h ttps://www.R-project.org Google Scholar
Rosen, S. (2003). Auditory processing in dyslexia and specific language impairment: Is there a deficit? What is its nature? Does it explain anything? Journal of Phonetics, 31, 509–527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruggles, D., Bharadwaj, H., & Shinn-Cunningham, B. G. (2012). Why middle-aged listeners have trouble hearing in everyday settings. Current Biology, 22, 1417–1422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saito, K. (2015a). Experience effects on the development of late second language learners’ oral proficiency. Language Learning, 65, 563–595.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saito, K. (2015b). The role of age of acquisition in late second language oral proficiency attainment. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 37, 713–743.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saito, K. (2019). The role of aptitude in second language segmental learning: The case of Japanese learners’ English /ɹ/ pronunciation attainment in classroom settings. Applied Psycholinguistics, 40, 183–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., & Brajot, F. X. (2013). Scrutinizing the role of length of residence and age of acquisition in the interlanguage pronunciation development of English/ɹ/by late Japanese bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 16, 847–863.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., Ilkan, M., Magne, V., Tran, M. N., & Suzuki, S. (2018). Acoustic characteristics and learner profiles of low-, mid- and high-level second language fluency. Applied Psycholinguistics, 39, 593–617.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., Kachlicka, M., Sun, H., & Tierney, A. (2020). Domain-general auditory processing, age, experience, and post-pubertal L2 speech learning: A behavioural and neurophysiological investigation. Journal of Memory and Language. doi: 10.1016/j.jml.2020.104168 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., & Plonsky, L. (2019). Effects of second language pronunciation teaching revisited: A proposed measurement framework and meta-analysis. Language Learning, 69, 652–708.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., Sun, H., Kachlicka, M., Robert, J., Nakata, N., & Tierney, A. (in press). Domain-general auditory processing explains multiple dimensions of L2 acquisition in adulthood. Studies in Second Language Acquisition. Google Scholar
Saito, K., Sun, H., & Tierney, A. (2019). Explicit and implicit aptitude effects on second language speech learning: Scrutinizing segmental, prosodic and temporal sensitivity and performance via behavioral and neurophysiological measures. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 22, 1123–1140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., Sun, H., & Tierney, A. (2020). Brief report: Test-retest reliability of explicit auditory processing measures. bioRxiv. doi: 10.1101/2020.06.12.149484 Google Scholar
Saito, K., Trofimovich, P., & Isaacs, T. (2017). Using listener judgments to investigate linguistic influences on L2 comprehensibility and accentedness: A validation and generalization study. Applied Linguistics, 38, 439–462.Google Scholar
Schneider, B. A., Daneman, M., & Pichora-Fuller, M. K. (2002). Listening in aging adults: From discourse comprehension to psychoacoustics. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 56, 139.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Segalowitz, N., & Freed, B. F. (2004). Context, contact, and cognition in oral fluency acquisition: Learning Spanish in at home and study abroad contexts. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26, 173–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skehan, P. (2019). Language aptitude implicates language and cognitive skills. In Weng, Z., Skehan, P., Biedron, A., Li, S., & Sparks, R. (Eds.), Languagea: Advancing theory, testing, research and practice (pp. 56–77). New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, J. O. (2007). Introduction to digital filters: With audio applications (Vol. 2). [Published online], W3k Publishing.Google Scholar
Sun, H., Saito, K., & Tierney, A. (in press). A longitudinal investigation of explicit and implicit auditory processing in L2 segmental and suprasegmental acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition. Google Scholar
Suzuki, Y., & DeKeyser, R. (2017). The interface of explicit and implicit knowledge in a second language: Insights from individual differences in cognitive aptitudes. Language Learning, 67, 747–790.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tavakoli, P., & Skehan, P. (2005). Strategic planning, task structure and performance testing. In Ellis, R. (Ed.), Planning and task performance in a second language (pp. 239–277). Amsterdam: Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomson, R. I., & Derwing, T. M. (2015). The effectiveness of L2 pronunciation instruction: A narrative review. Applied Linguistics, 36, 326–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tierney, A. T., Krizman, J., Kraus, N., & Tallal, P. (2015). Music training alters the course of adolescent auditory development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112, 10062–10067.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Trofimovich, P., & Baker, W. (2006). Learning second language suprasegmentals: Effect of L2 experience on prosody and fluency characteristics of L2 speech. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 28, 1–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VanPatten, B., & Smith, M. (2015). Aptitude as grammatical sensitivity and the initial stages of learning Japanese as a L2: Parametric variation and case marking. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 37, 135–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Werker, J. F., & Tees, R. C. (1999). Influences on infant speech processing: Toward a new synthesis. Annual Review of Psychology, 50, 509–535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White-Schwoch, T., Carr, K. W., Thompson, E. C., Anderson, S., Nicol, T., Bradlow, A. R., … Kraus, N. (2015). Auditory processing in noise: A preschool biomarker for literacy. PLOS BIOLOGY, 13, e1002196.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Won, J. H., Tremblay, K., Clinard, C. G., Wright, R. A., Sagi, E., & Svirsky, M. (2016). The neural encoding of formant frequencies contributing to vowel identification in normal-hearing listeners. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 139, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wong, P. C., & Perrachione, T. K. (2007). Learning pitch patterns in lexical identification by native English-speaking adults. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28, 565–585.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yalçın, Ş., & Spada, N. (2016). Language aptitude and grammatical difficulty. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 38, 239–263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yilmaz, Y. (2013). Relative effects of explicit and implicit feedback: The role of working memory capacity and language analytic ability. Applied Linguistics, 34, 344–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zuniga, M., & Simard, D. (2019). Factors influencing L2 self-repair behavior: The role of L2 proficiency, attentional control and L1 self-repair behavior. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 48, 43–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed