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Perception of English semivowels by Japanese-speaking learners of English.

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Title: Perception of English semivowels by Japanese-speaking learners of English.
Authors: Zhou, Wei William1 (AUTHOR) zhou.2874@buckeyemail.osu.edu, Nakayama, Mineharu1 (AUTHOR) nakayama.1@osu.edu, Fujimori, Atsushi2 (AUTHOR) fujimori@u-shizuoka-ken.ac.jp
Source: IRAL: International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching. Nov2025, Vol. 63 Issue 4, p2927-2952. 26p.
Subject Terms: *Second language acquisition, *Immersion method (Language teaching), *Phonology, Phoneme (Linguistics), Recognition (Psychology), Differentiation (Cognition), Japanese students
Geographic Terms: Japan
Abstract: This study compared the perception of English semivowels /j/ and /w/ and their corresponding vowels /i/ and /u/ by two groups of Japanese-speaking learners of English: foreign language (FL) learners in Japan and second language learners who were initially FL learners (FL-L2). The phonological targets were /i/ and /u/ with and without preceding /j/ and /w/, respectively (/ji/-/i/ and /wu/-/u/). Discrimination and identification results showed that both groups performed comparably for /i/ with and without /j/, indicating their reliance on native phonological sensitivity to /i/ and /j/, which closely resemble Japanese /i/ and /j/. However, important differences emerged for /u/ with and without /w/, possibly due to articulatory differences in lip rounding for /u/ and /w/ between the two languages. Notably, while FL-L2 learners were equally competent in both the /u/-/wu/ and the /i/-/ji/ discriminations, FL learners were much less capable of the /u/-/wu/ discrimination than of the /i/-/ji/ discrimination. Moreover, FL-L2 learners were better at identifying /u/ than their FL peers, suggesting that L2 exposure may have facilitated their acquisition of the articulatory details associated with /u/. Overall, the study showed that engaging in L2 immersion following FL learning is beneficial for non-native phonological development among adult learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of IRAL: International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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PubType: Academic Journal
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  Data: Perception of English semivowels by Japanese-speaking learners of English.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhou%2C+Wei+William%22">Zhou, Wei William</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> zhou.2874@buckeyemail.osu.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nakayama%2C+Mineharu%22">Nakayama, Mineharu</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> nakayama.1@osu.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fujimori%2C+Atsushi%22">Fujimori, Atsushi</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> fujimori@u-shizuoka-ken.ac.jp</i>
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Second+language+acquisition%22">Second language acquisition</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Immersion+method+%28Language+teaching%29%22">Immersion method (Language teaching)</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phonology%22">Phonology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phoneme+%28Linguistics%29%22">Phoneme (Linguistics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Recognition+%28Psychology%29%22">Recognition (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Differentiation+%28Cognition%29%22">Differentiation (Cognition)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Japanese+students%22">Japanese students</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Japan%22">Japan</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This study compared the perception of English semivowels /j/ and /w/ and their corresponding vowels /i/ and /u/ by two groups of Japanese-speaking learners of English: foreign language (FL) learners in Japan and second language learners who were initially FL learners (FL-L2). The phonological targets were /i/ and /u/ with and without preceding /j/ and /w/, respectively (/ji/-/i/ and /wu/-/u/). Discrimination and identification results showed that both groups performed comparably for /i/ with and without /j/, indicating their reliance on native phonological sensitivity to /i/ and /j/, which closely resemble Japanese /i/ and /j/. However, important differences emerged for /u/ with and without /w/, possibly due to articulatory differences in lip rounding for /u/ and /w/ between the two languages. Notably, while FL-L2 learners were equally competent in both the /u/-/wu/ and the /i/-/ji/ discriminations, FL learners were much less capable of the /u/-/wu/ discrimination than of the /i/-/ji/ discrimination. Moreover, FL-L2 learners were better at identifying /u/ than their FL peers, suggesting that L2 exposure may have facilitated their acquisition of the articulatory details associated with /u/. Overall, the study showed that engaging in L2 immersion following FL learning is beneficial for non-native phonological development among adult learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of IRAL: International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1515/iral-2023-0285
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 26
        StartPage: 2927
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Second language acquisition
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Immersion method (Language teaching)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Phonology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Phoneme (Linguistics)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Recognition (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Differentiation (Cognition)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Japanese students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Japan
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Perception of English semivowels by Japanese-speaking learners of English.
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            NameFull: Zhou, Wei William
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            NameFull: Nakayama, Mineharu
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            NameFull: Fujimori, Atsushi
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            – D: 01
              M: 11
              Text: Nov2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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