Implicit Training of Nonnative Speech Stimuli
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| Title: | Implicit Training of Nonnative Speech Stimuli |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Vlahou, Eleni L., Protopapas, Athanassios, Seitz, Aaron R. |
| Source: | Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. May 2012 141(2):363-381. |
| Availability: | American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org/publications |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Physical Description: | |
| Page Count: | 19 |
| Publication Date: | 2012 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Adult Education Higher Education |
| Descriptors: | Second Languages, Indo European Languages, Greek, Phonetics, Auditory Stimuli, Feedback (Response), Adults, Auditory Discrimination, Auditory Training, English |
| DOI: | 10.1037/a0025014 |
| ISSN: | 0096-3445 |
| Abstract: | Learning nonnative speech contrasts in adulthood has proven difficult. Standard training methods have achieved moderate effects using explicit instructions and performance feedback. In this study, the authors question preexisting assumptions by demonstrating a superiority of implicit training procedures. They trained 3 groups of Greek adults on a difficult Hindi contrast (a) explicitly, with feedback (Experiment 1), or (b) implicitly, unaware of the phoneme distinctions, with (Experiment 2) or without (Experiment 3) feedback. Stimuli were natural recordings of consonant-vowel syllables with retroflex and dental unvoiced stops by a native Hindi speaker. On each trial, participants heard pairs of tokens from both categories and had to identify the retroflex sounds (explicit condition) or the sounds differing in intensity (implicit condition). Unbeknownst to participants, in the implicit conditions, target sounds were always retroflex, and distractor sounds were always dental. Post-training identification and discrimination tests showed improved performance of all groups, compared with a baseline of untrained Greek listeners. Learning was most robust for implicit training without feedback. It remains to be investigated whether implicitly trained skills can generalize to linguistically relevant phonetic categories when appropriate variability is introduced. These findings challenge traditional accounts on the role of feedback in phonetic training and highlight the importance of implicit, reward-based mechanisms. (Contains 4 tables and 3 figures.) |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Number of References: | 90 |
| Entry Date: | 2013 |
| Accession Number: | EJ992329 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Learning nonnative speech contrasts in adulthood has proven difficult. Standard training methods have achieved moderate effects using explicit instructions and performance feedback. In this study, the authors question preexisting assumptions by demonstrating a superiority of implicit training procedures. They trained 3 groups of Greek adults on a difficult Hindi contrast (a) explicitly, with feedback (Experiment 1), or (b) implicitly, unaware of the phoneme distinctions, with (Experiment 2) or without (Experiment 3) feedback. Stimuli were natural recordings of consonant-vowel syllables with retroflex and dental unvoiced stops by a native Hindi speaker. On each trial, participants heard pairs of tokens from both categories and had to identify the retroflex sounds (explicit condition) or the sounds differing in intensity (implicit condition). Unbeknownst to participants, in the implicit conditions, target sounds were always retroflex, and distractor sounds were always dental. Post-training identification and discrimination tests showed improved performance of all groups, compared with a baseline of untrained Greek listeners. Learning was most robust for implicit training without feedback. It remains to be investigated whether implicitly trained skills can generalize to linguistically relevant phonetic categories when appropriate variability is introduced. These findings challenge traditional accounts on the role of feedback in phonetic training and highlight the importance of implicit, reward-based mechanisms. (Contains 4 tables and 3 figures.) |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0096-3445 |
| DOI: | 10.1037/a0025014 |
