Bidirectional effects of training order on perception and production accuracy of English L2 vowels
Park, Hyunsu (University of Seoul, MA graduate)
Lee, Joo-Kyeong (University of Seoul, Professor)
Abstract
The present study investigates integrated L2 vowel training with different orders
between production and perception and their effects on production and perception
accuracy. In the experiment, two training groups and one control group participated.
One of the training groups, composed of 10 Korean learners of English, received
production training preceding perception training (Pro-Per) for the English L2
vowels /ɑ/, /ʌ/, and /ɔ/, and the other group received perception training preceding
production training (Per-Pro). They participated in 9 sessions of training for 10
weeks, and both production and perception training were conducted within each
session. They were evaluated for perception and production accuracy in three tests:
pretest, posttest and generalization test. Results show that the combined training was
found to be satisfactorily effective to improve perception ability irrespective of
training order. On the other hand, Pro-Per training order was more effective to
improve production accuracy than Per-Pro training. This might be attributed to the
motor cortex activation occurring during perception learning, which serves as a
function of confirming the earlier production learning. Production learning, which is
usually delayed and requires constant exposure in comparison to perception learning,
did not seem to be effectively substantiated by back-up learning through perception
training.
Keywords
vowel training, training order, perception accuracy, production accuracy