THE USE OF SEGMENTATION CUES IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS OF ENGLISH

This dissertation project examined the influence of language typology on the use of segmentation cues by second language (L2) learners of English. Previous research has shown that native English speakers rely more on sentence context and lexical knowledge than segmental (i.e. phonotactics or acoustic-phonetics) or prosodic cues (e.g., word stresss) in native language (L1) segmentation. However, L2 learners may rely more on segmental and prosodic cues to identify word boundaries in L2 speech since it may require high lexical and syntactic proficiency in order to use lexical cues efficiently. The goal of this dissertation was to provide empirical evidence for the Revised Framework for L2 Segmentation (RFL2) which describes the relative importance of different levels of segmentation cues. Four experiments were carried out to test the hypotheses made by RFL2. Participants consisted of four language groups including native English speakers and L2 learners of English with Mandarin, Korean, or Spanish L1s. Experiment 1 compared the use of stress cues and lexical knowledge while Experiment 2 compared the use of phonotactic cues and lexical knowledge. Experiment 3 compared the use of phonotactic cues and semantic cues while Experiment 4 compared the use of stress cues and sentence context. Results showed that L2 learners rely more on segmental cues than lexical knowledge or semantic cues. L2 learners showed cue interaction in both lexical and sublexical levels whereas native speakers appeared to use the cues independently. In general, L2 learners appeared to have acquired sensitivity to the segmentation cues used in L2, although they still showed difficulty with specific aspects in each cue based on L1 characteristics. The results provided partial support for RFL2 in which L2 learners' use of sublexical cues was influenced by L1 typology. The current dissertation has important pedagogical implication as findings may help identify cues that can facilitate L2 speech segmentation and comprehension

Implicit foreign language learning after minimal exposure across the lifespan

Langues étrangères

Effects of first and second language on segmentation of non-native speech

Do Slovak-German bilinguals apply native Slovak phonological and lexical knowledge when segmenting German speech? When Slovaks listen to their native language, segmentation is impaired when fixed-stress cues are absent (Hanulíková, McQueen & Mitterer, 2010), and, following the Possible-Word Constraint (PWC; Norris, McQueen, Cutler & Butterfield, 1997), lexical candidates are disfavored if segmentation leads to vowelless residues, unless those residues are existing Slovak words. In the present study, fixed-stress cues on German target words were again absent. Nevertheless, in support of the PWC, both German and Slovak listeners recognized German words (e.g., Rose "rose") faster in syllable contexts (suckrose) than in single-consonant contexts (krose, trose). But only the Slovak listeners recognized, for example, Rose faster in krose than in trose (k is a Slovak word, t is not). It appears that non-native listeners can suppress native stress segmentation procedures, but that they suffer from prevailing interference from native lexical knowledge.peer-reviewe

Relationships Between Vocabulary Size, Working Memory, and Phonological Awareness in Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners

Purpose: The goals of this study were to evaluate the impact of short-term phonological awareness (PA) instruction presented in children\u27s first language (L1; Spanish) on gains in their L1 and second language (L2; English) and to determine whether relationships exist between vocabulary size, verbal working memory, and PA in Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs). Method: Participants included 25 kindergartners who received PA instruction and 10 controls. A 2-way within-subjects repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to evaluate gains. Relationships between PA gains, Spanish and English vocabulary, and memory, as measured using nonword repetition and experimental working memory tasks, were analyzed using correlation and regression analyses. Results: Results indicated significant and equivalent gains in both languages of children in the experimental group and no gains in the control group. Spanish vocabulary size was significantly related to PA gains in both languages and was more strongly related to English gains than was English vocabulary size. The memory tasks predicted gains in each language in distinct ways. Conclusion: Results support the conclusion that PA instruction and strong vocabulary skills in an individual\u27s L1 benefit PA development in both the L1 and L2. Results also indicate that dynamic relationships exist between vocabulary size, storage and processing components of working memory, and PA development in both languages of ELLs

The effects of first exposure to an unknown language at different ages

Wir konfrontierten 152 Schweizerdeutsch sprechende 10-90-Jährige mit einem 7-minütigen kontrollierten, aber natürlich gesprochenen Wetterbericht auf Mandarin-Chinesisch, um zu testen, ob sie phonotaktisches Wissen nach minimaler Exposition ableiten können. Mit einer lexikalischen Entscheidungsaufgabe wurde untersucht, ob die ProbandInnen Wörter von Nicht-Wörtern unterscheiden können und aus der Exposition abgeleitetes phonotaktisches Wissen auf neue Einheiten der Sprache anwenden können. ProbandInnen lehnten Konsonanten-Cluster leichter ab als unmögliche CVC-Silben. Dabei bemerkenswert ist, dass die CVC-Struktur sowohl in der Erstsprache der Teilnehmenden, als auch im Chinesischen möglich ist, und somit die Erkenntnis, dass die spezifischen Silben (CV_nasal/plosive) im Chinesischen nicht möglich sind, aus dem kurzen Fremdsprach-Input abgeleitet werden musste. Es gab keinen Alterseffekt für die korrekte Ablehnung der CVC-Silben, was darauf hinweist, dass sich die getestete Fähigkeit nicht mit dem Alter verändert. Diese Resultate bestätigen Ergebnisse aus der Forschung zur Lernbarkeit künstlicher Sprachen und belegen eine starke menschliche Fähigkeit zum Erwerb abstrakter Information nach minimalem Kontakt, nicht nur mit künstlicher, sondern auch mit natürlicher gesprochener Sprache. Ausserdem scheint diese Fähigkeit über die Lebensspanne konstant zu bleiben, was herkömmliche Annahmen bezüglich Alterseffekten im Zweitspracherwerb in Frage stellt

Phonotactic probability and phonotactic constraints :processing and lexical segmentation by Arabic learners of English as a foreign language

PhD ThesisA fundamental skill in listening comprehension is the ability to recognize words. The ability to accurately locate word boundaries(i . e. to lexically segment) is an important contributor to this skill. Research has shown that English native speakers use various cues in the signal in lexical segmentation. One such cue is phonotactic constraints; more specifically, the presence of illegal English consonant sequences such as AV and MY signals word boundaries. It has also been shown that phonotactic probability (i. e. the frequency of segments and sequences of segments in words) affects native speakers' processing of English. However, the role that phonotactic probability and phonotactic constraints play in the EFL classroom has hardly been studied, while much attention has been devoted to teaching listening comprehension in EFL. This thesis reports on an intervention study which investigated the effect of teaching English phonotactics upon Arabic speakers' lexical segmentation of running speech in English. The study involved a native English group (N= 12), a non-native speaking control group (N= 20); and a non-native speaking experimental group (N=20). Each of the groups took three tests, namely Non-word Rating, Lexical Decision and Word Spotting. These tests probed how sensitive the subjects were to English phonotactic probability and to the presence of illegal sequences of phonemes in English and investigated whether they used these sequences in the lexical segmentation of English. The non-native groups were post-tested with the -same tasks after only the experimental group had been given a treatment which consisted of explicit teaching of relevant English phonotactic constraints and related activities for 8 weeks. The gains made by the experimental group are discussed, with implications for teaching both pronunciation and listening comprehension in an EFL setting.Qassim University, Saudi Arabia

L3 acquisition of phonological variation: Schwa and (non) sensitivity to phonotactic constraints in Norwegian learners of French

Presentation at the FiNo (Fonologi i Norden) 3 conference, Lund, 09.02. - 10.02.18, arranged by Lund University. https://fonologiinorden.wordpress.com/. According to Bayley and Regan (2004), the mastery of phonological variation forms an integrated part of the competence of the post-L1 speaker who aims a near-native production. In French, two phonological variables are acquired rather late, i.e. liaison and schwa. Both involve deletion of word boundaries which complicates lexical recognition, as well as sensitivity to register and modality. The two phenomena do however vary in that liaison - with inter-vocalic consonant realization - doesn't entail additional difficulty for production, while schwa, when absent, creates consonant sequences often not perceived and difficult to produce. While post-L1 acquisition of liaison is rather extensively studied, schwa is not, which according to Hannahs (2007) might reflect the complexity of the influencing factors. We know however, from L1 studies, that phonotactic constraints, on the syllabic as well as the segmental level, do influence schwa alternation (for an overview, see Andreassen, 2013), and in this paper, we present a first, detailed study of Norwegian learners of French, which aims to understand the importance of phonotactics during post-L1 acquisition. The study is based on conversational data from two corpora of Norwegian learners of French, 16 informants from Tromsø, proficiency level A2, and 8 informants from Oslo, proficiency level B1/B2. Schwa behavior is extracted using the newly developed IPFC schwa coding system (Isely et al., 2017), of which a pilot has already been tested on parts of the Norwegian learner data by Andreassen and Lyche (2016). While the latter, initial analysis indicates a gradual sensibility towards phonotactic context, other factors such as frequency and access to written representations are observed as playing an important role. In this paper, we aim to identify an acquisitional path by going in detail into the phonotactic context of schwa and how it behaves, as well as the realization of the secondary cluster in the case of schwa absence. To detect L1 influence, we take into account L1 phonotactic as well as prosodic constraints. To determine sensibility towards phonological variation in general, we take into account previous analyses of liaison in the same corpora (Andreassen & Lyche, 2015)

How do ab-initio second language learners start to detect words? : an exploratory study on Russian

PhD ThesisThe speech stream is a continuum and discrete units, e.g. words, cannot be identified from the signal alone. How language learners segment (i.e. recognise and store words) in the speech stream has typically been explored with respect to children (e.g., Jusczyk et al. 1994; 1999a,b). Researchers have only recently begun to examine how adult second language learners segment an unfamiliar natural language after ‘first exposure’ without instruction (Gullberg et al. 2010, 2012; Carroll 2012, 2013, 2014; Shoemaker & Rast 2013). I report on a study of how 28 English-speaking adults begin to segment words after hearing them in fluent Russian speech during four sessions. The study explored the following questions: (1) Does participant' ability to identify words increase over sessions? (2) Do participants rely on segmentation cues such as phonotactics, word-initial stress, and word length? (3) If so, how do these cues interact? (4) Can learners generalise to the novel examples? (5) Are there differences between linguistically trained and naïve participants? Each day for four successive days, 28 participants were exposed to audio input in Russian for seven minutes (= 28 minutes exposure). Input comprised of 48 sentences of natural speech with target words embedded in a sentence medial position. After each exposure phase, participants were tested on their detection abilities of words they heard in the input as opposed to words they did not hear using three tasks: a word recognition task, a forced-choice task, and a cognate identification task. The word identification and the forced-choice tasks investigated if participants could detect words they heard in the input as opposed to words they had not heard. The purpose of the cognate identification task was to eliminate those participants who might not have been paying sufficient attention to the input (which was uncontrolled in the previous studies on first exposure). A word recognition and a forced-choice task conducted each day showed that segmentation improved significantly over time. Segmentation patterns reflected the influence of English phonotactics, sensitivity to weak-strong stress, and the interaction of the two, which, particularly for the word recognition task, stems from participants subconscious analysis of Russian. Also, participants could generalise phonotactic patterns of Russian to novel words. The study did not find a difference between linguistically trained and naive participants. The study concludes that beyond native language bias, adults deploy the various segmentation mechanisms similar to those children use

Modelling first and second language acquisition and processing with temporal self-organizing maps

Starting from the evidence provided by researchers at ComPhys Lab of the Institute for Computational Linguistics, Italian National Research Council (Pisa, ILC-CNR), the main goal of my thesis was to extend the application of computational modelling of language acquisition in monolingual and bilingual contexts to Spanish, which has not yet been treated within the given research framework. For the first step, I briefly outlined some of the most prominent psycholinguistic approaches to the study of language acquisition. Secondly, three major models of morphological processing has been presented. For instance, three models of lexical representation and processing has been explained, following the classification proposed by Bybee (1995), i.e. dual-processing model, connectionist model, and network model. The difference between these three models lies in whether they make a distinction between regular and irregular verbs and their processing models, and whether or not the type/token frequency of verbal morphological patterns plays any role at all. The experimental part of this study was focussed on the first and second language acquisition of Spanish verbs, contrasted with parallel datasets in the Italian and German languages. In order to compile the dataset, I extracted the 50 most frequent verb paradigms from European Spanish Web Corpus (2011), available in Sketch Engine, for a total of 750 inflected forms (corresponding to the forms of the infinitive, present, and past participle, singular and plural simple present, singular and plural simple past). The frequency distribution was provided for each inflected form. For an analysis and evaluation of the emergent organization of paradigmatic relations, I annotated each form with morpho-syntactic information (i.e. stem and affix length, paradigmatic cell, formal (ir)regularity, paradigm). Specific difficulties arose during the segmentation of Spanish verbs, due to the peculiarities of some irregular patterns. The computational modelling and processing of Spanish verbs forms has been simulated with Temporal Self-Organizing Maps (TSOMs), based on Kohonen¿s Self-Organizing Maps (2001), augmented with a temporal layer. Basically, this computational model reproduces dynamics of lexical learning and processing by imitating the emergence of neural self-organization, through the incremental adaptation of topologically and temporally aligned synaptic connections. I concluded that an adaptive self-organization during learning is conducive to the emergence of relations between word forms, which are stored in the mental lexicon in a concurrent and competitive dynamic. In particular, in a bilingual perspective, monitoring the acquisitional trajectories of more than one lexica (in both L1+L2 and L1/L1 contexts) showed how recycled memory resources and weaker connections affect L2 acquisition and processing, with a smaller specialization for context-specific input chunks, depending on the exposure conditions.El principal objetivo de la tesis es ampliar la aplicación del modelado computacional de la adquisición del lenguaje en contextos monolingües y bilingües del español, que todavía no ha sido tratado dentro del marco de investigación dado, a partir de las pruebas aportadas por los investigadores del ComPhys Lab del Instituto de Lingüística Computacional, Consejo Nacional Italiano de Investigación (Pisa, ILC-CNR). En primer lugar, resumimos brevemente algunos de los enfoques psicolingüísticos más destacados para el estudio de la adquisición del lenguaje. En segundo lugar, presentamos los tres modelos principales de procesamiento morfológico. Por ejemplo, se han explicado tres modelos de representación y procesamiento léxico, siguiendo la clasificación propuesta por Bybee (1995), es decir, el modelo de procesamiento dual, el modelo conexionista y el modelo de red. La diferencia entre estos tres modelos radica en si hacen una distinción entre verbos regulares e irregulares y sus modelos de procesamiento, y si la frecuencia tipo/caso de los patrones morfológicos verbales representan alguna función. La parte experimental del estudio se centró en la adquisición de la primera y segunda lengua en los verbos en español, en contraste con el conjunto de datos paralelos en italiano y alemán. Para compilar los datos, extrajimos los 50 paradigmas verbales más frecuentes del European Spanish Web Corpus (2011), disponible en Sketch Engine, de un total de 750 formas flexionadas (correspondientes a las formas del infinitivo, presente y participio pasado, singular y plural del presente simple, singular y plural de pasado simple). Se proporcionó la distribución de la frecuencia para cada forma flexionada. Para un análisis y evaluación de la organización emergente de las relaciones paradigmáticas, anotamos cada forma con información morfo-sintáctica (es decir, longitud de raíz y afijo, elemento paradigmático, (ir) regularidad formal, paradigma). Surgieron dificultades específicas durante la segmentación de los verbos en español, debido a las particularidades de algunos patrones irregulares. El modelo computacional y el proceso de las formas verbales españolas ha sido simulado con Temporal Self-Organizing Maps (TSOMs), basado en Kohonen¿s Self-Organizing Maps (2001), mejorado con una capa temporal. Básicamente, este modelo computacional reproduce las dinámicas de aprendizaje y procesamiento léxico imitando la aparición del auto organización neural, a través de la adaptación incremental de conexiones sinápticas alineadas topológica y temporalmente. Podemos concluir que una auto-organización adaptativa durante el aprendizaje conduce a la aparición de las relaciones entre las formas de las palabras, que se almacenan en el léxico mental en una dinámica concurrente y competitiva. En particular, en una perspectiva bilingüe, el monitoreo de las trayectorias de adquisición de más de una unidad léxica (en ambos contextos L1+L2 y L1/L1) mostró cómo los recursos de memoria reciclados y las conexiones más débiles afectan la adquisición y procesamiento de L2, con una especialización menor para los fragmentos de entradas específicos del contexto, dependiendo de las condiciones de exposición.Belik, P. (2017). Modelación computacional del aprendizaje y procesamiento de primera y segunda lengua con los mapas temporales auto-organizados. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/86383TFG

강세 단서가 한국인 영어 학습자의 영어 단어 인지에 미치는 영향

학위논문 (석사)-- 서울대학교 대학원 : 외국어교육과, 2015. 2. 안현기.This study investigates the effects of the stress pattern (trochaic vs. iambic) on English word recognition by Korean learners of English. Speech segmentation, more specifically word recognition, has been known to be affected by the language-specific cues. In the present study, stress is of main concern as a word recognition cue because English and Korean have different prosodic characteristics in terms of stress. While stress has a contrastive function and seems to constrain lexical access in English, Korean is known to have no stress system on the word level and little has been studied about its role in Korean word recognition. As a result, three research questions were proposed as follows: (a) can Korean learners of English use an initial-stressed syllable of a word as a cue in word recognition of an English connected speech?(b) are there any differences in the performance by Korean learners of English at different proficiency levels?(c) is there any interaction between the stress pattern and the other factors including the syllable count and the word class? In order to answer these questions, the word spotting task was conducted with a total of 42 university students, who were born and raised in Seoul or Gyeonggi-do province. They were divided into two groups, the advanced and the intermediate-low group. The participants were asked to detect a real English word from a stream of nonsense syllables. To examine the effects of the stress pattern and its interaction with the other factors including syllable count and word class, the materials used in the task were carefully selected, including disyllabic and trisyllabic nouns or verbs. The task was followed by a word knowledge test containing the list of the target words in order to confirm that they target words were highly familiar to the participants. The findings of the study suggest that the Korean learners did not seem to use the trochaic pattern to set a word boundary. They responded faster and more accurately to the target words with the iambic stress pattern. Furthermore, there was no difference between the groups, suggesting that the L2 prosodic cues like stress are hard to be acquired. The other factors of concern in the present study such as syllable count and word class did not show any interaction with the stress pattern. In conclusion, Korean learners of English do not seem to use the frequent distributional stress cue in English when recognizing a word from a sequence of nonsense syllables. These findings not only provide some understanding on the speech segmentation by Korean L2 listeners, but also shed light on the significance and necessity of the instruction on stress in teaching English listening.TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... i TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................ vi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 1 1.1. Purpose of the Study ................................................................................ 1 1.2. Research Questions .................................................................................. 4 1.3. Organization of the Thesis ....................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................... 6 2.1. Word Recognition in Speech Perception .................................................. 6 2.2. Segmental and Suprasegmental Factors in Word Recognition .............. 11 2.3. Stress as a Crucial Cue for English Word Recognition .......................... 15 2.4. Stress Cue in L2 Word Recognition ....................................................... 19 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY .................................................................... 25 3.1. Word Spotting Task ................................................................................ 25 3.2. Method ................................................................................................... 27 3.2.1. Participants ................................................................................... 27 3.2.2. Materials ....................................................................................... 29 3.2.3. Procedures .................................................................................... 34 iv 3.3. Data Collection and Analysis ................................................................. 36 CHAPTER 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ................................................ 38 4.1. Effects of Stress Pattern and Proficiency Level ..................................... 38 4.2. Effects of Stress Pattern and Other Factors ............................................ 48 4.2.1. Interaction between Syllable Count and Stress Pattern ................ 48 4.2.2. Interaction between Word Class and Stress Pattern ...................... 53 CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION .......................................................................... 56 5.1. Major Findings and Pedagogical Implications ....................................... 56 5.2. Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research ................................ 59 REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 61 APPENDICES .................................................................................................... 68 국 문 초 록........................................................................................................... 75Maste