The effect of speech rhythm and speaking rate on assessment of pronunciation in a second language

Published online: 24 April 2019The study explores the effect of deviations from native speech rhythm and rate norms on the assessement of pronunciation mastery of a second language (L2) when the native language of the learner is either rhythmically similar to or different from the target language. Using the concatenative speech synthesis technique, different versions of the same sentence were created in order to produce segmentally and intonationally identical utterances that differed only in rhythmic patterns and/or speaking rate. Speech rhythm and tempo patterns modeled those from the speech of French or German native learners of English at different proficiency levels. Native British English speakers rated the original sentences and the synthesized utterances for accentedness. The analysis shows that (a) differences in speech rhythm and speaking tempo influence the perception of accentedness; (b) idiosyncratic differences in speech rhythm and speech rate are sufficient to differentiate between the proficiency levels of L2 learners; (c) the relative salience of rhythm and rate on perceived accentedness in L2 speech is modulated by the native language of the learners; and (d) intonation facilitates the perception of finer differences in speech rhythm between otherwise identical utterances. These results emphasize the importance of prosodic timing patterns for the perception of speech delivered by L2 learners.L.P. was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) via Juan de la Cierva fellowship. M.O. was supported by the IKERBASQUE–Basque Foundation for Science. The research institution was supported through the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centres/Units of Excellence in R&D (SEV-2015-490)

The role of metacognition in recognition of the content of statistical learning

Published online: 31 August 2020Despite theoretical debate on the extent to which statistical learning is incidental or modulated by explicit instructions and conscious awareness of the content of statistical learning, no study has ever investigated the metacognition of statistical learning. We used an artificial language-learning paradigm and a segmentation task that required splitting a continuous stream of syllables into discrete recurrent constituents. During this task, statistical learning potentially produces knowledge of discrete constituents as well as about statistical regularities that are embodied in familiarization input. We measured metacognitive sensitivity and efficiency (using hierarchical Bayesian modelling to estimate metacognitive sensitivity and efficiency) to probe the role of conscious awareness in recognition of constituents extracted from the familiarization input and recognition of novel constituents embodying the same statistical regularities as these extracted constituents. Novel constituents are conceptualized to represent recognition of statistical structure rather than recognition of items retrieved from memory as whole constituents. We found that participants are equally sensitive to both types of learning products, yet subject them to varying degrees of conscious processing during the postfamiliarization recognition test. The data point to the contribution of conscious awareness to at least some types of statistical learning contentThis study was supported by the European Commission via H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (Grant Number DLV-792331), and Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Grant Number RTI2018-098317-B-I00). The research institute is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centres/ Units of Excellence in Research and Development (SEV-2015-490)

Contribution of prosodic timing patterns into perceived foreign accent

Polyanskaya L. Contribution of prosodic timing patterns into perceived foreign accent. Bielefeld: Universitätsbibliothek Bielefeld; 2015.Wenn Menschen eine Fremdsprache lernen, verbessert sich mit den allgemeinen Fortschritten in deren Beherrschung auch die Kontrolle der Timingmechanismen beim Sprechen in der Fremdsprache. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es herauszufinden, ob diese Veränderungen perzeptiv relevant sind, und ob die verbesserte Kontrolle der Timingmechanismen bei fortgeschrittenen Sprachlernern deren wahrgenommenen Akzent reduziert. Sprachspezifische Unterschiede in prosodischen Timingmustern sind gut dokumentiert. So weisen etwa die Dauern von vokalischen und konsonantischen Intervallen in den Sprachen, die traditionell als betonungszählend klassifiziert werden, eine höhere Variabilität auf als in Sprachen, die traditionell als silbenzählend klassifiziert werden. Silbenzählende Sprachen weisen außerdem eine höhere Sprechrate auf als betonungszählende Sprachen. Darüber hinaus zeigen Untersuchungen zu verschiedenen Sprachen, dass Nichtmuttersprachler eine geringere Sprechrate und niedrigere Variabilität im Timing gesprochener Äußerungen aufweisen als Muttersprachler. Diese Unterschiede beeinflussen die Verständlichkeit von gesprochenen Äußerungen von Nichtmuttersprachlern sowie deren wahrgenommenen fremdsprachlichen Akzent (FA). Allerdings sind die Geschwindigkeit – gemessen in sprachlichen Intervallen pro Zeiteinheit – und die Variabilität der Dauern dieser Intervalle in gesprochenen Äußerungen miteinander korreliert: Je höher die Sprechgeschwindigkeit ist, desto geringer ist die Variabilität der Intervalldauern. Dies wirkt sich auch in der Wahrnehmung aus. Daraus ergibt sich die Frage, in welchem Maß beide Faktoren zur Wahrnehmung eines FA bei Nichtmuttersprachlern beitragen. Um diese Frage zu beantworten, müssen beide Faktoren isoliert betrachtet werden. Tempo und Timingvariabilität beim Sprechen einer Fremdsprache erhöhen sich im Verlauf von deren Erwerb, unabhängig davon, ob sich Mutter- und Fremdsprache (im Folgenden: L1 und L2) hinsichtlich ihrer Timingcharakteristika unterscheiden. Der Grad dieser Veränderung sollte folglich auch die Stärke des wahrgenommenen FA reflektieren. Wenn die Timingunterschiede perzeptiv relevant sind, sollten Äußerungen, deren Timingmuster der eines fortgeschrittenen L2-Lerners entsprechen, als schwächer akzentuiert wahrgenommen werden als solche, deren Timingmuster denen eines Anfängers entsprechen, auch wenn spektrale und intonatorische Unterschiede eliminiert werden. Dabei wird die Frage zu klären sein, in welchem Maß die beiden Faktoren Tempo und Timingvariabilität den wahrgenommenen FA beeinflussen. Grundannahme dieser Arbeit ist, dass der Einfluss der Variabilität geringer ist, wenn L1 und L2 ähnliche Timingcharakteristika haben. In dieser Arbeit werden die Timingmuster von deutschen und französischen Lernern des Englischen hinsichtlich ihres Einflusses auf den wahrgenommenen FA untersucht, wobei zusätzlich jeweils Anfänger und fortgeschrittene Lerner getestet werden. Die Timingcharakteristika des Deutschen ähneln denen des Englischen, während sich das Französische in dieser Hinsicht deutlich vom Englischen unterscheidet. Daraus ergeben sich zwei Hypothesen: (1) Im Englischen fortgeschrittener deutscher Lerner (gegenüber Anfängern) äußert sich die Reduktion des wahrgenommenen FA stärker in einer Erhöhung der Sprechrate; (2) Bei französischen Englischlernern spielt die Timingvariabilität eine größere Rolle als die Veränderung der Sprechrate im Verlauf des Spracherwerbs. Diese Hypothesen wurden anhand von vier Forschungsfragen überprüft: 1. Nehmen Muttersprachler der Zielsprache (Englisch) Unterschiede im Timing gesprochener Äußerungen zwischen Anfängern und fortgeschrittenen Englischlernern wahr? 2. Korreliert die Reduktion des wahrgenommenen FA mit den Veränderungen der Timingmuster im Verlauf des L2-Erwerbs? 3. Welche Anteile haben die einzelnen Faktoren Sprechtempo und Timingvariabilität am wahrgenommenen FA? 4. Zeigen sich hinsichtlich der separaten Anteile von Sprechtempo und Timingvariabilität am wahrgenommenen FA Unterschiede zwischen Lernern mit typologisch unterschiedlichen Muttersprachen? In dieser Arbeit wird über die Ergebnisse von drei Wahrnehmungsexperimenten berichtet, die zur Beantwortung der Forschungsfragen durchgeführt wurden. Die Arbeit ist wie folgt strukturiert: Im ersten Kapitel werden der theoretische Hintergrund vorgestellt und die Arbeitshypothesen erläutert. Das Kapitel beginnt mit einer Definition des Begriffs „FA“ und einer Diskussion der wichtigsten Faktoren, die zur Wahrnehmung des FA beitragen. Dabei wird auch ein kurzer Überblick über Modelle des Zweitspracherwerbs gegeben. Weiterhin werden segmentale und prosodische Unterschiede zwischen L1 und L2 und deren Einfluss auf den wahrgenommenen FA diskutiert, und es wird erörtert, wie diese Unterschiede in verschiedenen Modellen des Zweitspracherwerbs erklärt werden. Zudem wird es auch auf die Frage eingegangen, ob segmentale oder prosodische Faktoren einen größeren Einfluss auf den wahrgenommenen FA haben. Schließlich folgt eine Diskussion des Prosodiebegriffs, unter Einbeziehung der Subsysteme Betonung, Intonation und Timing. Im Besonderen wird auf Timingmuster eingegangen, wobei der Fokus darauf liegt, wie Timing in gesprochener Sprache gemessen werden kann, wie Sprechrate und Timingvariabilität zusammenhängen, und wie Timingunterschiede zwischen Muttersprachlern und Sprachlernern die Wahrnehmung von FA beeinflussen. Anschließend an diese Diskussion wird die oben eingeführten Arbeitshypothesen formuliert und motiviert. In den Kapiteln 3, 4 und 5 werden die einzelnen Wahrnehmungsexperimente beschrieben, im letzten Kapitel zusammengefasst und diskutiert. Die Ergebnisse der Experimente stützen die oben eingeführte Hypothese und können wie folgt zusammengefasst werden: 1. Muttersprachler nehmen die Unterschiede zwischen den Timingmustern in den L2-Produktionen fortgeschrittener und weniger fortgeschrittener Sprachlerner wahr. Sie tendieren jedoch dazu, Unterschiede in der Variabilität in Klassifikationsaufgaben und in nichtsprachlichen Stimuli zu ignorieren. Je natürlicher und sprachähnlicher die Stimuli sind, desto stärker werden Unterschiede in der Timingvariabilität wahrgenommen. 2. Die Stärke des wahrgenommenen FA korreliert, wie vorhergesagt, mit Veränderungen in Sprechtempo und Timingvariabilität, die mit steigender Kompetenz in der L2 einhergehen. Fortgeschrittenere Sprecher sprechen schneller und mit höherer Variabilität von sowohl Vokal- als auch Silbendauern. Äußerungen mit höherem Sprechtempo und höherer Timingvariabilität werden von Muttersprachlern des Englischen als weniger stark akzentuiert wahrgenommen. 3. Der kombinierte Beitrag von Sprechtempo und Timingvariabilität zum wahrgenommenen FA ist größer als die Summe der Effekte beider Faktoren in Isolation. Experimente, in denen jeweils einer der beiden Faktoren kontrolliert wird, zeigen, dass beide zum wahrgenommenen FA beitragen. 4. Die relative Gewichtung beider Faktoren hängt davon ab, ob L1 und L2 hinsichtlich ihrer Timingcharakteristika ähnlich oder verschieden sind. Wenn sich L1 und L2, wie im Fall von Französich und Englisch, stark unterscheiden, ist der Beitrag der Variabilität größer; wenn sich L1 und L2 hinsichtlich ihrer Timingcharakteristika ähneln – wie im Fall von Deutsch und Englisch – spielt das Sprechtempo für die Wahrnehmung des FA die wichtigere Rolle

Neural bases of learning and recognition of statistical regularities

First published: 09 January 2020Statistical learning is a set of cognitive mechanisms allowing for extracting regularities from the environment and segmenting continuous sensory input into discrete units. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) (N = 25) in conjunction with an artificial language learning paradigm to provide new insight into the neural mechanisms of statistical learning, considering both the online process of extracting statistical regularities and the subsequent offline recognition of learned patterns. Notably, prior fMRI studies on statistical learning have not contrasted neural activation during the learning and recognition experimental phases. Here, we found that learning is supported by the superior temporal gyrus and the anterior cingulate gyrus, while subsequent recognition relied on the left inferior frontal gyrus. Besides, prior studies only assessed the brain response during the recognition of trained words relative to novel nonwords. Hence, a further key goal of this study was to understand how the brain supports recognition of discrete constituents from the continuous input versus recognition of mere statistical structure that is used to build new constituents that are statistically congruent with the ones from the input. Behaviorally, recognition performance indicated that statistically congruent novel tokens were less likely to be endorsed as parts of the familiar environment than discrete constituents. fMRI data showed that the left intraparietal sulcus and angular gyrus support the recognition of old discrete constituents relative to novel statistically congruent items, likely reflecting an additional contribution from memory representations for trained items.The research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centres/Units of Excellence in R&D (SEV-2015- 490), and project Grant RTI2018-098317-B-I00 awarded to M.O., by the Basque Government through project Grant PI-2017-25 awarded to D.S., and by the European Commission as Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship DLV-792331 to L.P

Metacognitive Processing in Language Learning Tasks Is Affected by Bilingualism

This article was published Online First July 8, 2019We assessed the effect of bilingualism on metacognitive processing in the artificial language learning task, in 2 experiments varying in the difficulty to segment the language. Following a study phase in which participants were exposed to the artificial language, segmentation performance was assessed by means of a dual forced-choice recognition test followed by confidence judgments. We used a signal detection approach to estimate type 1 performance (i.e., the participants’ ability to discriminate statistical words vs. foils constructed from the same syllables) and type 2 metacognitive performance (i.e., the ability to discriminate the correctness of the type 1 decisions by confidence ratings). The results showed that bilinguals and monolinguals do not differ in type 1 recognition performance, but across the 2 experiments, metacognitive performance was higher in bilinguals compared with monolinguals. The results show that bilingualism improves metacognitive evaluation of performance in linguistic domains. We suggest that the improvement in metacognitive performance stems from bilinguals’ enhanced errormonitoring abilities in language domain, which is also modulated by individual experience.The research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centres/ Units of Excellence in Research and Development (SEV-2015-490) and project grants RTI2018-098317-B-I00 (to Mikhail Ordin) and the Basque Government grant PI-2017-25 (to David Soto). Leona Polyanskaya was supported by the European Commission with the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellowship

Relative Salience of Speech Rhythm and Speech Rate on Perceived Foreign Accent in a Second Language

We investigated the independent contribution of speech rate and speech rhythm to perceived foreign accent. To address this issue we used a resynthesis technique that allows neutralizing segmental and tonal idiosyncrasies between identical sentences produced by French learners of English at different proficiency levels and maintaining the idiosyncrasies pertaining to prosodic timing patterns. We created stimuli that (1) preserved the idiosyncrasies in speech rhythm while controlling for the differences in speech rate between the utterances; (2) preserved the idiosyncrasies in speech rate while controlling for the differences in speech rhythm between the utterances; and (3) preserved the idiosyncrasies both in speech rate and speech rhythm. All the stimuli were created in intoned (with imposed intonational contour) and flat (with monotonized, constant F0) conditions. The original and the resynthesized sentences were rated by native speakers of English for degree of foreign accent. We found that both speech rate and speech rhythm influence the degree of perceived foreign accent, but the effect of speech rhythm is larger than that of speech rate. We also found that intonation enhances the perception of fine differences in rhythmic patterns but reduces the perceptual salience of fine differences in speech rate

Perception of speech rhythm in L2

Ordin M, Polyanskaya L. Perception of speech rhythm in second language: The case of rhythmically similar L1 and L2. Frontiers in Psychology. 2015;6: 316.We investigated the perception of developmental changes in timing patterns that happen in the course of second language (L2) acquisition, provided that the native and the target languages of the learner are rhythmically similar (German and English). It was found that speech rhythm in L2 English produced by German learners becomes increasingly stress-timed as acquisition progresses. This development is captured by the tempo-normalized rhythm measures of durational variability. Advanced learners also deliver speech at a faster rate. However, when native speakers have to classify the timing patterns characteristic of L2 English of German learners at different proficiency levels, they attend to speech rate cues and ignore the differences in speech rhythm

Electrophysiology of statistical learning: Exploring the online learning process and offline learning product

First published: 24 December 2019A continuous stream of syllables is segmented into discrete constituents based on the transitional probabilities (TPs) between adjacent syllables by means of statistical learning. However, we still do not know whether people attend to high TPs between frequently co-occurring syllables and cluster them together as parts of the discrete constituents or attend to low TPs aligned with the edges between the constituents and extract them as whole units. Earlier studies on TP-based segmentation also have not distinguished between the segmentation process (how people segment continuous speech) and the learning product (what is learnt by means of statistical learning mechanisms). In the current study, we explored the learning outcome separately from the learning process, focusing on three possible learning products: holistic constituents that are retrieved from memory during the recognition test, clusters of frequently co-occurring syllables, or a set of statistical regularities which can be used to reconstruct legitimate candidates for discrete constituents during the recognition test. Our data suggest that people employ boundary-finding mechanisms during online segmentation by attending to low inter-syllabic TPs during familiarization and also identify potential candidates for discrete constituents based on their statistical congruency with rules extracted during the learning process. Memory representations of recurrent constituents embedded in the continuous speech stream during familiarization facilitate subsequent recognition of these discrete constituents.Secretaría de Estado de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación, Grant/Award Number: RTI2018-098317-B-I00 ; H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Grant/Award Number: DLV-792331; Ekonomiaren Garapen eta Lehiakortasun Saila, Eusko Jaurlaritza, Grant/Award Number: PI-2017-25; Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centres/Units of Excellence in R&D, Grant/Award Number: SEV-2015-490; Basque Government, Grant/Award Number: PI-2017-25; European Commission through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellowshi

Cross-linguistic differences in the use of durational cues for the segmentation of a novel language

Published online: 13 March 2017It is widely accepted that duration can be exploited as phonological phrase final lengthening in the segmentation of a novel language, i.e., in extracting discrete constituents from continuous speech. The use of final lengthening for segmentation and its facilitatory effect has been claimed to be universal. However, lengthening in the world languages can also mark lexically stressed syllables. Stress-induced lengthening can potentially be in conflict with right edge phonological phrase boundary lengthening. Thus the processing of durational cues in segmentation can be dependent on the listener's linguistic background, e.g., on the specific correlates and unmarked location of lexical stress in the native language of the listener. We tested this prediction and found that segmentation by both German and Basque speakers is facilitated when lengthening is aligned with the word final syllable and is not affected by lengthening on either the penultimate or the antepenultimate syllables. Lengthening ofthe word final syllable, however, does not help Italian and Spanish speakers to segment continuous speech, and lengthening of the antepenultimate syllable impedes their performance. We have also found a facilitatory effect of penultimate lengthening on segmentation by Italians. These results confirm our hypothesis that processing of lengthening cues is not universal, and interpretation of lengthening as a phonological phrase final boundary marker in a novel language of exposure can be overridden by the phonology of lexical stress in the native language of the listener.The research leading to these results was supported by IKERBASQUE - Basque Foundation for Science, European Research Council (grant agreement 269502, PASCAL), the Language Learning Research Club (small research grants programme), and the Basque Government (grant number IT665-13)

Typological Differences Influence the Bilingual Advantage in Metacognitive Processing

This article was published Online First June 6, 2022.Previous studies showed a bilingual advantage in metacognitive processing (tracking one’s own cognitive performance) in linguistic tasks. However, bilinguals do not constitute a homogeneous population, and it was unclear which aspects of bilingualism affect metacognition. In this project, we tested the hypothesis that simultaneous acquisition and use of typologically different languages leads to development of diverse processing strategies and enhances metacognition. The hypothesis was tested in the visual and auditory modalities in language and nonlanguage domains, in an artificial language learning task. In the auditory modality, the hypothesis was confirmed for linguistic stimuli, with no between-domain transfer of metacognitive abilities was observed at the individual level. In the visual modality, no differences in metacognitive efficiency were observed. Moreover, we found that bilingualism per se and the use of typologically different languages modulated separate metacognitive processes engaged in monitoring cognitive performance in statistical learning task