Perceptual Training on Lexical Stress Contrasts A Study with Taiwanese Learners of English as a Foreign Language

Learning to perceive non-native sound contrasts can be a formidable task, particularly when learners can’t rely on cues from their native-language experience. A case in point is Mandarin-speaking EFL learners’ perception of lexical stress. They can accurately identify the stress patterns of target words in sentences that have a falling intonation. However, they experience considerable difficulties when the target words are in questions, where the intonation is rising. Where most training studies use only stimuli produced in falling intonation, we implemented a perceptual training program to examine whether Mandarin-speaking EFL learners could learn to perceive English lexical stress in both falling intonation and rising intonation.

  

1. Introduction

1.1 Overview of this Book

1.2 Non-native Speech Perception: Theories and Models

1.3 Training for Improving Non-native Speech Perception

2. Perceptual Training: A Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Perceptual Training: The Methodology and Design

2.3 Applications of Perceptual Training

2.2.1 Training Listeners to Perceive Non-native Segmental Contrasts

2.2.2 Training Listeners to Perceive Non-native Suprasegmental Contrasts

2.4 Factors Influencing Training Effects

2.5 Lexical Stress Perception and “Stress Deafness”

2.5.1 Perception of English Lexical Stress

Intonation

2.6 Perceptual Training of the Current Study: The Goal and Design

3. Training to Perceive English Lexical Stress in Rising Intonation: The Immediate

Effects

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Materials

3.3 Acoustic Analysis

3.3.1 Falling Intonation

3.3.2 Rising Intonation

3.4 Training and Testing Procedures

3.4.1 Pre-test

3.4.2 Perceptual Training

3.4.3 Post-test

3.5 Participants

3.6 Response Accuracy Analysis

3.7 Results

3.7.1 Trainee Group

3.7.2 Control Group

3.8 Summary and Discussion

3.8.1 Enhanced Performance under the Rising Intonation Context

3.8.2 Reduced Performance under the Falling Intonation Context

3.9 Conclusion

4. Training to Perceive English Lexical Stress in Rising Intonation: Generalizability

and Retainability

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Materials

4.3 Acoustic Analysis

4.3.1 Falling Intonation

4.4 Testing Procedures

4.4.1 Generalizability Test

4.4.2 Retainability Test

4.5 Participants

4.6 Response Accuracy Analysis

4.7 Results

4.8 Summary and Discussion

4.8.1 Generalizability of Training Effects

4.8.2 Retainability of Training Effects

4.9 Conclusion

5. General Discussion

References

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D