Electromagnetic Articulography (EMA) was used to provide augmented visual feedback in the learning of non-native speech sounds. Eight adult native speakers of English were randomly assigned to one of the two training conditions: (1) conventional L2 speech production training or (2) conventional L2 speech production training with EMA-based kinematic feedback. The participants’ speech was percept...

We propose a model of L2 phonological learning in which the acquisition of novel phonological category inventories proceeds not by mapping L2 inputs onto existing category inventories available in L1 and other already known languages, but rather through general categorization processes in which L1 and other language knowledge serves as an inductive bias. This approach views linguistic knowledge...

Introduction The idea that children learn languages implicitly, whereas adults must consciously use explicit strategies to learn a second language (L2), is common in second language acquisition (Ellis, 2005; DeKeyser & Larson-Hall, 2005). Implicit vs. explicit learning processes have been used to explain greater variation in outcomes for adult L2 learners than for child L2 learners. Existing li...

In this study I examine the construct of aptitude in learningChinese as a second language (L2) to an advanced level. I test 2 hypotheses: first, that L2 aptitude comprises 4 components—working memory, rote memory, grammatical sensitivity, and phonemic coding ability—and second, that L2 aptitude affects learning both directly and indirectly (mediated by strategy use and motivation). Native speak...

Contemporary research on the learning and teaching of second language (L2) pronunciation indicates that “applied phonetics” must be defined as something more than simply “phonetics applied.” Rather, pronunciation teaching has evolved into a separate field of inquiry with its own priorities and methodologies. Here I synthesize concepts and findings from adult L2 pronunciation research that can i...

We present a test of a revised version of the Second Language Linguistic Perception (L2LP) model, a computational model of the acquisition of second language (L2) speech perception and recognition. The model draws on phonetic, phonological, and psycholinguistic constructs to explain a number of L2 learning scenarios. However, a recent computational implementation failed to validate a theoretica...

It is well established that people differ considerably in their ability to learn new languages, especially in the area of phonological processing. Recent research investigating individual differences in phonological processing suggest that factors other than well-studied predictors of success in L2 speech learning, such as age of onset of L2 learning or input quality and quantity, may be at the...

Existing research indicates that instructed learners' L2 proficiency and their metalinguistic knowledge are moderately correlated. However, the operationalization of the construct of metalinguistic knowledge has varied somewhat across studies. Metalinguistic knowledge has typically been operationalized as learners' ability to correct, describe, and explain L2 errors. More recently, this operati...

Second-language (L2) acquisition is generally thought to be constrained by maturational factors that circumscribe a critical period for nativelike attainment. Consistent with the maturational view are age effects among learners who begin L2 acquisition prior to, but not after, closure of the putative critical period. Also favoring the maturational account is the scarcity of late L2 learners at ...