Abstract

Test-taking strategies (TTSs) have been found to be closely related to EFL learners’ successful language acquisition. However, such strategies have received scant attention from a language testing perspective (Bachman, 1990). The current mixed-methods study aimed to investigate Iranian freshman and senior high school EFL learners’ use of TTSs in reading comprehension tests and their perceptions of TTSs. To this end, 30 freshman and 30 senior high school EFL learners were selected from a public high school in Tabriz, Iran. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on TTSs. Afterward, six participants (three from each grade) were randomly invited for semi-structured interviews. SPSS software (version 27) was used to analyze the quantitative data gathered from the questionnaires, while the content analysis approach was utilized to analyze the qualitative data collected from the semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that senior participants used monitoring strategy the most, while freshman participants mostly used planning strategy. It was also found that both groups of participants had positive perceptions towards learning, teaching, and using TTSs. Implications are also presented as to the need for incorporating TTSs into teaching/learning methodologies, curricula, and materials.

Introduction

English, as a foreign language, has gained significant attention around the world. Thus, becoming a proficient speaker of English has been thought to be essential in schools, academia, interactional settings, and workplaces. Due to the importance of English language proficiency, language tests have been popular in gauging learners’ linguistic abilities in educational domains. The use of tests as measurement devices may be attributed to their cost-effective and time-saving characteristics. The way learners perform on tests can determine if they will be academically successful (Tunaz & Tüm, 2019). The results learners obtain on tests could be affected by cognitive, psychological, and test-administration factors (Hambleton et al., 1991). Consequently, research has demonstrated the critical role of TTSs in enhancing the performances of students in exams. Thus, the results obtained from language tests are highly crucial because they are lifechanging or high-stakes for learners (Douglas, 2010). Following that, making use of TTSs helps learners achieve higher scores on language tests. Furthermore, those who are involved in constructing language tests should take into consideration that TTSs could be used by learners on the day of examination, and they should also be aware of the test content (Pourdana et al., 2012).

Reading comprehension is very common and important in real-life situations, such as education, workplace communication, healthcare, financial literacy, and daily activities. Particularly, the importance of reading comprehension can be related to language teaching contexts, as it is the fundamental way of gaining new information for EFL learners and is regarded as a highly significant factor for determining success in language learning (Pourmohammadi, 2015). At the same time, it is a very complicated procedure in which readers are expected to understand the connections between the ideas in the text and deploy their mental processes to interpret the information. According to Veeravagu et al. (2010, p. 206), reading comprehension is “a thinking process by which a reader selects facts, information, or ideas from printed materials; decides how they relate to previous knowledge; and judges their appropriateness and worth for meeting the learner’s own objectives”. Tests, as previously stated, are the most widely used tools for measuring learners’ linguistic knowledge, and of course, this also holds true for assessing reading comprehension. Learners’ test-taking performance in general and their reading comprehension abilities in particular are enhanced by the use of TTSs (Pour Mohammadi & Abidin, 2011). It is important to discover the mental processes involved in taking tests and how students submit their answers (McCaffrey & Lockwood, 2004).

Conclusion

This study is informative and significant since only a few studies have looked into how TTSs are used in high school contexts. Moreover, no study has investigated high schoolers’ use of TTSs in Iran. Therefore, this study investigated what TTSs are used by Iranian freshman and senior high school EFL learners in reading comprehension tests. Furthermore, it was also aimed at investigating learners’ perceptions of TTSs when taking language tests. The results indicated that senior participants used monitoring strategy the most, while freshman participants mostly used planning strategy. It was also found that both groups of participants had positive perceptions towards learning, teaching, and using TTSs.

This study bridged the gap in the literature and contributed to EFL teaching and assessment by presenting illuminating findings. Specifically, the results contribute to enhanced contextspecific insights into the application of TTSs in high school settings, which allows EFL teachers to tailor their teaching methods accordingly. Furthermore, the results serve as empirical support for developing materials and curricula that draw attention to TTSs, thereby assisting learners in mastering reading comprehension tests. Accordingly, the findings of this study have some implications for EFL teachers, material developers, and curriculum designers involved in high schools. As the results provide empirical verification of the benefits of TTSs, it is wise for practitioners to take into account the key role TTSs play in helping high school EFL learners improve their test performance. Thus, the results imply the need for intentional incorporation of TTSs in teaching/learning methods in order to ensure the improvement of learners’ performance on reading comprehension tests. In addition, planning and monitoring strategies were found to be the most frequently used TTSs by freshman and senior participants, respectively; so, it could be an important reason for practitioners to primarily cover these strategies in their instructional method and materials.

Abstract

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impacts many areas of a person’s life. So far little is known on how ADHD affects the learning and usage of additional languages. The present study investigates what potential challenges and benefits adults with ADHD experience in second language (L2) learning, and what strategies they have developed to offset ADHD-related differences in cognition and behaviour. As part of a larger questionnaire, 59 participants with ADHD provided written responses, answering questions on how ADHD has influenced their learning and use of multiple languages. After a multiple-step classification process, three overarching topics were identified: (1) the effects of cognition on language learning and use; (2) how different language components and language modalities are affected by ADHD; and (3) what language learning strategies adults with ADHD apply. In our analysis, we present authentic quotes from individuals with ADHD and place them into the larger context of research on neurodivergence and L2 acquisition. Our results highlight the great heterogeneity in learning experiences and pathways in adults with ADHD. Interestingly, many respondents embrace their neurodiversity and develop individual strategies to enhance L2 proficiency. Our research aims to contribute to a better understanding of multilingualism within neurodiverse populations.

Introduction

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder known to significantly impact various aspects of an individual’s life. ADHD affects approximately 5.3–7.2 percent of children and youth, and 2.5 to 6.8 percent of adults worldwide (cf. Polanczyk et al., 2014; Song et al., 2021), often co-occurring with speech and communication disorders such as language disorder, social pragmatic communication disorder, and dyslexia (Tannock, 2018; Willcutt and Pennington, 2000). While the impact of dyslexia on second language acquisition is well studied (e.g., Nijakowska, 2020; Schneider and Crombie, 2003), so far limited attention has been given to exploring the effects that ADHD has on acquiring and using additional languages. The present study aims to address this research gap by featuring the individual experiences and reflections of people diagnosed with ADHD on how their disorder affects the way they learn or use multiple languages. The findings from this study can lay the foundation for more individualized language learning strategies as well as more inclusive instructional programs that are better suited to the specific needs of adult second language learners with ADHD.

1.1. Diversity of ADHD
Despite ADHD being an acknowledged psychiatric diagnostic category (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), it is important to highlight the behavioural and cognitive heterogeneity of people diagnosed with ADHD. First, three different presentations of ADHD can be distinguished: (1) the inattentive presentation, characterized by for instance difficulties to maintain focus, easily getting distracted and making careless mistakes; (2) the hyperactive-impulsive presentation, marked by individuals showing high levels of physical restlessness and difficulties with impulse control; and (3) the combined presentation, where individuals exhibit a combination of inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Conclusions

The current study investigated how ADHD impacts foreign language learning and usage. The main aim was to present the experiences and reflections of adults with ADHD and situate them within the broader context of existing research on cognitive deficits and second language acquisition. Before we summarize the main findings and present conclusions, we would like to point out several limitations of the current study. First, the group of adults with ADHD consisted of more female than male respondents, mostly situated in Norway, and diagnosed in adulthood. Second, we cannot exclude that there is a sampling bias in the sense that more people with a specific interest in languages completed our survey. Furthermore, it is important to emphasize that the data reflect participants’ subjective experiences regarding how they believe ADHD impacts their L2 learning and use. It remains unclear whether these experiences are actually attributable to ADHD, aspects of their personality, or common challenges associated with L2 acquisition. Considering these biases in our sample as well as the qualitative nature of our analysis, it remains to be seen whether our findings are representative of the population of adults with ADHD at large.

While most previous research has focused on the language and communication abilities of children with ADHD (Carruthers et al., 2022; Korrel et al., 2017), our findings provide valuable insights into the inner workings of adults with ADHD. From our data, a diverse picture emerged with lots of individual variation. Depending on their individual cognitive and behavioural symptom profiles as well as personality traits, adults with ADHD experienced different effects of their condition on foreign language learning and use. Difficulties with inattention made it challenging for some respondents to focus during traditional classroom instruction and led them to making careless mistakes in written texts. On the flip side, many respondents with ADHD also experienced periods of hyperfocus, in which they were highly productive. Cognitive deficits related to working memory made it difficult for some adults with ADHD to memorize vocabulary and grammatical forms, and to retrieve already acquired lexical items on demand during real-time interactions. Following and participating in conversations in a second language can also be challenging as it requires paying attention and processing multiple verbal and non-verbal cues simultaneously and deriving correct interpretations on the fly. The linguistic domain that appeared to be most affected by ADHD was pragmatics. Some respondents mentioned impulsive or hyperactive behaviours in communication such as talking excessively, interrupting others, and speaking without thinking first. The latter might result in grammatical errors that are more difficult to recover from in a second language. People with ADHD also exhibited different preferences for written or spoken modality. A learning style mentioned by several respondents was characterized by association, leading to an intuition or gut feeling about correct language use. In sum, our findings provide evidence that for many adults with ADHD, their disorder fundamentally affects the way they learn or use a foreign language, supporting the far-reaching effect of ADHD on different domains of a person’s life.

Abstract

     The main objective of this research is a working example of how a hybrid methodology combining traditional methodologies and mobile devices can be used to contribute to the literature on mobile learning in teaching English as a second language. This work was carried out because, in many Latin American countries, students are taught English as a second language throughout their primary and secondary education. However, at the end of their studies, most students are unable to communicate with other people in English, let alone with native speakers. Moreover, it must be taken into account that nowadays English is the most widely used language in international communications, business transactions, finance and science. The professional who knows how to communicate in English has a positive differentiator in his or her professional profile and can easily access more relevant positions in any institution. For this purpose, a review of different methodologies for teaching oral expression in English has been carried out. Metrics have also been used to choose an effective mobile application to reinforce English speaking. These analyzed methodologies have been combined with the use of a mobile application to propose a hybrid methodology that contemplates an eight-week class guide. Due to the characteristics of mobile learning, this work can help to motivate students in their learning and in improving their communicative skills in the English language. High school teachers can use this methodology as an innovation in their educational programs.

Introduction

     In many countries in Latin America, students are taught English as a second language (L2) throughout their primary, secondary, and higher education. However, at the end of their studies, the vast majority of students are unable to communicate with others in English, even less with native English speakers [1].

     English is a universal language; it is the most learned language worldwide as an L2 [2]. Learning this language allows people to have access to more complete education and greater interaction with a huge amount of academic information [3]. In addition, it is fundamental to access new cultures, travel around the world and achieve personal and work goals [2]. It is for this reason that, nowadays, being able to communicate correctly in this language has become a necessary skill. Currently, there are multiple ways to learn English (courses, educational platforms, MOOCs, web apps, and mobile apps). However, the characteristics of mobile learning, the high penetration of mobile devices, and their use among students have allowed this tool to become one of the most used as a support for L2 teaching [4].

Results and analyses

     Studies, research, and this proposal provide information on how MALL apps can be used, in this case Duolingo, as a digital tool that contributes significantly to the improvement of oral proficiency in the English language. There are a variety of applications for L2 learning. However, using educational content as a basis, when choosing an educational application, it is important to consider the following points:

Pedagogical coherence
Feedback and self-correction
Motivation
Usability
Customization
Sharing

    In addition, due to the needs of our students and the experience of the teachers, it was concluded that Duolingo is the exact application to meet the proposed objective. There are multiple factors that can affect English language learning in high school students. That is why this proposal aims to help students improve oral communication without the barriers of fear and shyness, including a good command of vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency and comprehension of the English language. In recent years, multiple initiatives have been generated using mobile applications for education. Duolingo has been one of the most downloaded applications for this purpose. However, the work presented here defines a methodological guide that involves traditional teaching and mobile technology to improve and motivate learning in high school students.

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Literature review

3. Method

4. Results

5. Discussion and conclusion

Funding

Author details

Citation information

References

Abstract

     : Investigations have been too limited and inconclusive to find out whether written corrective feedback improves grammatical accuracy of learners. This study aimed at investigating the comparative effects of direct and indirect corrective feedback on short-term and long-term retention of the subject-verb agreement by Iranian EFL writers. The design of the study was a two group pre-post-test quasiexperimental one. The Participants were 45 male and female learners at the age range of 14 to 16. Their L1 was Turkmen and they were all taking an elementary course at a language school in Gonbad Kavoos, Iran. The participants were assigned to two experimental groups i.e. direct and indirect feedback groups, and one control group. To collect data, a pretest, post-test and a delayed post-test were given to all the groups. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was run to test the research hypotheses. The results showed that the types of corrective feedback did not have a significant positive effect on the participants’ short-term and long-term retention of subject-verb agreement. Besides, Scheffe post hoc test showed that there was a significant decline in grammatical accuracy of the indirect feedback group in the delayed posttest. The results have some implications for teaching writing in the EFL context.

Introduction

     One of the key issues in L2 writing instruction in the last few decades has been the efficacy of corrective feedback. The research on corrective feedback has centered on the types of corrective feedback, and the role of individual differences in this effect (Yoshida, 2008). Corrective feedback plays a crucial role in developing L2 acquisition theories as well as in teaching second languages. Researchers have contended that the role of corrective feedback in L2 acquisition will determine the relative importance of positive input or negative input in L2 acquisition, which will provide a framework for selecting teaching methods and materials, the role of teachers and language learners, and providing the types of appropriate input in class (Van Beuningen, 2010).

     There has been a debate on whether corrective feedback is of any help to the language learner. Truscott (2007) believes that it is not only ineffective but also potentially harmful. On the other hand, other researchers (e.g., Bitchener & Knoch, 2008; Karim & Nassaji, 2020; Roshan, 2017; Tayebipour, 2019) have found that corrective feedback is valuable in boosting grammatical accuracy.

     There has also been a debate on which type of corrective feedback is the most helpful. Promoters of direct corrective feedback (e.g., Ellis, 2009) contend that direct corrective feedback enables language learners to immediately internalize the appropriate form as given by their instructor. Language learners whose mistakes are not corrected directly do not know whether their own estimated rectifications are accurate. Bitchener and Knoch (2010) propose that exclusive direct corrective feedback offers language learners the sort of explicit data that is required for testing hypotheses. The alternative to the direct corrective feedback is the indirect corrective feedback. Indirect correction techniques can take various forms with various degrees of explicitness (e.g., underlining, coding, etc.) (See Bitchener & Knoch, 2008). Ferris (2002) contends that indirect input is by and large more proper and powerful than direct feedback. Ferris and Roberts (2001) argue that the indirect feedback promotes reflection about linguistic structures, resulting in long-term retention

Results
Findings related to research questions

     Table 1 below displays the descriptive statistics including means and standard deviations related to subject-verb agreement scores of all the groups. As displayed in the table, the mean scores of control, direct and indirect group were 49.73, 60. 06, and 45.53 respectively. To see if there were significant differences between the groups in the pretest, the following table needs to be examined. As shown in the above table, the sig. value is .133. Therefore, there were not any significant differences between the groups at the beginning of the study. Since pretest-posttest data were used for the comparison of three groups on the dependent variable, the mean scores of the three groups in the post-test are reported below. Table 2 and 3 shows the mean scores of subject-verb agreement in the posttest. As shown in the table, the mean scores of control, direct and indirect feedback groups were 59.20, 69.93, and 69.06 respectively. To see if there were significant differences between the groups in the posttest, Table 4 needs to be examined.

Highlights

Abstract

Keywords

1. Introduction

2. Core vocabulary

3. Data and method

4. A single-word vs multi-word approach

5. Discourse functions

6. Differences and similarities across the L1 groups

7. Discussion and conclusion

Author statement

References

Vitae

Abstract

Core vocabulary items (e.g. thing, way) are often viewed as the enemy of effective academic writing, and style guides and textbooks often advise against using them. However, their bad reputation seems to stem from a single-word perspective that ignores the rich phraseological units that such items tend to figure in. In this study, we focus on the core vocabulary lemma thing to investigate the extent to which a phraseological approach can redeem its reputation. We look at learner essays from ten different first-language backgrounds from the International Corpus of Learner English and compare these to reference corpora from the endpoints of the informal-formal continuum: the Spoken BNC2014 and the Corpus of Academic Journal Articles. The results show that a phraseological approach indeed provides a more nuanced view of the core lemma thing: it is used in a wide variety of multi-word units, many of which common in academic writing. Although some signs of novice production are evident in the learners’ writing, their use is closest to that of the expert academic writers. The paper concludes with a discussion of the role of phraseology in vocabulary lists used in teaching and assessment.

1. Introduction

The notion of core (or basic) vocabulary is widely used in applied language studies. The first core vocabulary list, West’s General Service List (GSL), was compiled as early as 1953 and has since proved its usefulness for both teaching and testing purposes. The rationale that underpinned the GSL was that a lexical repertoire consisting of the most basic 2,000 words of English would be a good basis for learning English as a foreign language. Although the list is now dated, interest in core vocabulary has continued unabated and several new core vocabulary lists have been compiled, among them the New General Service List (NGSL) (Brezina & Gablasova 2015), which relies on the frequency of words in large electronic corpora of speech and writing. However, while lists of core words have proved their worth, they suffer from one major weakness: they include only single words. They thus disregard the wide range of productive multi-word units that these high-frequency words tend to generate, many of which “are as frequent as or more frequent than single items which everyone would agree must be taught” (O’Keeffe et al., 2007: 46).

Although core vocabulary is seen in a very positive light for general language purposes, it is commonly regarded as the enemy of effective academic writing. The acquisition of academic writing skills is seen as involving a major “vocabulary shift” (Swales & Feak 2004: 18), i.e. the replacement of high-frequency, informal words by less frequent, formal alternatives. Most academic vocabulary lists purposely exclude the 2,000 core words of the GSL. The bad reputation of core vocabulary in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) seems to relate to the single-word-based approach to core words and may not be justified in the case of an approach that takes multiword units into account.

Abstract

Keywords

1. Introduction

2. Research question

3. L1 and L2 speech

4. Method

5. Results

6. Discussion

7. Conclusion

Author statement

Acknowledgements

References

Vitae

Abstract

This paper investigates how the language of instruction in Dutch higher education (Dutch versus English) affects speech production by L1 Dutch-speaking lecturers. In a pairwise design, three young lecturers that were highly proficient in English gave two comparable lectures each (L1 Dutch and L2 English). Results show that the L1 Dutch lectures were consistently given at slightly higher syllabic speech and articulation rates and that filled pauses were shorter and occurred less often in Dutch than in English lectures. In addition, L1 Dutch lectures contained a more diverse vocabulary and showed pitch patterns which have been shown to be associated with greater liveliness and higher perceived charisma of the speakers. We discuss possible reasons for the observed acoustic differences and the potential impact of our findings in the light of the ongoing transition from Dutch-medium instruction to English-medium instruction in Dutch higher education.

1. Introduction

The number of English-medium instruction programmes is increasing rapidly all over the world. In Europe, the Netherlands is among the countries with the highest proportion of EMI programmes (Maiworm & Wächter, 2002; Wächter & Maiworm 2008, 2014). In many cases, this means that the number of Dutch-medium instruction (DMI) programmes is decreasing as the continuation of entirely mirrored programmes is considered inefficient and financially unprofitable (Wilkinson, 2013, p. 10). In practice, this does not only mean that many students have fewer programmes to choose from if they wish to study in their native language, but also that higher education (HE) lecturers increasingly teach in a language that is not their native language. What are the implications of this for the lectures that students attend in this setting?

Previous research into the nature of EMI lectures suggests that EMI speech is slower (Hincks, 2010; Thøgersen & Airey, 2011; Vinke, 1995; Vinke, Snippe, & Jochems, 1998) and more formal (Thøgersen & Airey, 2011) than lecturers’ native-language speech. Some investigations report more disfluencies in EMI speech (Thøgersen & Airey, 2011), others fewer (Vinke et al., 1998).

Highlights

Abstract

Abbreviations

Keywords

1. Introduction

2. Literature review

3. Methodology, research aims and questions

4. Method

5. Results and discussions of the findings

6. Concluding remarks: revisiting research questions, implications, and recommendations

7. Note

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Acknowledgements

References

Vitae

Abstract

This study investigated lexical density and diversity differences in English as L1 vs L2 academic writing of EFL, ESL, and English L1 postgraduate students to compare their lexical proficiency in EFL vs. English L1 academic settings. A corpus of 210 dissertation abstracts was analysed using three natural language processing tools [LCA, TAALED, and Coh-Metrix] where the effects of text length and topic were controlled. In doing so, we examined the relationship between 15 lexical indices and the construct-distinctiveness of lexical density and diversity. The measure-testing process also assesses the effectiveness of each measure in a pair/group of closely-related measures (in terms of the quantification methods) in capturing lexical diversity differences of these texts. This is to obtain a small number of unique measures that capture lexical diversity as an indicator of lexical proficiency and to assist future writing researchers in the measure-selection process in the face of a multitude of available measures. The findings have important implications for writing assessment and research on lexical indicators of writing proficiency, materials development in EFL academic settings especially for thesis/dissertation writing modules, and a possible contribution of ESL academic immersion programmes in approximating English L1 and L2 proficiency.

1. Introduction

Lexical density and diversity as two dimensions of lexical complexity and aspects of productive lexical knowledge remain as two of the most reliable indicators of lexical and linguistic proficiency and development of language users in the first and second language as well as writing and academic studies (see e.g., Bulté & Housen, 2012; Lu, 2012). Lexical density is the proportion of lexical/content words to all words/tokens; lexical density, especially a dense use of nouns, is regarded as an indicator of condensed academic writing and advanced informational prose (e.g., in Biber, 2006; Biber & Gray, 2016; Pietilä, 2015) and as a strong predictor of academic writing proficiency (e.g., Kim, 2014). Lexical diversity is the use of a range of diverse words (also known as unique word types) to convey meaning and is regarded as an indicator and predictor of lexical proficiency and development (Gonzalez, 2013; Mazgutova & Kormos, 2015; Yoon, 2017). Lexical density and diversity, although interrelated, can be differentiated in that lexical density seeks to present how densely lexical items are packed into syntactic structures, while lexical diversity is representative of non-repetitious and/or different lexical and grammatical items used in language production, e.g., in a text. Correspondingly, a learner can produce statements with higher lexical density and lower lexical diversity and vice versa (Johansson, 2008).

Highlights

Abstract

Keywords

1. Introduction

2. The meaning of spatiality and temporality

3. The origin of spatiality and temporality

4. Sentential representation of spatiality in Chinese and temporality in English

5. Textual representation of spatiality in Chinese and temporality in English

6. Conclusion

References anonymously quoted in the manuscript

Conflicts of interest

Acknowledgements

References

Abstract

A language represents the unique medium of how people of a nation perceive and understand the world. This study takes a diachronic perspective to trace the evolution of Chinese and English, respectively, and examines the synchronic features of the two languages that most typically demonstrate the underlying principles of linguistic encoding. It attempts to argue that in dissecting the world and in ways of thinking, Chinese seems to focus more on space and English more on time. Therefore, this study proposes that Chinese is a spatiality-dominant language, whereas English a temporality-dominant one. This fundamental difference underlies many particularities in Chinese and English in terms of their syntactic and textual structures. It is proposed that spatiality and temporality be used as overarching typological parameters to account for the enormous differences between Chinese and English. The findings of this study can provide significant insights into the nature of the distinction between the two languages.

1. Introduction

As a mirror of cultural thoughts, language reflects the particular way the world is observed, understood, and presented (Humboldt, 1999: 81–87). There is extensive literature on the differences between Chinese and English, which are typical of the Sino-Tibetan and Indo-European language family respectively (e.g. Gu, 2005; Link, 2013). In addition, contrastive linguistic perspectives on structural particularities show that Chinese is analytical and English synthetic (Huang, 2010; Lian, 1993), or Chinese is paratactic and English hypotactic (Lian, 1993; Nida, 1982; Wang, 1954). According to the parataxis/hypotaxis account, clauses in Chinese are placed one after another without any connectives to specify their relationships, whereas in English, connectives are typically used to spell out the relationships between different clauses (Tse, 2010). The analytical/synthetic account argues that Chinese uses very few bound morphemes, with most of its words being either free morphemes or compounds of free morphemes. However, as a synthetic language, English has a large number of bound morphemes, which are often combined to form a word (Barber et al., 2009).

Introduction

Experiment 1

Experiment 2

Experiment 3

General discussion

Conclusion

References

Abstract

What are the phonological representations that listeners use to map information about the segmental content of speech onto the mental lexicon during spoken-word recognition? Recent evidence from perceptual-learning paradigms seems to support (context-dependent) allophones as the basic representational units in spoken-word recognition. But recent evidence from a selective-adaptation paradigm seems to suggest that context-independent phonemes also play a role. We present three experiments using selective adaptation that constitute strong tests of these representational hypotheses. In Experiment 1, we tested generalization of selective adaptation using different allophones of Dutch /r/ and /l/ – a case where generalization has not been found with perceptual learning. In Experiments 2 and 3, we tested generalization of selective adaptation using German back fricatives in which allophonic and phonemic identity were varied orthogonally. In all three experiments, selective adaptation was observed only if adaptors and test stimuli shared allophones. Phonemic identity, in contrast, was neither necessary nor sufficient for generalization of selective adaptation to occur. These findings and other recent data using the perceptual-learning paradigm suggest that pre-lexical processing during spoken-word recognition is based on allophones, and not on context-independent phonemes.

Introduction

One of the fundamental questions in cognitive science regards the nature of the mental representations that underlie cognitive functioning. In spoken-word recognition, the question is which code we use to map the highly variable speech signal onto knowledge stored in the mental lexicon – knowledge about the phonological form of words. What, in short, are the pre-lexical units of speech perception? Theories answer this question in many different ways. Some theories claim that there are no phonologically abstract prelexical representations (Goldinger, 1998) and others that there are, but disagree about the grain-size of the units, which could be abstract phonological features (Lahiri & Reetz, 2010), contextdependent allophones (Luce, Goldinger, Auer, & Vitevitch, 2000), context-independent phonemes (McClelland & Elman, 1986; Norris, 1994), or syllables (Mehler, Dommergues, Frauenfelder, & Segui, 1981), or could be a combination of units of different size (Wickelgren, 1969). One recurring issue in this long-running debate has been that evidence in favour of one or the other type of unit often turned out to be paradigm-specific. Evidence for many different units can therefore be found (for a review, see Goldinger & Azuma, 2003).