Deficits in the perception of English word-initial consonant clusters by Korean learners of English

• 발행기관: 경희대학교 언어정보연구소
• 저자명: Woohyeok Chang
• 간행물 정보: 『언어연구』제27권 제3호, 429~446쪽, 전체 18쪽
• 주제분류: 인문학 > 언어학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2010.12.30

영문 초록

It is well known that Korean learners of English are deceived into perceiving an illusory epenthetic vowel when hearing consonant clusters. The purpose of this study is to investigate if this deficit in speech perception can be resolved as Korean learners improve their English skills. In previous literature, Lee (2010) conducted a perception test among Korean learners of English with four different proficiency levels: advanced, high-intermediate, intermediate, and low levels. In analyzing the experimental data, she calculated d-prime (d’) scores, based on which she concluded that all of the groups could successfully perceive English word-initial consonant clusters. The present study attempts to reanalyze Lee’s (2010) raw experimental data, employing a different method of analysis (A’ scores) rather than d' scores. Contrary to Lee’s (2010) findings, it is found that all groups, even advanced learners, are unsuccessful in perceiving consonant clusters. It is therefore implied that an A’ score is better than a d’ score when we need insight into subjects' overall performance on a perception test. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that a speech perception deficit will be more difficult to resolve than a speech production deficit.

목차

1. Introduction

2. Consonant Clusters in Syllable Structure

3. L2 Perception and Production of English Consonant Clusters

4. Perception Test: AX-discrimination Task

5. Discussion

6. Conclusion

References

키워드

perceptual deficit English consonant clusters speech perception proficiency levels A-prime (A’) score AX-discrimination task