Talker-variability in visual feedback articulatory training: Transfer to words, long-term maintenance, and...

Area of Science:

• Second Language Acquisition
• Phonetics and Speech Science
• Auditory and Speech Perception

Background:

• Producing novel sounds is a key challenge in second language acquisition (SLA).
• Visual-acoustic feedback shows promise for improving L2 sound production.
• The transfer, generalization, and maintenance of trained sounds in SLA remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effectiveness of visual-acoustic feedback training for producing unfamiliar French vowels.
• To determine if training on isolated sounds transfers to word production and is maintained over time.
• To compare the effects of single-talker versus multiple-talker stimuli on sound generalization and maintenance.

Main Methods:

• Forty-six Spanish speakers were trained to produce French vowels /e/ and /ɛ/ using visual-acoustic feedback.
• Participants received feedback on their pronunciation accuracy within an acoustic space.
• Training involved either single-talker or multiple-talker vowel stimuli.

Main Results:

• Both training groups improved vowel production accuracy.
• Improvements transferred to word production and were maintained for 12 days.
• Only the multiple-talker group showed maintained improvement in sound generalization (producing sounds after an unfamiliar speaker).

Conclusions:

• Visual-acoustic feedback training is an effective method for enhancing second language sound production.
• Training benefits demonstrate transfer to words and long-term maintenance.
• Multiple-talker exposure enhances generalization, a crucial feature for pedagogical applications in SLA.