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Published on: June 30, 2020
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Perceptual Learning and Predictability of Children's Speech.
Katerina A Tetzloff1, Alan Wisler2, Tyson S Barrett3
1Department of Linguistics, Stony Brook University, NY.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR
|December 29, 2025
Summary
Children's speech is learnable, with intelligibility improving after familiarization. Acoustic predictability (STI) matters most for less intelligible speech, aiding perceptual learning in children.
Area of Science:
- Speech perception research
- Child language acquisition
- Auditory learning
Background:
- Theoretical models suggest acoustic predictability influences perceptual learning of speech.
- Understanding how listeners adapt to variations in children's speech is crucial for developmental linguistics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if children's variable speech is learnable via perceptual learning.
- To determine if acoustic speech variability predicts perceptual learning outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Adult listeners transcribed children's speech before and after a familiarization phase.
- Acoustic spatiotemporal index (STI) quantified speech variability.
- Paired t-tests and regression analyses assessed intelligibility gains and STI's predictive power.
Main Results:
- Significant perceptual learning of children's speech was observed, with a 6.4% average intelligibility gain.
- Acoustic STI and pretest intelligibility interacted: lower STI (more predictable speech) predicted greater gains for less intelligible speech.
Conclusions:
- This study offers the first empirical evidence for the learnability of children's speech.
- Acoustic STI partially explains variability in perceptual learning, but further measures are needed.
- Future research should focus on segmental predictability to enhance speech learnability models.
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