Computer-based English /r/-/l/ perceptual training for Japanese children

Computer-based perceptual training has proven successful for improving English /r/-/l/ perception by Japanese adults, but this has not been tested with younger age groups, who presumably have greater perceptual plasticity. The present study examined phonetic training for children 6-8 years old. The training program included identification and discrimination tasks with word-initial English /r/-/l/ minimal-pairs (e.g., rock-lock), with each participant completing ten sessions. The results demonstrated that children improved their English /r/-/l/ identification, although identification in untrained positions such as medial and consonant clusters did not improve as much as in the trained word-initial position. In addition, older children in this age range improved more than did younger children, suggesting that the ability to use this kind of program may improve with age, even though perceptual plasticity for speech presumably declines with age.