TY - JOUR
T1 - Second-language learning effects on automaticity of speech processing of Japanese phonetic contrasts
T2 - An MEG study
AU - Hisagi, Miwako
AU - Shafer, Valerie L.
AU - Miyagawa, Shigeru
AU - Kotek, Hadas
AU - Sugawara, Ayaka
AU - Pantazis, Dimitrios
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Toshiba Foundation (to Shigeru Miyagawa) and by the National Science Foundation - Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (NSF-BCS) (Grant number 01-113 BCS ) Dissertation Enhancement Award #0518989 (to Miwako Hisagi, Valerie Shafer and Winifred Strange).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - We examined discrimination of a second-language (L2) vowel duration contrast in English learners of Japanese (JP) with different amounts of experience using the magnetoencephalography mismatch field (MMF) component. Twelve L2 learners were tested before and after a second semester of college-level JP; half attended a regular rate course and half an accelerated course with more hours per week. Results showed no significant change in MMF for either the regular or accelerated learning group from beginning to end of the course. We also compared these groups against nine L2 learners who had completed four semesters of college-level JP. These 4-semester learners did not significantly differ from 2-semester learners, in that only a difference in hemisphere activation (interacting with time) between the two groups approached significance. These findings suggest that targeted training of L2 phonology may be necessary to allow for changes in processing of L2 speech contrasts at an early, automatic level.
AB - We examined discrimination of a second-language (L2) vowel duration contrast in English learners of Japanese (JP) with different amounts of experience using the magnetoencephalography mismatch field (MMF) component. Twelve L2 learners were tested before and after a second semester of college-level JP; half attended a regular rate course and half an accelerated course with more hours per week. Results showed no significant change in MMF for either the regular or accelerated learning group from beginning to end of the course. We also compared these groups against nine L2 learners who had completed four semesters of college-level JP. These 4-semester learners did not significantly differ from 2-semester learners, in that only a difference in hemisphere activation (interacting with time) between the two groups approached significance. These findings suggest that targeted training of L2 phonology may be necessary to allow for changes in processing of L2 speech contrasts at an early, automatic level.
KW - Event-related potentials (ERPs)
KW - Japanese phonology
KW - Mismatch field (MMF)
KW - Mismatch negativity (MMN)
KW - Primary auditory cortex
KW - Speech perception, Speech discrimination
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84991824135&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84991824135&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.brainres.2016.10.004
DO - 10.1016/j.brainres.2016.10.004
M3 - Article
C2 - 27720855
AN - SCOPUS:84991824135
SN - 0006-8993
VL - 1652
SP - 111
EP - 118
JO - Brain Research
JF - Brain Research
ER -