Taiwanese SLA Learners’ Acquisition of English Fricatives and Affricates 台灣學生英語摩擦音及塞擦音之習得行為 指導教授 : 鍾榮富教授 研究生 : 楊惠玲 報告者 : NA2C0006 李嘉麟

Contents e Q1: Which SLA theory can best explain the English pronunciation acquisition situation in Taiwan? Q2: Whether the more English learning experience can improve English learners’ pronunciation ability?

Contents Introduction e Ch1 Literature Review Ch2 Methodology Ch3 Results and Analysis Ch4 Discussion Ch5 Contents Ch6 Conclusion

Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Motivation 1.The cause of poor pronunciation 2.Second language acquisition 1.2 SLA theory 1.3 The design of this research 1. Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) 2. Markedness Differential Hypothesis(MDH) 3. Speech Learning Model (SLM) 1.24 male participants. 2.Six fricatives, / ʒ /,/θ/,/ð/,/t ʃ /, /d ʒ /, and / ʃ / 3. Four distinct phonological environments

Chapter 1 Introduction Taiwanese English learners are troubled by poor pronunciation(Taiwanese accents). This thesis is to explain the English pronunciation acquisition situation and to know whether the more English learning experience can improve English learners’ pronunciation ability in Taiwan. Whether the similarity between L1 and L2 can ease the pronunciation learning difficulty or makes it more difficult. 1.1 Motivation: poor pronunciation

1.Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH), proposed by Lado (1957), which states that L2 phonemes( 音位 ) that are similar to those in L1 are easy to acquire, while new sounds are more difficult to acquire. 2.The Markedness Differential Hypothesis (MDH), put forth by Flege (1981). MDH focuses on the L2 phoneme distribution in all languages, not only in L1 and L2. 3.The Speech Learning Model (SLM), set out by Eckman (1981), holds a totally opposite point of view from CAH and MDH, proposing that it is a similar phoneme which is difficult for L2 learners to master. 1.2 SLA theory

The thirty-six participants are divided into four groups depending on their different English learning experience. The research was used acoustic analysis and systematical design comparing L1 and L2 with different learning experience to six the target phonemes. The focal sounds are six fricatives, / ʒ /,/θ/,/ð/,/t ʃ /, /d ʒ /, and / ʃ /. 1.3 The design of this research

1.3 The design of this research

The six fricatives are inserted into the words in four distinct phonological environments: － 1) as a coda, 2) as an onset before / ɚ /, 3) as an onset before /a/, 4) as an onset before /i/. The peak of fricative frequency and the F2 of CV (consonant vowel) transients are inspected. － After the numbers are obtained, Independent Samples t-test is applied to analyze. 1.3 The design of this research

Chapter 2 Literature Review Second language pronunciation acquisition Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH), proposed by Lado(1957). Speech Learning Model (SLM), put forth by Flege (1981). Markedness Differential Hypothesis (MDH), set out by Eckman (1981). The predictions of each SLA theory

When people are learning L2, they tend to transfer their L1 systems to the L2 learning process (Lado, 1957). If the L2 elements are different from those in L1, this will make L2 more difficult, while if they are similar then it will be easier (Lado, 1957). The advantage of CAH is that many linguists agree with it and have undertaken research to examine it. This hypothesis could predict numerous errors, but could not explain all of them.( Johannson,1973). 2.1 Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH)

2.2 Speech Learning Model (SLM) The idea of SLM The similarity between L1 and L2 does not ease L2 learning, and in fact makes it difficult for L2 learners to completely master certain elements of the new language. － In CAH, new sounds are the most difficult element to acquire, and similar sounds are the easiest. － In SLM, Flege proposed that it is the similar sounds which cause L2 learners to pronounce with an accent because they learn L2 based on pairs of corresponding sounds in L1 and L2 (Flege, 1981).

2.2.1 The idea of SLM Flege (1995) also stated that new phonemes are difficult to acquire, but easy to master, while the reverse is true for similar phonemes. Flege (1981) used systematic methods to carry out his research, such as checking the voice onset time of stops or analyzing the articulation place of one sound by using PRAAT. Equivalence classification (EC) is a basic cognitive mechanism which permits L2 learners to identify phonemes spoken by various talkers or in different contexts and then to classify them into the same category.

The concept of Equivalence classification (EC)

2.2.2 An example of SLM L2 learners have learned L2 for a long time, they still cannot produce similar sounds authentically because they are influenced by L1. Rochet (1995) stated one shortcoming of SLM was that it did not offer a clear definition of the distinction between new and similar phonemes. If the similarity of one specific phoneme ≧ 0.5, the phoneme is a similar sound. In contrast, when the similarity of one specific phoneme <0.5, the phoneme is a new sound.

2.3 Markedness Differential Hypothesis (MDH) Eckman (1981) proposed the Markedness Difference Hypotheses (MDH), which groups the phonemes into marked or unmarked ones. － Unmarked sounds exist in most languages around the world, like /p/, /d/, /a/,and /i/. － Marked sounds do not exist in most languages such as the voice contrast stop coda, / ʒ /,/θ/, and /ð/. For L2 learners, it is generally effortless to acquire unmarked sounds, while the more marked a phoneme is, the more difficult it is to pronounce it without an accent.

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