Training Japanese listeners to identify English /<b>r</b>/ and /<b>l</b>/: IV. Some effects of perceptual learning on speech production

TLDR

The study examined how perceptual identification training of /r/–/l/ affects production in adult Japanese speakers. Participants produced English /r/–/l/ words before and after an extended high‑variability perceptual training, and their production was assessed by native English listeners through rating and minimal‑pair identification tests. Perceptual training led to significant improvements in Japanese speakers’ /r/–/l/ production, with post‑test tokens rated higher and more accurately identified by native listeners, demonstrating transfer from perception to production.

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of training in /r/–/l/ perceptual identification on /r/–/l/ production by adult Japanese speakers. Subjects were recorded producing English words that contrast /r/ and /l/ before and after participating in an extended period of /r/–/l/ identification training using a high-variability presentation format. All subjects showed significant perceptual learning as a result of the training program, and this perceptual learning generalized to novel items spoken by new talkers. Improvement in the Japanese trainees’ /r/–/l/ spoken utterances as a consequence of perceptual training was evaluated using two separate tests with native English listeners. First, a direct comparison of the pretest and post-test tokens showed significant improvement in the perceived rating of /r/ and /l/ productions as a consequence of perceptual learning. Second, the post-test productions were more accurately identified by English listeners than the pretest productions in a two-alternative minimal-pair identification procedure. These results indicate that the knowledge gained during perceptual learning of /r/ and /l/ transferred to the production domain, and thus provides novel information regarding the relationship between speech perception and production.