| 研究実績の概要 |
Some studies (e.g., Larson-Hall, 2008; Lin et al., 2004) found that despite a few hours’ classroom contact per week, early language learning might benefit second language (L2) speech perception in normal and/or adverse conditions, including talker differences. This study investigated effects of a younger starting age in a situation of minimal classroom exposure on the perception of English consonants produced by different talkers with two noise levels. The listeners were two groups of Japanese university students: early learners (n = 21) who started studying English in kindergarten or elementary school, and late learners (n = 24) who began to study in junior high school. The selected target phonemes were word-medial approximants (/l, r/). Each nonword (i.e., ala, ara), produced by six native talkers, was combined with speech babble at the signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of 8 dB (medium noise) and 0 dB (quite high noise for L2 listeners). A discrimination test was given in the ABX format. Results showed that the late learners discriminated /l/ and /r/ better than the early learners regardless of the noise conditions and talker differences (p < .05). A multiple regression analysis revealed that the late learners’ success could be accounted for by the following predictors: 1) classroom interaction with teacher and peers, 2) use of spoken English outside of classroom, and 3) overall English language proficiency. This may suggest that the age factor does not matter in the development of phonemic discrimination skills in the situation of minimal classroom exposure to English.
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