# name
The impact of auditory attention in L2 vowel perception and production by means of phonetic training

# metadata.dc.description[].value
Màster de Lingüística Aplicada i Adquisició de Llengües en Contextos Multilingües, Departament de Filologia Anglesa i Alemanya, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2019-2020, Tutor: Joan Carles Mora

# metadata.dc.description.abstract[].value
A listener must process complicated incoming auditory information and strive
to accurately perceive and produce language. High Variability Phonetic Training
(HVPT) is used to train the perception and production of L2 speech sounds, improving
the learner’s perception of a larger amount of contrasting sounds. However, a
learner’s individual differences when processing this auditory input may explain
inequalities in L2 perception and production. Attentional resources may be one source
of individual differences in acquiring a L2, where differences in attentional capacity can
lead to gains or deficits in learning. The aim of the current thesis was to examine if
individual differences in auditory selective attention and auditory attention switching
explained differences in gains from HVPT within and across HVPT training sessions.
One-hundred and five Catalan/Spanish learners of English participated in four sessions
of HVPT over a two-week period. Training consisted of two perception tasks, AX
discrimination and Identification, and a production task, Immediate repetition. All the
tasks focused on the English vowel contrast /æ/-/ʌ/, which is difficult to
Catalan/Spanish learners of English. In the perception tasks accuracy was analyzed
and in the production task Bark-converted spectral distance scores were evaluated.
Participants were also measured on tasks of auditory selective attention and auditory
attention switching and assigned to high and low attention control groups using cluster
analysis. General linear mixed models examined gains from HVPT between attention
groups, within session and between sessions. Results showed that gains in the
perception tasks were significantly greater for the higher than the lower auditory
attention group both within sessions and over successive sessions. For the production
task there were no gains within the sessions, but attention did explain performance
over consecutive sessions. These results suggest that gains made in HVPT are related
to auditory attention control, especially in AX discrimination and the Identification
perception tasks of the /æ/-/ʌ/ vowel contrast and to a lesser extent the Immediate
Repetition production task.

# metadata.dc.source[].value
Màster Oficial - Lingüística Aplicada i Adquisició de Llengües en Contextos Multilingües

# metadata.dc.title[].value
The impact of auditory attention in L2 vowel perception and production by means of phonetic training