The perception–production link revisited: The case of Japanese learners' English /ɹ/ performance

Abstract

The current study re-examines how second language speech perception and production are related in the context of the acquisition of English /ɹ/ by 45 adult Japanese learners with various proficiency levels. Perception was evaluated using a two-alternative forced choice identification task, while pronunciation performance was assessed via multiple task/analysis contexts. Overall, the participants' perception performance was correlated with the global qualities (accuracy, intelligibility) of their production ability both at controlled and spontaneous speech levels. In light of the results of acoustic analyses, however, their perception ability was only significantly predictive of their redeployment of existing articulatory parameters (i.e., lower F2 for the rate and degree of tongue retraction), not the acquisition of new articulatory parameters (i.e., lower F3 for labial, palatal, and pharyngeal constrictions).