High variability pronunciation training for word stress in English

High variability pronunciation training (HVPT) has been found to be successful for training various segmentals, such as the challenging /l/-/ɹ/ contrast, and suprasegmental features such as tone and pitch accent. These studies have found that HVPT is an effective method not only in helping learners improve their perception but also in retaining their learning and generalizing their knowledge to new voices and items. Additionally, using HVPT to train the perception might even extend gains to production. Considering the success of using HVPT, the current study investigates the use of HVPT to train word stress in English, including its effectiveness, generalization to new voices and new words, and how it affects production. Additionally, the impact of word familiarity on perception is also explored. Word stress is an crucial feature to train considering its importance for successful communication in English. Participants were 37 L1 French speakers enrolled in English courses at a university in France. French speakers were chosen as the participants since they are considered to be stress deaf, meaning they cannot perceive word stress in English. They completed a perception and production pre-test that also measured word familiarity, 8 training sessions over approximately 4 weeks, and an immediate post-test measuring perception and production gains, along with generalization. One group was trained with 8 voices across the trainings while the other group was trained with only one voice. The results indicated that while training did help improve the perception of word stress, there was not a significant difference between groups. This indicates that HVPT was not more effective for training the perception of word stress than training with only one voice. Potential explanations for this finding include individual differences, the nature of word stress, and the nature of stress deafness. These results lead to implications for both teachers and researchers. For teachers, it expands on a successful method of training that could be used independently by students and for researchers, it creates avenues for more research on the topic.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Linguistics

Department dc:contributor.department

Department of English

Grantor

Iowa State University

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Zawadzki, Zoë A

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Levis, John
• Sonsaat-Hegelheimer, Sinem
• Nagle, Charlie
• Hegelheimer, Volker
• Richie, Carolyn

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31274/td-20250502-244

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dr.lib.iastate.edu:20.500.12876/5w5pgDjz