Audiovisual Training Effects on L2 Speech Perception and Production

Abstract

This study investigated whether audiovisual perception training can improve learners’ auditory perception of L2speech sounds. 29 subjects (experimental group) who had difficulty in the perception of English /θ/-/s/ and /ð/-/z/were recruited to attend a 9-session audiovisual perception training programme with identification tasks on the targetcontrasts. Their perception performance was tested before, during and at the end of the training with an AXB task. Acontrol group was tested with the same AXB task and intervals as that of the experimental group. The results showedthat the experimental group’s perception accuracy improved substantially during and by the end of the trainingprogramme. The control group also showed perception improvement across the pre-test and post-test. Their degree ofimprovement, however, was significantly lower than that of the experimental group. These results therefore confirmthe value of the audiovisual modality in L2 speech perception training.