Kim, Myungsook, Kim, Kyungsook, and Bae, Myung-Jin. 2015. The Masking Effect in English Listening of Korean Speakers. English Language and Linguistics 21.2, 131-149. This paper addresses the problems in English listening skills of Korean speakers by employing multi-disciplinary concepts from hearing therapy and sound engineering, such as the Tomatis method and masking effect. There are large linguistic gaps between English and Korean, especially in their sound systems, exacerbating the English listening competency problem for Korean speakers. This paper first investigates the Tomatis method in detail and concludes that there is limited evidence for its basic assumption of different frequency ranges being used for different languages. Not to mention that using supplementary devices called ‘electronic ears’ in foreign language learning may result an excessive cost that not everyone can afford. On the other hand, the concept of masking effect, energetic as well as informational, can explain more properly the difficulties that any Korean speakers may experience in English listening. A pilot study of perception on the unstressed vowel schwa in English sentences suggests that teaching the concept of masking effect to students in the classroom may be beneficial to understanding of the English sound system.
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