The role of L2 experience on the perceived similarity and identification of British English vowels by Vietnamese speakers

The role of L2 experience on the perceived similarity and identification of British English vowels by Vietnamese speakers

This study investigated the effects of L2 experienceon the cross-language influences on the perception of English vowels by Vietnamese learnersof English. Two groups of Vietnamese learners of English, inexperienced and experienced,completed L2-to-L1 vowel mapping and L2 vowel identification tasks. The mapping taskresults showed that the inexperienced learners mapped English vowels more closely to theircorresponding Vietnamese vowels, while experienced learners showed more dispersed mappingresponses. In the L2 vowel identification task, we found that the experienced learners showeda significantly higher accuracy in identifying English vowels, especially those that lackedclear counterparts in Vietnamese. As participants gained more experience with the L2, theirperception was found to be more sensitive and gradient. However, the accuracy of identifyingsome similar vowels appeared to vary with temporal and articulatory features, indicatingthe importance of considering other phonetic features and their interactions with spectralfeatures for a more comprehensive understanding of the difficulty associated with “new”or “similar” L2 vowel identification. The findings shed light on the intricate and dynamicinterplay of L1 and L2 experience in shaping the perception of L2 vowels.