From meaning to sound: how word learning shapes non-native speech perception.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Adult learners often struggle to perceive and acquire unfamiliar speech sounds in a second language, especially at the initial stages of learning. Traditional perceptual training methods, such as discrimination tasks, tend to be less effective with beginners, as they rely on low-level acoustic judgments and lack meaningful context. This study investigates whether training with cross-situational word learning (CSWL), a meaning-based learning paradigm, can improve the perceptual discrimination of non-native vowel contrasts.

Methods

Thirty-seven native speakers of Hungarian were trained on eight European Portuguese pseudowords through a single CSWL session involving alternating passive and active learning blocks, feedback, and exposure to multiple native voices. Pa

SUBMITTER: Tavares G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12447442 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature