The production and perception of English short and long vowels by Malay young learners / Raja Rosemawati Raja Abdullah

Raja Rosemawati , Raja Abdullah (2021) The production and perception of English short and long vowels by Malay young learners / Raja Rosemawati Raja Abdullah. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaya.

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Abstract

The present study aims to explore how young learners of English as a second language produce English monophthongs and their ability to distinguish the short and long vowels. 10 Year 5 female pupils were selected, and this research focused on three English vowel pairs: /ɪ/ - /i:/, /ʊ/ - /u:/ and /Ʌ/ - /ɑ:/. The first two research questions looked at the production of these English vowels in terms of formant frequencies and duration. The last research question investigated the ability of the speakers to discriminate English monophthong in terms of accuracy and latency. The data were collected via two types of instruments: the production and perception test. In the production test, the participants were recorded reading six carrier sentences in three repetitions. The findings showed that the /ʊ/ - /u:/ pair was the easiest to produce, with more difference in F1 and F2 values as well as duration difference; while the /ɪ/ - /i:/ pair was the hardest among the three pairs to be produced. In the perception test, participants underwent a listening test with 2AFC. The participants distinguished the short and long vowels, and their accuracy and reaction time were measured. The results indicated that the /ɪ/ - /i:/ pair was the most difficult to discriminate, with more wrong answers recorded and the longer average time was measured. In contrast, the /ʊ/ - /u:/ pair was the easiest to perceive, followed by /Ʌ/ - /ɑ:/ pair. Comparing the results of both tests, the order of the hardest vowels pair to produce and perceive are as followed; /ɪ/ - /i:/, /Ʌ/ - /ɑ:/ and /ʊ/ - /u:/. The result agrees with what perception-production link theory has claimed, confirming the relationship between perception and production. The sound that can be perceived easily can also be produced easily. The Speech Learning Model verified that the L2 sounds that are similar to their L1 counterpart are harder to understand and Perceptual Assimilation Model suggested that the L2 sound is assimilated to the most similar sound in L1. These findings help us to understand how Malay young learners learned English vowels, by basing the L2 to L1 (Malay) vowels.

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