Musical Hearing and Musical Experience in Second Language English Vowel Acquisition

Abstract

Purpose Former studies suggested that music perception can help produce certain accentual features in the first and second language (L2), such as intonational contours. What was missing in many of these studies was the identification of the exact relationship between specific music perception skills and the production of different accentual features in a foreign language. Our aim was to verify whether empirically tested musical hearing skills can be related to the acquisition of English vowels by learners of English as an L2 before and after a formal accent training course. Method Fifty adult Polish speakers of L2 English were tested before and after a two-semester accent training in order to observe the effect of musical hearing on the acquisition of English vowels. Their L2 English vowel formant contours produced in consonant–vowel–consonant context were compared with the target General British vowels produced by their pronunciation teachers. We juxtaposed these results with their musical hearing test scores and self-reported musical experience to observe a possible relationship between successful L2 vowel acquisition and musical aptitude. Results Preexisting rhythmic memory was reported as a significant predictor before training, while musical experience was reported as a significant factor in the production of more native-like L2 vowels after training. We also observed that not all vowels were equally acquired or affected by musical hearing or musical experience. The strongest estimate we observed was the closeness to model before training, suggesting that learners who already managed to acquire some features of a native-like accent were also more successful after training. Conclusions Our results are revealing in two aspects. First, the learners' former proficiency in L2 pronunciation is the most robust predictor in acquiring a native-like accent. Second, there is a potential relationship between rhythmic memory and L2 vowel acquisition before training, as well as years of musical experience after training, suggesting that specific musical skills and music practice can be an asset in learning a foreign language accent.

Musical hearing and the acquisition of foreign-language intonation

“…Thus, it would be interesting to examine these parameters in future research. This study provides tentative evidence for how musical hearing can correlate to the acquisition of L2 intonation, using similar methodology to previous works by the authors investigating L2 vowel production (Jekiel & Malarski, 2021) and L2 rhythm (Jekiel, 2022). The current results refer to a rather narrow context of learning intonation in L2 English by Polish learners -whether they are applicable to other language pairs requires further research.…”

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“…Similarly, art and music have diverse effects on language learning (Chobert & Besson, 2013). For example, the features of L1 and L2 speech processing, which include the rhythmic structure of speech, supra-segmental vocalic discriminations, segmental vocalic discriminations, and prosodic modality, are significantly impacted by music, especially music expertise (Jekiel & Malarski, 2021). Besides enhancing enjoyable, engaging and productive lessons, art education promotes discipline-neutral critical thinking and promotes thinking, reasoning, imagination, interaction and L2 achievement (Shulsky & Kirkwood, 2015).…”

“…Music training and expertise improve perceived word stress or lexical stress cues and influence lexical stress processing in SLA, which develops the understanding of speech sound segmentation, leading to improved L2 speaking and listening skills (Garami et al, 2017). Jekiel and Malarski (2021) investigated the effects of musical listening abilities of 50 Polish learners of English as an L2 before and after a standardized accent training programme. They found that musical ability contributes to the production of more native-like L2 vowels and a potential relationship between rhythmic memory and L2 vowel acquisition before training, and years of musical experience after training, suggesting that specific musical skills and music practice can be an asset in learning an L2 accent.…”

Does Musicality Assist Foreign Language Learning? Perception and Production of Thai Vowels, Consonants and Lexical Tones by Musicians and Non-Musicians

“…Nikjeh et al [33] showed that instrumental and vocally trained musicians outperformed non-musicians in the production of pitch. With respect to consonant and vowel production, memory for rhythm and amount of musical practice were also found to be predictors of the quality of pronunciation of non-native speech sounds [34][35][36]. For example, Jekiel and Malarski [34] found that after a period of training, the accuracy of the production of non-native vowels by Polish speakers of L2 English was related to their level of formal music training.…”