Examining L2 vowel contrast desensitization in the EFL Classroom: A study on native Spanish/Catalan speaker perception and production of English tense-lax vowel pairs

Identifier:  TFM:1706

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TFM1706

Authors:  Salcedo Silva, Adrián

Abstract:
The thesis aims to test the effectiveness of three pronunciation instructions: length-based, quality-based, and an implicit approach. Bohn’s hypothesis predicts that L2 learners will resort to vowel length as the main contrastive feature for those members of vowel pairs like /i/-/ɪ/ that learners lack in their phonological vowel inventory or for which they only have one vowel category. The experiment will include a forced-choice identification test with stimuli that has been manipulated in duration and spectra. It will also gather production data from participants.