Asymmetrical Disruption: Bimodal Interaction in Nonnative Contrast Acquisition

Previous studies have indicated that on the first days of second language (L2) phonemic acquisition, the immediate repeating of contrasting nonnative phonemes after hearing them could inhibit the acquisition of the sensitivity in the perception of these nonnative contrasts. This finding challenges the well-established interaction between the two modalities, which suggests a position correlation. This paper examines the effects of the implementation of production training following a perceptual identification task on the learning outcomes for the perceptual sensitivity of L2 contrasting phonemes and the production of them. 26 undergraduate students at the University of Oregon performed ABX tasks and tested for their acquisition achievement in perception and production. The paper identified a negative correlation between the production training and the perceptual learning result, while finding no correlation between the training and the production learning result. The paper argues that at the earliest phase of L2 phonemic acquisition, the simultaneous practice in perception and production could be counterproductive and focusing on the perceptual training would provide optimal learning outcomes for the acquisition of perception and production.