In this dissertation, I investigated how cognitive resources as well as formal, and informal language experience impact language learning in two studies. In the first study (Chapter 2), I examined the learning of Spanish grammatical gender by Chinese international students who were studying abroad in the US. The goal of that study was to uncover…

The present study investigated first language (L1) and second language (L2) Chinese categorization of tones and segments and use of tones and segments in lexical access. Previous research has shown that English listeners rely more on pitch height than pitch direction when perceiving lexical tones; however, it remains unclear if this superior use…

This dissertation investigates the occurrence of an intermediate stage, termed a covert contrast, in the acquisition of Mandarin Tone 2 (T2) and Tone 3 (T3) by adult speakers of American English. A covert contrast is a statistically reliable distinction produced by language learners that is not perceived by native speakers of the target language…

Complex broadband sounds are decomposed by the auditory filters into a series of relatively narrowband signals, each of which conveys information about the sound by time-varying features. The slow changes in the overall amplitude constitute envelope, while the more rapid events, such as zero crossings, constitute temporal fine structure (TFS).…

Speech production and perception are inextricably linked systems. Speakers modify their speech in response to listener characteristics, such as age, hearing ability, and language background. Listener-oriented modifications in speech production, commonly referred to as clear speech, have also been found to affect speech perception by enhancing…

Given the prevalent use of sight-reading in the classroom, at music festivals, and in audition procedures, it is important to know the most effective practices in preparing students to sight-read musical excerpts. Previous studies suggest that rhythm accuracy is a significant indicator of sight-reading ability. However, others have observed a…

This dissertation begins with the observation of a typological asymmetry within phonological patterns related to phonetic naturalness. Patterns that are rooted within existing tendencies of perception and/or production--in other words, patterns that are phonetically "natural"--are common in phonological typology and seen in a variety of…

One of the aspects of L2 English phonology which poses a challenge for L2 learners is learning how to decode the language, especially as spoken by native speakers. This difficulty may be due to the way the native speakers speak by 'draw[ing] [the sounds] together' (Clarey & Dixson, 1963), which results in realization of consonants and vowels…

Models of speech perception suggest a dorsal stream connecting the temporal and inferior parietal lobe with the inferior frontal gyrus. This stream is thought to involve an auditory motor loop that translates acoustic information into motor/articulatory commands and is further influenced by decision making processes that involve maintenance of…

The purposes of this quantitative descriptive and correlational study were to describe the learning preferences of Georgia Young Farmer participants and determine if significant differences exists between scores relating to visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles. A pilot study was used to correct identifiable problems with the survey…

This mixed-methods study examined the beliefs and performance of 10 adult Japanese speakers of English regarding the phenomenon of contraction in spoken English. Over the course of three months, a collective case study approach involving listening tasks and semi-structured interviews was employed to investigate the topic from multiple dimensions,…

Over the past few decades, there has been considerable effort to find the mechanisms through which adult listeners can accommodate the rampant phonetic variation in natural speech. My dissertation concerns one source of variability: phonetic variation in speech produced by individuals with foreign accents. Mounting evidence shows that listeners…

This dissertation studies the perception of tones in Thai, and aims to contribute to a formal characterization of speech perception more generally. Earlier work had argued that perception of tones involves retrieval of some abstract "autosegmental" representation provided by the phonology, while another line of work had argued for the…

Late second language (L2) learners often struggle with L2 prosody, both in perception and production. This may result from first language (L1) interference or some property of how a second language functions in a late learner independent of what their L1 might be. Here we investigate prosody's role in determining information structure through…

Successful spoken language comprehension depends upon both sensory and cognitive processing. Since older adults often experience declines in one or both of these domains, and perform worse on some language processing tasks than younger listeners, an important question is how declines to both auditory perception and cognitive abilities affect…