One of the main goals of non-native learners is to be able to engage in oral interactions with other native or non-native speakers. The knowledge on how we develop the ability to communicate in a foreign language has advanced considerably in the last years, but there are still many questions to be answered.
In general, the better we perceive non-native sounds, the better we can produce them. However, it is still not clear whether perceptual training is enough to improve our production skills, or whether production training can help us improve our ability to better perceive the sounds of a non-native language.
It is also under debate whether learning is similar across individuals, irrespective of their cognitive abilities, when it comes to learn the sounds of a new language.
These knowledge gaps Are perhaps surprising, given the importance of intelligible spoken language in today’s multilingual societies.
Therefore, the ProPerL2 project investigates the impact of auditory perceptual and production training in L2 speech learning, focusing on native speakers of English learning Portuguese. Our study aims to comprehend whether perceptual training alone is enough to improve production abilities, while exploring the role of individual cognitive factors in Portuguese L2 speech learning.
The project also lays the foundations for new methodological advances in L2 speech learning research by testing a wide sample of native English speakers learning Portuguese sound contrasts in a fully web-based experiment.
The understanding of such aspects can have significant implications to the field of language learning and communication in various linguistic setting.
