Training Finnish and English Speakers to Produce Non-native Vowels

The subject of this thesis was the acquisition of difficult non-native vowels by speakers of two different languages. In order to study the subject, a group of Finnish speakers and another group of American English speakers were recruited and they underwent a short listen-and-repeat training that included as stimuli the semisynthetically created pseudowords /ty:ti/ and /tʉ:ti/. The aim was to study the effect of the training method on the subjects as well as the possible influence of the speakers’ native language on the process of acquisition. The selection of the target vowels /y/ and /ʉ/ was made according to the Speech Learning Model and Perceptual Assimilation Model, both of which predict that second language speech sounds that share similar features with sounds of a person’s native language are most difficult for the person to learn. The vowel /ʉ/ is similar to Finnish vowels as well as to vowels of English, whereas /y/ exists in Finnish but not in English, although it is similar to other English vowels. Therefore, it can be hypothesized that /ʉ/ is a difficult vowel for both groups to learn and /y/ is difficult for English speakers. The effect of training was tested with a pretest-training-posttest protocol in which the stimuli were played alternately and the subjects’ task was to repeat the heard stimuli. The training method was thought to improve the production of non-native sounds by engaging different feedback mechanisms, such as auditory and somatosensory. These, according to Template Theory, modify the production of speech by altering the motor commands from the internal speech system or the feedforward signal which translates the motoric commands into articulatory movements. The subjects’ productions during the test phases were recorded and an acoustic analysis was performed in which the formant values of the target vowels were extracted. Statistical analyses showed a statistically significant difference between groups in the first formant, signaling a possible effect of native motor commands. Furthermore, a statistically significant difference between groups was observed in the standard deviation of the formants in the production of /y/, showing the uniformity of native production. The training had no observable effect, possibly due to the short nature of the training protocol.

Learning English is Fun! Incidental vocabulary acquisition of music and traditional class ninth graders via listening to pop songs

Finnish youth are constantly exposed to music and lyrics in English in their free time. It is likely that this has a positive effect on vocabulary learning. Learning vocabulary while simultaneously accompanied with melodies is likely to result in better learning outcomes. The present thesis covers a study on the vocabulary learning of traditional and music class ninth graders in a south-western upper comprehensive school in Finland, mainly concentrating on vocabulary learning as a by-product of listening to pop music and learning vocabulary through semantic priming. The theoretical background presents viable linguistic arguments and theories, which provide clarity for why it would be possible to learn English vocabulary via listening to pop songs. There is conflicting evidence on the benefits of music on vocabulary learning, and this thesis sets out to shed light on the situation. Additionally, incorporating pop music in English classes could assist in decreasing the gap between real world English and school English. The thesis is a mixed method research study consisting of both quantitative and qualitative research materials. The methodology comprises vocabulary tests both before and after pop music samples and a background questionnaire filled by students. According to the results, all students reported liking listening to music and they clearly listened to English pop music the most. A statistically significant difference was found when analysing the results of the differences in pre- and post-vocabulary tests. However, the traditional class appeared to listen to mainstream pop music more than the students in the music class, and thus it seems likely that the traditional class benefited more from vocabulary learning occurring via listening to pop songs. In conclusion, it can be established that it is possible to learn English vocabulary via listening to pop songs and that students wish their English lectures would involve more music-related vocabulary exercises in the future. Thus, when it comes to school learning, pop songs should be utilised in vocabulary learning, which could also in turn result in more diverse learning and the students could, more easily than before, relate to the themes and topics of the lectures. Furthermore, with the help of pop songs it would be possible to decrease the gap between school English and real-world English.