The Role of Inhibitory Control in Second Language Phonological Processing

Abstract
This study investigated the role of inhibition in second language (L2) learnersā€™ phonological processing. Participants were Spanish learners of L2 English and American learners of L2 Spanish. We measured inhibition through a retrievalā€induced inhibition task. Accuracy of phonological representations (perception and production) was assessed through a speeded ABX categorization task and a delayed sentence repetition task. We used a measure of L2 vocabulary size to tease out L2 proficiency effects. Higher inhibitory control was related to lower error rate in segmental perception. Inhibition was also related to consonant but not to vowel production accuracy. These results suggest a potential role for inhibition in L2 phonological acquisition, with inhibition enhancing the processing of phonologically relevant acoustic information in the L2 input, which in turn might lead to more accurate L2 phonological representations.
Description
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Darcy, I., Mora, J. C., & Daidone, D. (2016). The role of inhibitory control in second language phonological processing. Language Learning, 66(4), 741-773. which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/lang.12161. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
Keywords
inhibitory control, retrieval induced inhibition, vowel and consonant production, vowel perception, English, Spanish
Citation
Darcy, I., Mora, J. C. and *Daidone, D. (2016), The Role of Inhibitory Control in Second Language Phonological Processing. Language Learning, 66, 741ā€“773. doi:10.1111/lang.12161. Materials available on IRIS.
DOI
10.1111/lang.12161
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