Scholars have extensively investigated the effectiveness of high variability phonetic training (HVPT), that is, identification and discrimination of second language speech sounds produced by multiple speakers followed by trial-by-trial feedback. Building on the notion of incidental and multimodal learning in cognitive psychology (e.g., Lim &…

Research has suggested that the type and frequency of learning strategies employed by successful listeners is greater than their less successful counterparts. Based on evidence that metacognitive strategies (e.g. listening-for-gist; inferring meaning) are more effective than cognitive ones (e.g. word-for-word translation), this study sought to…

Purpose: This study tested the hypothesis that audiovisual training benefits children more than it does adults and that it improves Japanese-speaking children's English /r/-/l/ perception to a native-like level. Method: Ten sessions of audiovisual English /r/-/l/ identification training were conducted for Japanese-speaking adults and children.…

Purpose: Individuals vary in their ability to learn the sound categories of nonnative languages (nonnative phonetic learning) and to adapt to systematic differences, such as accent or talker differences, in the sounds of their native language (native phonetic learning). Difficulties with both native and nonnative learning are well attested in…

This study examined the effects of a 9-week auditory intervention on the auditory skills of five children with hearing loss who experienced prolonged auditory deprivation before receiving hearing aids. A single-case multiple baseline design across participants was used to examine the effect of the intervention on the children's auditory skills…

This paper focuses on Partial and Synchronized Caption (PSC) as a tool to train L2 listening and introduces new features to facilitate speech-related difficulties. PSC is an intelligent caption that extensively processes the audio and transcript to detect and present difficult words or phrases for L2 learners. With the new features, learners can…

This dissertation investigates how English-speaking second language (L2) learners of Mandarin perceive, process and learn Mandarin lexical tones. While most languages use modulations in pitch (intonation) to convey meanings at the phrasal and sentential levels, a number of languages, including Mandarin, also use suprasegmental features such as…

Deaf children are often described as having difficulty with executive function (EF), often manifesting in behavioral problems. Some researchers view these problems as a consequence of auditory deprivation; however, the behavioral problems observed in previous studies may not be due to deafness but to some other factor, such as lack of early…

Purpose: This preliminary study on lingual-alveolar contact pressures (LACP) in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) had several aims: (a) to evaluate whether the protocol induced fatigue, (b) to compare LACP during speech (LACP-Sp) and during maximum isometric pressing (LACP-Max) in people with ALS (PALS) versus healthy controls, (c)…

Purpose: Three experiments examined the use of competing coordinate response measure (CRM) sentences as a multitalker babble. Method: In Experiment I, young adults with normal hearing listened to a CRM target sentence in the presence of 2, 4, or 6 competing CRM sentences with synchronous or asynchronous onsets. In Experiment II, the condition with…

Purpose: We sought to determine whether speech perception and language skills measured early after cochlear implantation in children who are deaf, and early postimplant growth in speech perception and language skills, predict long-term speech perception, language, and neurocognitive outcomes. Method: Thirty-six long-term users of cochlear…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the aging effect on the categorical perception of Mandarin Chinese tones with varied fundamental frequency (F0) contours and signal duration. Method: Both younger and older native Chinese listeners with normal hearing were recruited in 2 experiments--tone identification and tone discrimination…

Learning to recognize a stimulus category requires experience with its many natural variations. However, the mechanisms that allow a category's sensorineural representation to be updated after experiencing new exemplars are not well understood, particularly at the molecular level. Here we investigate how a natural vocal category induces expression…

Purpose: Listeners with hearing loss, as well as many listeners with clinically normal hearing, often experience great difficulty segregating talkers in a multiple-talker sound field and selectively attending to the desired "target" talker while ignoring the speech from unwanted "masker" talkers and other sources of sound. This…

Purpose: This review article provides a new perspective on the role of attention in auditory scene analysis. Method: A framework for understanding how attention interacts with stimulus-driven processes to facilitate task goals is presented. Previously reported data obtained through behavioral and electrophysiological measures in adults with normal…