Phonetic Development of an L2 Vowel System and Tandem Drift in the L1: A Residence Abroad and L1 Re-Immersion Study.
James Turner
PMID 36413011WHAT IT FOUND
Learners of French lowered their native English vowel space during a 6-month stay abroad, matching their French gains.
These L1 changes were only partially reversed 10 months after returning home, while the French improvements remained. The distance between the two languages' vowel systems diminished.
Key findings
01Native English vowel spaces lowered significantly during the stay abroad, in the same direction as the learners' French vowel development.
02Ten months after returning home, the native English vowel space was only partially reversed and remained significantly lower than the baseline, while the French vowel changes were sustained.
03The acoustic distance between the learners' native English and second language French vowel systems diminished significantly over the study period.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study did not include a native English monolingual control group, so it is unclear if the participants had already undergone some phonetic attrition before the study began. The follow-up period was 10 months; the long-term stability of these phonetic changes beyond this point is unknown. The study focused on systemic vowel properties rather than individual segmental accuracy, so it may not capture all aspects of accent change.
Declared interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest. The research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (SCDTP).
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that phonetic changes in the native language (L1) will fully reverse once the learner returns to their home environment. The study showed that L1 vowel lowering persisted significantly 10 months after returning, while L2 gains were also maintained.