When Variability Matters in Second Language Word Learning

This study investigates how training with multiple talkers can affect native English speakers’ acquisition of the novel Arabic pharyngeal-glottal consonant contrasts. Learners’ performance on two discrimination tasks following a word-learning phase is analyzed in terms of training type (multiple talkers vs. single talker) and task type (non-lexical vs. lexical). The findings of the study confirm the hypothesis that variability in talkers can contribute to acquiring non-native contrasting consonant phonemes. The results also showed that different task demands often do not necessarily influence learners’ ability to differentiate novel contrastive consonants.