14th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS-14)

San Francisco, CA, USA
August 1-7, 1999


The Relation between L2 Production and Perception

James E. Flege

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA

It has been claimed that a correlation does not exist between how accurately experienced late learners produce and perceive phonetic segments in a second language (L2). According to one theory, learners of an L2 are no longer able to align segmental production and perception after the passing of a critical period. This contribution reviews studies that have examined L2 production and perception. All of the studies yielded significant, albeit modest, correlations. Possible explanations for why stronger correlations have not been observed are presented.

Full Paper

Bibliographic reference.  Flege, James E. (1999): "The relation between L2 production and perception", In ICPhS-14, 1273-1276.