This book presents the effects of perceptual training on the perception
of English lexical stress in rising intonation by Mandarin-speaking EFL
learners in Taiwan, and shows that these effects can be positive as well
as negative. The book is of interest to researchers in lexical stress
and intonation, or issues related to acquisition of L2 suprasegmentals
and native-language impact on this process, as well as for those
designing a training course on lexical stress for EFL learners,
particularly those with a tone language background.
Learning to perceive non-native sound contrasts can be a formidable
task, particularly when learners can't rely on cues from their
native-language experience. A case in point is Mandarin-speaking EFL
learners' perception of lexical stress. They can accurately identify the
stress patterns of target words in sentences that have a falling
intonation. However, they experience considerable difficulties when the
target words are in questions, where the intonation is rising. Where
most training studies use only stimuli produced in falling intonation,
we implemented a perceptual training program to examine whether
Mandarin-speaking EFL learners could learn to perceive English lexical
stress in both falling intonation and rising intonation.