This study examined the effect of short-term immersion in Englishlanguage communities in England on young native Danish adults’ English pronunciation. Pronunciation ratings by a group of native judges revealed significantly higher pronunciation ratings when compared before and after 3-10 months of English immersion. A native Danish control group received virtually identical ratings by the judges at two different time points. The pronunciation gain score for the immersion group was significantly correlated with length of residence (LOR) in England. However, a stronger correlation (r=0.81) was found between pronunciation gain score and a weighted input measure, viz. LOR weighted by self-reported proportion of English vs. Danish use during the immersion period. The results suggest that second-language (L2) learners’ phonetic system is highly malleable and responds readily to new L2 input.
Original language
English
Title of host publication
A sound approach to language matters : in honor of Ocke-Schwen Bohn
Editors
Anne Mette Nyvad, Michaela Hejná, Anders Højen, Anna Bothe Jespersen, Mette Hjortshøj Sørensen
