Phonetic and orthographic cues are weighted in speech sound perception by second language speakers: Evidence from Greek speakers of English

Second language (L2) learning can involve processing of speech-sound contrasts that have multiple phonetic cues (e.g. Iverson et al., 2003). This can be particularly difficult for foreign-language learners especially if the cues are weighted differently in the foreign and native languages (e.g., Giannakopoulou et al., 2011, 2013). The orthographic representation of words is suggested to also interfere with speech sound perception in way of presenting additional cues for the second language learner. Greek child and adult speakers of English were studied to determine on what basis they are making perceptual identification between English vowels with the use of pictures as visual stimuli. Performance was impaired for Greek speakers across all tasks but worst for Greek speakers for the picture stimuli task. Findings suggest a 'link' between orthography and perceptual identification serving as an additional cue for L2 speakers.