Improving Perception of L2 Arabic Durational Contrasts: A Self-Paced Technology-Assisted Approach

Previous research has demonstrated successful technology-assisted perception training involving segmental durational contrasts in Japanese for second-language learners. The current study investigated whether a short-term online training program could improve L1 English learners’ perception of the contrastive duration of Arabic consonants (singletons vs. geminates). A total of 38 participants were assigned to one of three groups as follows: (a) auditory-visual (AV) training with waveforms as visual input; (b) auditory-only (A-only) training; and (c) control. The target singleton-geminate consonants were /t/, /k/, and /s/ followed by /a/ and /o/. All participants completed a multiple-choice pretest and post-test. Between these tests, the AV and A-only groups completed four online perception training sessions. After the post-test, they completed a test of generalization (TG) to novel stimuli. Before training, participants had greater difficulty identifying Arabic singletons versus geminates. After training, AV and A-only groups improved significantly in their identification accuracy of singletons. Identification of geminates also improved, although not to a significant degree. Improved perception of both singletons and geminates was maintained in the TG. The results provide valuable pedagogical insights for both instructors and learners of Arabic on short-term, self-paced, online perception training, which participants found convenient and helpful.