Training English Word-final Palatals to Korean Speakers of English

Yeon 2008

Trained Korean ESL students who came to the US after critical period in ending syllables in "sh" and "ch." FOund that intensive training and focused learning helped production and perception.

1. The article is based on a connectionist theory of SLA. Yeon based his or her treatment on the assumption that repeated exposure to the target forms and frequent practice with perceiving and producing these forms might improve the learners; production and production of the forms. While Yeon does not mention the neural networks which might be strengthened by the training, the underlying assumption is that frequent and intensive practice is necessary for the acquisition of rule-governed behavior.

2. The article addresses transition theory, as it attempts to identify classroom tasks that can aid in listening and speaking activities for Korean English language learners.

3. The most significant aspect of this study is that all the learners “had come to the US after critical period” (53) and yet benefitted from the intensive perception training. Yeon has found not only that the critical period is not necessarily the “cut-off for language learning,” but also has identified a classroom activity for Korean ELLs that can eradicate this common error.