Developing a Pitch and Intensity Test (PINT) to measure second language learners’ auditory perception

Speech segmentation and comprehension remains a challenge to second language learners. This is partly due to the difficulty to identify and use rhythmic information to segment the speech stream, such as pitch, intensity and duration, which can diverge from one’s native language.

Previous research showed that mastering a second language enhances one’s sensitivity to rhythmic variation in music. Moreover, this sensitivity is higher when one’s first and second languages rely on different rhythmic properties. Thus, auditory training is transferred from language to music perception.

Despite some investigation of duration as rhythmic property in the context of second language learning, little is known about the perception of pitch and intensity as syntactic markers. In this project a rhythmic test will be developed to measure second language learners’ perception of pitch and intensity in the context of the temporal organization of sounds, namely rhythm. So a better understanding of the auditory plasticity of second language learners can be gained and used to develop an explicit training of the relevant properties for different language background. This training may, in turn, aid individuals' second language segmentation and comprehension skills.

Project objectives

The objectives of this project are:

• investigate how individuals’ native languages may influence their rhythmic perception regarding pitch and intensity variations, which are important cues for speech segmentation and comprehension;
• investigate whether the rhythmic perception of pitch and intensity are stable during second language learning or vary with proficiency level, similarly to duration.

In order to do this, a rhythmic test will be developed based on pitch and intensity variations.

Potential impact

The developed test can be used in research to test for individual and language differences in pitch and intensity perception and how they relate to second language learning. As a potential follow-up study, the test would be validated and used in L2 phonetic and pronunciation research. 

This research can also contribute to a better understanding of the auditory plasticity that occurs during second language learning. This knowledge could be used by future studies to develop a training of specific rhythmic properties (e.g., intensity and pitch) and be used as additional support to more conventional second language learning methods. 

The use of such a rhythmic training could be broadened to other institutions such as private and public institutions (such as ROCs, middle and high schools), where adult and children immigrants are faced with the difficulty of learning Dutch as a second language. Improving these individuals’ Dutch listening and, consequently, comprehension skills could help them to overcome one of the challenges of succeeding in their education and integration in the society. 

Duration

The project will run for one year starting from September 2023 onwards.

Multidisciplinary project team

Lead applicant Dr. M. Paula Roncaglia-Denissen, Assistant Professor at the Department of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, together with co-applicant Dr. Tineke M. Snijders, Assistant Professor at the Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, will contribute with their expertise in second language and first language rhythmic perception.

External collaborative partner Martyn Smits of the Fontys Academy of Music and Performing Arts will help select a student assistant and closely supervise this student in the development of the rhythmic test. He will also define some of the test parameters, such as the type of instrument to be used in the test, tempo, among others.

With the rhythmic items for the sub-test of intensity and pitch variation ready, Prof. dr. Maurice de Greef of the Department of Educational Sciences of Vrije Universiteit Brussels will assist in designing the test in an optimal fashion for adult learners from different social-economic status and education background. Moreover, he will make use of his research network which includes more than 20 Regionaal Opleidingcentra in the Netherlands, offering Dutch as a second language for the implementation of the test.

This project is funded by Tilburg University’s Digital Sciences for Society program: