Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Accents and accentuation; Motor learning; Second language acquisition; Academic theses;
Abstract
As the numbers of immigrants and non-native speakers of English continue to be high in the United States, there will also continue to be those who wish to alter their manner of speaking. Currently, there is little research discussing the effectiveness of traditional therapy techniques (i.e. auditory training, drill, and phonetic placement; Schmidt and Meyers, 1995). However, in recent years, research has shown high success rates in therapies based on motor learning principles ( e.g. Backer, 2003; Mueller, 2004; Nelson, 2004). By definition, motor learning is "a set of processes associated with practice or experience leading to relatively permanent changes in the capability for movement" (Schmidt & Lee, 2005). In other words, it is the means by which humans learn a motor skill. Motor learning takes into special consideration the areas of distribution of practice, variability of practice, and feedback. Despite its application to other areas of speech pathology ( e.g. developmental apraxia of speech), motor learning principles have not been applied to modifying the accented speech of a cognitively intact adult. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a motor learning hierarchy on the articulation and intonation of a non-native speaker of English. A single-subject design was employed over the course of 8 weeks (50 minute sessions, 3 times a week). Feedback was given in the form of summary feedback and pauses were inserted after each production. Stimuli consisted of words, researcher-created sentences, and participant-created sentences. Results during and after treatment were unpredictable. The subject's scores on standardized tests (such as the Compton Phonological Assessment of Foreign Accent (Compton, 1983)) remained essentially the same pre- and post-treatment. The subject showed inconsistent improvement in articulation; however, his intonation scores actually dropped over the course of therapy, probably due to strategies he assumed to over articulate. Discussion and implications are reviewed.
Year of Submission
2007
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Communicative Disorders
First Advisor
Carlin Hageman
Second Advisor
Angela Burda
Third Advisor
Juan Carlos Castillo
Date Original
2007
Object Description
1 PDF file (60 leaves)
Copyright
©2007 Lindsey Nicole Clark
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Clark, Lindsey Nicole, "Motor Learning and Its Application to Accent Modification" (2007). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2354.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2354
Comments
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