Aims and Objectives:

We compared speech accuracy and pronunciation patterns between early learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) with different language backgrounds. We asked (1) whether linguistic background predicts pronunciation outcomes, and (2) if error sources and substitution patterns differ between monolinguals and heterogeneous bilinguals.

Methodology:

Monolingual and bilingual 4th-graders (N = 183) at German public primary schools participated in an English picture-naming task. We further collected linguistic, cognitive and social background measures to control for individual differences.

Data and Analysis:

Productions were transcribed and rated for accuracy and error types by three independent raters. We compared monolingual and bilingual pronunciation accuracy in a linear mixed-effects regression analysis controlling for background factors at the individual and institutional level. We further categorized all error types and compared their relative frequency as well as substitution patterns between different language groups.

Findings:

After background factors were controlled for, bilinguals (irrespective of specific L1) significantly outperformed their monolingual peers on overall pronunciation accuracy. Irrespective of language background, the most frequent error sources overlapped, affecting English sounds which are considered marked, are absent from the German phoneme inventory, or differ phonetically from a German equivalent.

Originality:

This study extends previous work on bilingual advantages in other domains of EFL to less researched phonological skills. It focuses on overall productive skills in young FL learners with limited proficiency and provides an overview over the most common error sources and substitution patterns in connection to language background.

Significance/Implications:

The study highlights that bilingual learners may deploy additional resources in the acquisition of target language phonology that should be addressed in the foreign language classroom.

中文翻译：

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德语四年级学生早期EFL语音准确性的双语优势

目的和目标：

我们比较了具有不同语言背景的英语作为外语（EFL）的早期学习者之间的语音准确性和发音模式。我们询问（1）语言背景是否能预测发音结果，以及（2）单语和异语之间的错误来源和替代方式是否不同。

方法：

德国公立小学的双语和四年级学生（N = 183）参加了英语图片命名任务。我们进一步收集了语言，认知和社会背景指标，以控制个体差异。

数据与分析：

产品被转录并由三个独立的评估者对准确性和错误类型进行评估。在线性混合效应回归分析中，我们比较了单语和双语发音的准确性，这些分析控制了个人和机构层面的背景因素。我们进一步对所有错误类型进行了分类，并比较了它们的相对频率以及不同语言组之间的替换模式。

发现：

在控制了背景因素之后，双语者（与特定的L1无关）在整体发音准确度方面明显优于单语者。无论语言背景如何，最常见的错误源重叠在一起，都会影响被认为已标记的英语声音，德语音素清单中没有或与德语等效音素有差异。

独创性：

这项研究将先前在EFL其他领域的双语优势方面的工作扩展到研究较少的语音技能。它侧重于能力有限的年轻外语学习者的整体生产技能，并概述了与语言背景有关的最常见错误源和替代模式。

意义/含义：

该研究强调，双语学习者可能会在目标语言语音学的学习中部署更多资源，这应该在外语课堂中解决。