起始年齡及在校授課時數與台灣英語學習者對英語母音感受精確度之關聯性

The Correlation of Onset Age and of Instruction Time in School to Taiwanese EFL Learner's Perception of English Vowels

This study primarily investigated the correlations of age of first exposure to formal English instruction and of the average number of hours per week of formal English instruction prior to enrollment in university to Taiwanese EFL learners' perceptual accuracy of four English vowels (/I/, /iy/, /ε/ and /ey/). A total of 104 freshmen from a single university in northern Taiwan participated in this study. Their accuracy in recognizing the tested vowels was evaluated by a listening identification test developed by the researcher. In addition, a questionnaire based on modifications of those of Cheung (2006) and Kuo (2001) was utilized to collect information about the students' language background. A series of Pearson Product-Moment Correlations demonstrated that the age of initial exposure to formal English instruction and the weekly amount of English instruction time at school showed significant correlations with the Taiwanese first-year university EFL learners' perceptual accuracy of certain tested vowels. The results of this study suggest that a critical period exists for foreign language acquisition of perception of vowels and that the extension of the amount of formal English instruction of EFL learners should start at an earlier stage of life.