ABSTRACT
This chapter emphasizes the connection between perception and production. In terms of L2 acquisition, it goes over a body of literature on the perception of L2 sounds in a range of L1-L2 combinations, and also covers the effects of age of exposure in bilinguals’ perceptual abilities and challenges adults face when trying to perceive L2 sounds. From a theoretical standpoint, the chapter describes, compares, and contrasts three of the most influential models of perceptual development before delving into studies on the outcomes of L2 perceptual training and instruction. It also provides suggestions for integrating perception training/instruction into the classroom through examples with stop consonants, connected speech, and rhotics. Lastly, two sample lessons are outlined: one focusing on input frequency through the use of a video; and a second explicitly calling attention to differences between English and Spanish stop consonants.
