Learners’ Perceptions of Arabic Consonant Contrasts: Gender and Learning-Context Effects
This study investigates the effects of gender and the learning context on learners’ perceptions of Arabic consonant contrasts. To this end, 60 intermediate Arabic learners, half of which were males and half of which were females, were recruited from two different learning contexts: a study-abroad (S...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Languages |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/3/77 |
| _version_ | 1797240273230626816 |
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| author | Asmaa Shehata |
| author_facet | Asmaa Shehata |
| author_sort | Asmaa Shehata |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study investigates the effects of gender and the learning context on learners’ perceptions of Arabic consonant contrasts. To this end, 60 intermediate Arabic learners, half of which were males and half of which were females, were recruited from two different learning contexts: a study-abroad (SA) program in Egypt and an at-home (AH) setting at a western American university. Learners in the two groups were tested before and after a semester of Arabic study using a perception task that involved distinguishing four Arabic consonant contrasts: /d - dˁ/, /h - ħ/, /s - sˁ/, and /t - tˁ/). The results reveal that the advantage of females in segmental identification accuracy was not verified, as female performance did not significantly differ from male performance in any of the four target consonant contrasts. In contrast, the learning context was found to positively impact learners’ perceptions of the target Arabic consonants, as the SA group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the AH environment on the /h - ħ/ and /d - dˁ/ contrasts. However, there were no significant differences between learners in the two different contexts regarding the two other consonant contrasts (i.e., /s - sˁ/ and /t - tˁ/). The findings bring insights into the understanding of the gender-based differences in identifying problematic Arabic consonantal contrasts for English learners in two different contexts of learning, and they shed light on the implications for language pedagogy for pronunciation training. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:04:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6ce79fe808ed4ec9b3c756d341b487b0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2226-471X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:04:48Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Languages |
| spelling | doaj.art-6ce79fe808ed4ec9b3c756d341b487b02024-03-27T13:50:55ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2024-02-01937710.3390/languages9030077Learners’ Perceptions of Arabic Consonant Contrasts: Gender and Learning-Context EffectsAsmaa Shehata0Department of Modern Languages, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USAThis study investigates the effects of gender and the learning context on learners’ perceptions of Arabic consonant contrasts. To this end, 60 intermediate Arabic learners, half of which were males and half of which were females, were recruited from two different learning contexts: a study-abroad (SA) program in Egypt and an at-home (AH) setting at a western American university. Learners in the two groups were tested before and after a semester of Arabic study using a perception task that involved distinguishing four Arabic consonant contrasts: /d - dˁ/, /h - ħ/, /s - sˁ/, and /t - tˁ/). The results reveal that the advantage of females in segmental identification accuracy was not verified, as female performance did not significantly differ from male performance in any of the four target consonant contrasts. In contrast, the learning context was found to positively impact learners’ perceptions of the target Arabic consonants, as the SA group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the AH environment on the /h - ħ/ and /d - dˁ/ contrasts. However, there were no significant differences between learners in the two different contexts regarding the two other consonant contrasts (i.e., /s - sˁ/ and /t - tˁ/). The findings bring insights into the understanding of the gender-based differences in identifying problematic Arabic consonantal contrasts for English learners in two different contexts of learning, and they shed light on the implications for language pedagogy for pronunciation training.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/3/77Arabicperceptiongenderlearning contextconsonant contrasts |
| spellingShingle | Asmaa Shehata Learners’ Perceptions of Arabic Consonant Contrasts: Gender and Learning-Context Effects Languages Arabic perception gender learning context consonant contrasts |
| title | Learners’ Perceptions of Arabic Consonant Contrasts: Gender and Learning-Context Effects |
| title_full | Learners’ Perceptions of Arabic Consonant Contrasts: Gender and Learning-Context Effects |
| title_fullStr | Learners’ Perceptions of Arabic Consonant Contrasts: Gender and Learning-Context Effects |
| title_full_unstemmed | Learners’ Perceptions of Arabic Consonant Contrasts: Gender and Learning-Context Effects |
| title_short | Learners’ Perceptions of Arabic Consonant Contrasts: Gender and Learning-Context Effects |
| title_sort | learners perceptions of arabic consonant contrasts gender and learning context effects |
| topic | Arabic perception gender learning context consonant contrasts |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/3/77 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT asmaashehata learnersperceptionsofarabicconsonantcontrastsgenderandlearningcontexteffects |