Which sounds are most challenging for Japanese learners when speaking English

The most challenging English sounds for Japanese learners are the /r/ and /l/ phonemes, which are difficult to differentiate and articulate because these sounds do not exist in the Japanese language. Other challenging sounds include English fricatives and certain vowel phonemes that differ from those in Japanese. Additionally, final nasals and rising intonation patterns in English can also be particularly difficult for Japanese learners to perceive and produce accurately. Training and explicit instruction, including visual feedback and phonetic training, have been shown to improve perception and production of these challenging sounds over time for Japanese learners. ^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

References

• Effects of repeating after stimuli sounds during computer assisted HVPT on Japanese learners’ perception and production of English fricatives

• Effects of observing pitch gestures on the perception of English intonation by Japanese learners of English

• Which English Sounds are Difficult? Japanese EFL Learners’ Intuitions Versus Their Performance

• Pupil dilation reflects English /l//r/ discrimination ability for Japanese learners of English: a pilot study

• Training Japanese listeners to identify English /r/and /l/: Long-term retention of learning in perception and production

• Japanese learners’ recognition of English vowel phonemes

• DOES ULTRASOUND TRAINING LEAD TO IMPROVED PERCEPTION OF A NON-NATIVE SOUND CONTRAST ? : EVIDENCE FROM JAPANESE LEARNERS OF ENGLISH *

• Effects of web-based HVPT on EFL learners ’ recognition and production of L 2 sounds

• Preliminary analysis of training non-native sounds in noise

• Ultrasound tongue imaging as a visual feedback in L2 pronunciation training

• Exploring Pronouncing English Sounds : Book Review For Japanese Language Learners

• “That Sounds About Right”—Lexical Bundle Naturalness Intuitions in Japanese Learners of English

• Training Japanese listeners to identify English /r/ and /l/: a first report.

• The relationship between pronunciation and listening discrimination when Japanese natives are learning English.

• Perceived Phonological Overlap in Second-Language Categories: The Acquisition of English /r/ and /l/ by Japanese Native Listeners

• Can native Japanese listeners learn to differentiate /r–l/ on the basis of F3 onset frequency? – CORRIGENDUM

• Improving Japanese English pronunciation with speech recognition and feed-back system

• An Acoustic Way to Support Japanese Children’s Effective English Learning in School Classrooms

• Applying adaptive recognition of the learner’s vowel space to English pronunciation training of native speakers of Japanese

• Immersing Japanese students into English language learning: Songs, games and cultures

• A one-year longitudinal study of English and Japanese vowel production by Japanese adults and children in an English-speaking setting

• Formant dynamics in second language speech: Japanese speakers’ production of English liquids.

• Comparing phonetic difficulties by EFL learners from Spain and Japan

• Phoneme discrimination and mismatch negativity in English and Japanese speakers

• To What Extent Does Accent Sensitivity Provide the Foundation for Lexical Knowledge and Listening Comprehension

• Training Japanese listeners to identify English /r/ and /l/. III. Long-term retention of new phonetic categories.