Age Effects in L2 Perception and Production by Learners of Korean

Abstract

This study examines perception and production by second language learners of Korean. The particular focus is word-initial aspirated and lax stops and affricates in Korean. The results of the learners with differing age of onset suggest the following: Early L2 exposure leads to better performance, which correlates strongly to the age of onset of L2 exposure. The perception and production of the early learners approximate that of the native speakers in this study. There was no interaction between segment types and their performance. On the other hand, the performance of the late learners exhibited characteristics different from that of the early learners. Their accuracy was lower than that of the early learners in perception and production of lax consonants. Segment type was a factor in their performance, which suggests L1 interference.