Contextual effects on the perception of English interdental fricatives /<b> <i>θ</i> </b>/ by Mandarin Chinese learners

Mandarin Chinese lacks interdental fricatives, causing Mandarin Chinese learners to struggle in perceiving these sounds in English. This study explores how word position and vocalic context affect the perception of /θ/ by Mandarin Chinese learners. We test Mandarin Chinese learners and native English speakers using words containing the sound /θ/ in word-initial, medial, and final positions (e.g., think, nothing, bath), and in different vocalic contexts (e.g., think vs. thank). Participants complete a forced-choice identification task, listening to the target words in a carrier sentence and selecting the perceived word from two options. We record reaction time and accuracy for statistical analysis. We use generalized additive mixed modeling for reaction time and logistic mixed-effects modeling for response accuracy. We expect Mandarin Chinese learners to show longer reaction times and higher accuracy in perceiving /θ/ in the word-initial position than in media and final positions. Additionally, we anticipate that Mandarin Chinese learners perceive /θ/ more accurately when it is followed or preceded by a high vowel rather than a non-high vowel. Understanding these perception differences and contextual influences can inform more effective language teaching strategies, particularly in pronunciation training for Mandarin Chinese learners.