The production and perception of Spanish /p, b/ by L2 and heritage speakers in a short-term study abroad program

Abstract This study examined longitudinal changes in the production and perception of Spanish word-initial /b/ and /p/ among 53 university students (39 L2 learners, 14 heritage speakers) during a 5.5-week study abroad program in Sevilla, Spain. Production was assessed acoustically using Voice Onset Time (VOT), while perception was measured using a binary identification task along a 13-step VOT continuum. Results revealed limited change in the production of /p/, with VOT reductions observed only among the most English-dominant L2 learners. In contrast, participants increasingly produced /b/ with prevoicing over the course of the program, particularly those with greater English dominance. Language dominance was the strongest predictor of phonetic change. No shift in perceptual category boundaries was observed. These findings suggest that short-term immersion may facilitate changes in phonetic production more readily than perceptual restructuring, supporting accounts of partially asynchronous development between perception and production in L2 and heritage language phonetic acquisition.