Magdalena Kachlicka
Biographic Data
| ID | 5009776 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Magdalena Kachlicka |
| GIVEN NAMES | Magdalena |
| FAMILY NAME | Kachlicka |
| SIGNATURE | KACHLICKA M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University College London |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6345-4152 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 6 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
English Prosody Dataset for investigating English prosody acquisition
English prosody conveys grammatical structure, word meaning, and pragmatic information. However, research on second language (L2) acquisition has primarily focused on segmental properties of speech, with relatively less attention to prosody. We present the English Prosody Dataset to facilitate research on the acquisition and use of English prosody. The dataset includes contrastive examples of three prosodic features: phrase boundary, disambiguati…
Strong primary cue weighting is linked to robust dimension-selective attention
Speech perception is supported by multiple redundant acoustic cues. How do listeners prioritize these cues? Although computational models suggest that cue weighting reflects the statistical reliability of cues in language input, listeners show stable individual differences in weighting strategies. These differences may arise from variation in perceptual acuity (affecting the perceived reliability of specific dimensions) or from selective attentio…
Effects of targeted perceptual training on L2 suprasegmental weighting strategies
Learning a second language (L2) is challenging partly due to perceptual strategies inherited from learners’ first language. For example, speakers of tone languages like Mandarin over-use pitch in English prosody perception and production. We developed a novel training paradigm to help Mandarin learners adopt more native-like strategies by enhancing their use of duration relative to pitch cues during prosody categorization. After prosody training,…
Individual differences in perception of prosody in Mandarin-accented speech are linked to pitch perception, melody memory, musical training, and neural encoding of sound
There are large differences across individuals in the ability to perceive foreign-accented speech, and the sources of this variability are poorly understood. Here we tested the hypothesis that individual differences in auditory processing help drive variability in accented speech perception. We asked L1 English speakers to perceive prosodic features in Mandarin-accented English. Individuals who could precisely discriminate pitch and accurately re…
Effects of phonetic training and cognitive aptitude on the perception and production of non-native speech contrasts
Research on second language (L2) speech learning suggests that incidental perception training can lead to the establishment of non-native phonological categories. The present study contributes to this line of enquiry by investigating how this training is mediated by individual differences in working memory capacity and domain-general auditory processing abilities. In our study, 130 native British English speakers without prior knowledge of Portug…
Weighting of cues to categorization of song versus speech in tone-language and non-tone-language speakers
One of the most important auditory categorization tasks a listener faces is determining a sound's domain, a process which is a prerequisite for successful within-domain categorization tasks such as recognizing different speech sounds or musical tones. Speech and song are universal in human cultures: how do listeners categorize a sequence of words as belonging to one or the other of these domains? There is growing interest in the acoustic cues tha…
Automated assessment of second language comprehensibility
Whereas many scholars have emphasized the relative importance of comprehensibility as an ecologically valid goal for L2 speech training, testing, and development, eliciting listeners’ judgments is time-consuming. Following calls for research on more efficient L2 speech rating methods in applied linguistics, and growing attention toward using machine learning on spontaneous unscripted speech in speech engineering, the current study examined the po…
Domain-General Auditory Processing Explains Multiple Dimensions of L2 Acquisition in Adulthood
In this study, we propose a hypothesis that domain-general auditory processing, a perceptual anchor of L1 acquisition, can serve as the foundation of successful post-pubertal L2 learning. This hypothesis was tested with 139 post-pubertal L2 immersion learners by linking individual differences in auditory discrimination across multiple acoustic dimensions to the segmental, prosodic, lexical, and morphosyntactic dimensions of L2 proficiency. Overal…
Auditory precision hypothesis-L2
Growing evidence suggests a broad relationship between individual differences in auditory processing ability and the rate and ultimate attainment of language acquisition throughout the lifespan, including post-pubertal second language (L2) speech learning. However, little is known about how the precision of processing of specific auditory dimensions relates to the acquisition of specific L2 segmental contrasts. In the context of 100 late Japanese…
Incidental and Multimodal High Variability Phonetic Training
Scholars have extensively investigated the effectiveness of high variability phonetic training (HVPT), that is, identification and discrimination of second language speech sounds produced by multiple speakers followed by trial‐by‐trial feedback. Building on the notion of incidental and multimodal learning in cognitive psychology (e.g., Lim & Holt, 2011), we developed a new, HVPT‐based videogame paradigm in which participants aimed to shoot clay t…
Domain-general auditory processing as an anchor of post-pubertal second language pronunciation learning
Incidental and Multimodal High Variability Phonetic Training
Scholars have extensively investigated the effectiveness of high variability phonetic training (HVPT), that is, identification and discrimination of second language speech sounds produced by multiple speakers followed by trial‐by‐trial feedback. Building on the notion of incidental and multimodal learning in cognitive psychology (e.g., Lim & Holt, 2011), we developed a new, HVPT‐based videogame paradigm in which participants aimed to shoot clay t…
Domain-general auditory processing as an anchor of post-pubertal second language pronunciation learning
Domain-General Auditory Processing Explains Multiple Dimensions of L2 Acquisition in Adulthood
In this study, we propose a hypothesis that domain-general auditory processing, a perceptual anchor of L1 acquisition, can serve as the foundation of successful post-pubertal L2 learning. This hypothesis was tested with 139 post-pubertal L2 immersion learners by linking individual differences in auditory discrimination across multiple acoustic dimensions to the segmental, prosodic, lexical, and morphosyntactic dimensions of L2 proficiency. Overal…
Auditory precision hypothesis-L2
Growing evidence suggests a broad relationship between individual differences in auditory processing ability and the rate and ultimate attainment of language acquisition throughout the lifespan, including post-pubertal second language (L2) speech learning. However, little is known about how the precision of processing of specific auditory dimensions relates to the acquisition of specific L2 segmental contrasts. In the context of 100 late Japanese…
Incidental and Multimodal High Variability Phonetic Training
Scholars have extensively investigated the effectiveness of high variability phonetic training (HVPT), that is, identification and discrimination of second language speech sounds produced by multiple speakers followed by trial‐by‐trial feedback. Building on the notion of incidental and multimodal learning in cognitive psychology (e.g., Lim & Holt, 2011), we developed a new, HVPT‐based videogame paradigm in which participants aimed to shoot clay t…
Automated assessment of second language comprehensibility
Whereas many scholars have emphasized the relative importance of comprehensibility as an ecologically valid goal for L2 speech training, testing, and development, eliciting listeners’ judgments is time-consuming. Following calls for research on more efficient L2 speech rating methods in applied linguistics, and growing attention toward using machine learning on spontaneous unscripted speech in speech engineering, the current study examined the po…
Weighting of cues to categorization of song versus speech in tone-language and non-tone-language speakers
One of the most important auditory categorization tasks a listener faces is determining a sound's domain, a process which is a prerequisite for successful within-domain categorization tasks such as recognizing different speech sounds or musical tones. Speech and song are universal in human cultures: how do listeners categorize a sequence of words as belonging to one or the other of these domains? There is growing interest in the acoustic cues tha…
Effects of phonetic training and cognitive aptitude on the perception and production of non-native speech contrasts
Research on second language (L2) speech learning suggests that incidental perception training can lead to the establishment of non-native phonological categories. The present study contributes to this line of enquiry by investigating how this training is mediated by individual differences in working memory capacity and domain-general auditory processing abilities. In our study, 130 native British English speakers without prior knowledge of Portug…
English Prosody Dataset for investigating English prosody acquisition
English prosody conveys grammatical structure, word meaning, and pragmatic information. However, research on second language (L2) acquisition has primarily focused on segmental properties of speech, with relatively less attention to prosody. We present the English Prosody Dataset to facilitate research on the acquisition and use of English prosody. The dataset includes contrastive examples of three prosodic features: phrase boundary, disambiguati…
Strong primary cue weighting is linked to robust dimension-selective attention
Speech perception is supported by multiple redundant acoustic cues. How do listeners prioritize these cues? Although computational models suggest that cue weighting reflects the statistical reliability of cues in language input, listeners show stable individual differences in weighting strategies. These differences may arise from variation in perceptual acuity (affecting the perceived reliability of specific dimensions) or from selective attentio…
Effects of targeted perceptual training on L2 suprasegmental weighting strategies
Learning a second language (L2) is challenging partly due to perceptual strategies inherited from learners’ first language. For example, speakers of tone languages like Mandarin over-use pitch in English prosody perception and production. We developed a novel training paradigm to help Mandarin learners adopt more native-like strategies by enhancing their use of duration relative to pitch cues during prosody categorization. After prosody training,…
Individual differences in perception of prosody in Mandarin-accented speech are linked to pitch perception, melody memory, musical training, and neural encoding of sound
There are large differences across individuals in the ability to perceive foreign-accented speech, and the sources of this variability are poorly understood. Here we tested the hypothesis that individual differences in auditory processing help drive variability in accented speech perception. We asked L1 English speakers to perceive prosodic features in Mandarin-accented English. Individuals who could precisely discriminate pitch and accurately re…
Phonetics and Phonology Research (11 works) · Perception (9 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Speech perception (7 works) · Cognitive psychology (6 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Linguistics (5 works) · Neuroscience and Music Perception (5 works) · Language acquisition (4 works) · Auditory perception (3 works)