Phonetic training makes word learning easier

Motivated by the idea that differences between adult and child language learners may stem in part from initially minor differences (such as in phonetic perception) that cascade throughout other aspects of language learning, we explored to what extent training adults on a novel phonetic contrast results in improved learning of words that incorporate that contrast. Results indicate that distributional training on a novel phonetic contrast improves word learning as well as the ability to discriminate a related contrast. We discuss implications for how adults’ phonological abilities in affect other aspects of language learning, and also for understanding the effectiveness of different phonetic training regimes.