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Stop perception is a common problem among Japanese learners of foreign languages including English and Korean. Which features of sounds influence stop and geminate perception, and what are the similarities between loanword phonology and actual L2 perception? Through cross-linguistic comparison of beginning-level language learners, with particular emphasis on the perception of the non-existent geminate, Takako Yasuta investigates how English and Korean stops and closed syllables are perceived by Japanese speakers who are at the beginning level of English learning and who do not have any Korean learning experience. She shows which aspects of these languages potentially cause perceptual difficulties and which phonetic features can ease stop perception. She also provides some points that language teachers can use to improve their students listening skills in foreign language learning.

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Takako Yasuta is associate professor in the English Department at Sakura no Seibo Junior College, Japan. She obtained her MTESL from Arizona State University and her Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Hawai´i at Manoa. Her research interests include second language phonology, TESL, Japanese linguistics, and Korean linguistics.

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