Relation between Musical Aptitude and L2 Stress Perception in French- and Korean-Speaking Listeners.

Abstract

Several factors could explain individual differences in the perception of non-native stress contrasts. This study investigates the effect of the native language (Spanish, French, Korean) and the impact of music aptitude on French and Korean listeners' performance at stress-detection in Spanish. The results showed an effect of L1, with Korean and French listeners showing poorer discrimination than native speakers. Moreover, only French (but not Korean) listeners showed a positive correlation between music aptitude and stress discrimination. These findings suggest the existence of a link between music and L2 stress discrimination in French, but not in Korean listeners. Individual differences and the high music aptitude of Korean listeners are discussed as potential explanations for the different results reported for the two groups of non-native listeners.