1. 4.2.6The effects of an additional eight years of English learning experience ＊ An additional eight years of English learning experience are not effective in improving pronunciation because none of the p values of / ʒ /, /ð/,/t ʃ /, /d ʒ /, and / ʃ / are below.05. － Therefore, the second hypothesis is not supported. Group 2 vs. Group 4

2. 4.5.1 Comparison of Taiwanese participants’ performances of /d ʒ /, /t ʃ /, / ʃ / and /t /, /t h /, / /.

4. － Groups 2, 3, and 4 are influenced by their mother tongue, Chinese, pronouncing /t ʃ /, /d ʒ /, and / ʃ /. － The Speech Learning Model (SLM) can be adopted to illustrate the second language pronunciation acquisition situation in Taiwan, because Taiwanese participants have more difficulty in producing /t ʃ /, /d ʒ /, and / ʃ /, which have similar phonemes in Chinese. － No matter how long the participants have learned English, their English pronunciation is still affected by their mother language.

5. Chapter 5 Discussion SLA theories Identical phonemes: Similar phonemes: New sounds: The relative degree of difficulty should not only focus on L1 and L2, but also on the universal languages. Marked sounds: 2. SLM 3.MDH 1. CAH Similar phonemes: New sounds: The comparison of L1 and L2 is not sufficient Unmarked sounds: more difficult to master EX. / ʒ / easier to acquire

6. ※ The collections for the four groups’ performances of /t ʃ /, /d ʒ /, and / ʃ /

7. ※ Participants’ performances of /t ʃ /, /d ʒ /, and / ʃ /

8. The four groups’ general performances of / ʃ /,/t ʃ / and /d ʒ / before /i/ － The English native speakers really remove the tips of their tongues to a more front location as they pronounce / ʃ /,/t ʃ / and /d ʒ / before /i/. － The Taiwanese groups speak / ʃ /,/t ʃ / and /d ʒ / at these four conditions, the movement of the tip tongue is not obvious. － Taiwanese groups’ performances of / ʃ /,/t ʃ / and /d ʒ / can be explained by fossilization.

9. The Result for the Research Question CAH SLM MDH Taiwanese SLM

10. 5.1 The answer to the research question SLM is identified because Taiwanese English learners cannot pronounce /t ʃ /,/d ʒ /, and / ʃ / without significant differences comparing to native speakers. CAH is rejected because it is not difficult for Taiwanese English learners to master the new sounds of /θ/and /ð/. MDH is rejected here because the marked sound / ʒ / is not that difficult for Taiwanese English learners to acquire.

11. 5.2 The Answer to the Two Hypotheses H1: Additional four years of English learning cannot improve these English learners’ pronunciation. (H1 can not be rejected) － Based on the results in Chapter Four, under the four phonological environments, Group Three does not pronounce significantly better than Group Two, and Group Four does not produce sounds significantly better than Group Three. H2: Additional eight years of English learning does not perform significantly better than the latter. (H2 can be rejected) － /t ʃ /, /d ʒ /, and / ʃ /, all similar phonemes, are difficult to be produced authentically even with further exposure to English.

12. 5 Taiwanese participants tend to locate the tips of their tongues in a more front position than the English native speakers do in /t ʃ /, /d ʒ /,and / ʃ /. L2 learning environment can improve L2 learners’ pronunciation. English learning experience before junior high schools is enough for Taiwanese learners of English to produce the similar phonemes close to the norm. Some of the English native speakers view /d ʒ / and / ʒ / as allophones. Chapter 6 Conclusion 6.1 The findings of this paper 1 4 3 Taiwanese participants have more difficulty in the production of /t ʃ /,/d ʒ /,and/ ʃ /, which have similar phonemes in Chinese. 2

13. 6.2 The implications of this paper The pedagogical implication ► Grammar-translation approach: ► Audio-lingual approach: ► Communicative approach: Phonemic awareness: ► Researchers are encouraged to explore linguistic problems with acoustic analysis because it can make their papers more convincing and find out which commonly held ideas are incorrect. The theoretical implicatio n It is an ability to identify, sound out or manipulate the individual sounds in words (Torgesen, 1998). To encourage students to practice with self-correction in order to lower the similarity effect.

14. 6.3 Suggestions for further studies A researcher can arrange a control group and an experimental group, whose only difference lies in whether they have been reminded of the distinction between their pronunciation and that of English native speakers’. Add text in here 3.Learning environment 2.Critical Period Parents do not have to put their children into English classes at a very young age, and their children should be able to learn in a less pressured environment. 1.Phonemic awareness Future research can examine the exact length of L2 learning experience needed to pronounce similar phonemes close to the norm. The value of this experiment is that it would help all L2 learners to know how long it will take them to achieve this goal.

15. Thank You!