PURPOSE: The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of an auditory perceptual
training programme on children within a traditional articulation therapy framework. As part of
this larger purpose, this study identified perceptual vowel outcomes for English Additional
Language (EAL) learners, as well as a preliminary impact on these learners’ articulation of
English vowels, their receptive and expressive language abilities and their reading and spelling
abilities.
METHOD: Fourteen six- to seven-year-old EAL learners were randomly assigned to two conditions.
Both the control and treatment groups were initially assessed with a repeated baseline assessment,
and again after treatment eight months later. Auditory perceptual skills, specifically word
discrimination (including vowel and consonant discrimination), phonological segmentation and
blending, number memory and sentence memory, were measured by means of the Test of Auditory-
Perceptual Skills Third Edition (TAPS-3). Children’s growth in receptive language was also
assessed using measures derived from the Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language Third
Edition (TACL-3). The number of vowel production errors on the Goldman-Fristoe Test for
Articulation was measured before and after treatment. The control group received no treatment;
the treatment group received auditory perceptual training (grapheme-phoneme coupling and
vowel discrimination) which included production training and written exercises (phonemegrapheme
coupling). RESULTS: The framework of teaching English vowels through traditional auditory perceptual and
production training proved useful for phonological awareness of vowels, literacy teaching and
articulation by the EAL learners.
CONCLUSIONS: Results concluded that improved academic outcomes should be possible if the
teaching of English vowels to EAL learners by EFL speech-language therapists is implemented.
Improved auditory perception, articulator production and general language abilities culminate
in improved academic outcomes.
DOEL: Die hoofdoel van hierdie studie was om die effek van ʼn fonologiese bewustheidsopleidingsprogram,
binne die raamwerk van tradisionele artikulasieterapie, op leerders met Engels
as addisionele taal te ondersoek. As deel van hierdie groter doelwit, is die resultate van die
opleidingsprogram op die ouditiewe persepsie van Engelse vokale deur leerders met Engels as
addisionele taal bepaal. Die voorlopige invloed van die opleidingsprogram op hierdie leerders se
artikulasie van Engelse vokale, reseptiewe en ekspressiewe taalvaardighede en lees- en spelvaardighede
is ook ondersoek. RESULTATE: Die tradisionele artikulasieterapie-raamwerk waarbinne Engelse vokale van die
leerders met Engels as addisionele taal deur middel van die opleidingsprogram aangespreek is,
het ʼn positiewe invloed op hierdie leerders se fonologiese bewustheid van Engelse vokale,
geletterdheidsonderrig en artikulasie van dié vokale gehad.
