Development of a Positive Voice Onset Time Pattern by Brazilian Speakers of English as a Second Language: a Longitudinal Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

This study investigates additional language development in five plurilingual speakers of English as a second language (L2) during the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent social distancing. From the perspective of language as a Complex Dynamic System (DE BOT;LOWIE;VERSPOOR, 2007;LARSEN-FREEMAN;CAMERON, 2008;VERSPOOR;DE BOT;LOWIE, 2011), this longitudinal study analyzes the development of a positive Voice Onset Time pattern among participants throughout 12 weeks, including a six-session intervention of explicit instruction of English phonetic-phonological aspects. From Monte Carlo Simulations (VAN DIJK;VERSPOOR;LOWIE, 2011), our quantitative analysis showed positive peaks of performance, indicating the role of variability in learning and developing new language patterns. The qualitative results regarding the online intervention likewise contributed to both language teaching and remote empirical-experimental research studies. © 2022, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Faculdade de Letras. All rights reserved.