Abstract
This study investigates the relationship between perception and production in the acquisition of English linking sounds by Japanese EFL learners. Specifically, the study examines whether learners who are more successful at perceiving linking boundaries also demonstrate more accurate production of linking sounds. A partial dictation task was employed to assess participants’ perceptual ability, while a reading-aloud task was used to measure productive performance. Data were analyzed at the participant level to evaluate the association between the two domains. The results showed that perceptual performance did not reliably predict production accuracy. Although perceptual accuracy was generally higher than production accuracy, learners displayed diverse perception–production patterns, including cases in which production performance was comparable to or exceeded perceptual performance. These findings indicate substantial individual variation in the perception–production relationship. Moreover, perceptual ability alone may not be sufficient to explain differences in the production of linking sounds. By focusing on a connected-speech phenomenon rather than isolated phonemic contrasts, this study highlights the complexity of the perception–production interface and underscores the need for a more nuanced view of how perceptual and productive abilities interact in second language phonological development.
