The Role of Social Media and Memory in the Acquisition of L2 Segments: The Case of /æ/

Abstract

[eng] English language students desire to acquire a native-like pronunciation, however, it sometimes can be challenging. Innovative resources have emerged in the last 10 years to ease this process as is the case of the use of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). However, these innovative techniques merge with traditional ones such as the Memorization Strategy (MS) to get the maximum of the learning process. Together with these learning strategies, relevant theories like the Speech Learning Model (SLM) are essential to understanding the speech learning process. The present study aims to analyze to what extent social media and memory can play a relevant role in the acquisition of L2 segments. To do so, the study will focus on the production of the English vowel /æ/ through 10 selected words by 5 Spanish and Catalan speakers who spend a considerable amount of time on TikTok. To do so, the speakers will be presented with a set of two lists containing a selection of words: List 1 formed by random sentences and List 2 by sentences from viral audios from TikTok.