To acquire a new word, learners need to create its representation in phonological short-term memory (STM) and then encode it in their long-term memory. Two strategies can enable word representation in STM: universal segmentation and phonological mapping. Universal segmentation is language universal and thus should predict word learning in any language, while phonological mapping is language specific. This study investigates the mechanisms of vocabulary learning through a comparison of vocabulary learning task results in multiple languages. We tested 44 Polish third graders learning English on phonological STM, phonological awareness in Polish and in English, and on three tasks, which involved learning novel word forms in Polish (first language), in English (second language), and in a language that did not resemble any language known to participants (an unknown language). Participants’ English proficiency was controlled through a vocabulary task. The results suggest that word learning engages different mechanisms for familiar and unfamiliar languages. Phonological awareness in English predicted learning second language and unknown language words, and phonological STM predicted learning words of the unknown language. We propose that universal segmentation facilitates word learning only in an unfamiliar language, while in familiar languages speakers use phonological mapping in order to learn new words.

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This paper will report on an extension of the framework of Natural Phonology in the area of syllable phonology and phonotactics. In particular, it will present a universal model of phonotactics constructed within Beats-and-Binding Phonology (B&B Phonology, cf. Dziubalska-Kołaczyk 2002) -a syllable-less theory of phonology embedded in Natural Phonology. The thrust of the theory is the claim that intersegmental cohesion determines syllable structure, rather than being determined by it (if one insists on the notion of the "syllable" which is epiphenomenal here). The core of B&B phonotactics is the Net Auditory Distance Principle, according to which phonological naturalness of clusters can be evaluated.

Advanced second language (henceforth L2) learners in a formal setting can suppress many first language (henceforth L1) processes in L2 pronunciation when provided with sufficient exposure to L2 and meta competence (see Sect. 4 for a definition of this term). This paper shows how imitation in L2 teaching can be enhanced on the basis of current phonetic research and how complex allophonic processes such as nasal vocalization and glottal stop insertion can be suppressed using "repair"-a method of providing learners with adequate input, so that they can use the L1 processes to improve L2 pronunciation. This is a revised and updated version of the paper published by the first four authors: Teaching to suppress L1 processes in