Adult second language learners often show considerable individual variability in the ease with which lexical tones are learned. It is known that factors pertaining to a learner’s first language (L1; such as L1 tonal status or L1 tone type) as well as extralinguistic factors (such as musical experience and working memory) modulate tone learning facility. However, how such L1-specific and extralinguistic factors affect performance together in dynamic ways is less well understood. Therefore, to unpack the potential interactions between these factors for individual learners, we assessed the combined effects of L1 tonal status, L1 tone type, and musical experience and working memory on second language (L2) tone perception and word learning in a tonal pseudolanguage by English-L1 and Mandarin-L1 adult learners, by using a pre-lexical tone categorization task and a lexical word identification task. We found that L2 tone perception and word learning were primarily facilitated by extralinguistic factors, but that the degree to which learners rely on these factors is modulated by their L1 tonal status, as for instance musical experience facilitated perception and word learning for English, but not for Mandarin participants. We also found clear effects of L1 tone type, as Mandarin participants tended to struggle with categorizing and lexically processing level tone contrasts, which do not occur in Mandarin.

成人第二语言学习者在学习词汇声调的难易程度方面经常表现出相当大的个体差异。众所周知，与学习者的第一语言有关的因素（L1；例如 L1 声调状态或 L1 声调类型）以及语言外因素（例如音乐经验和工作记忆）会调节声调学习能力。然而，这种 L1 特定和语言外因素如何以动态方式共同影响性能尚不清楚。因此，为了为个体学习者解开这些因素之间的潜在相互作用，我们评估了 L1 声调状态、L1 声调类型、音乐经验和工作记忆对第二语言（L2）声调感知和声调伪语言单词学习的综合影响。英语-L1 和普通话-L1 成人学习者，通过使用词汇前音调分类任务和词汇词识别任务。我们发现 L2 语调感知和单词学习主要受到语言外因素的促进，但学习者对这些因素的依赖程度受其 L1 语调状态的调节，例如音乐经验促进了英语的感知和单词学习，但不是普通话参与者。我们还发现 L1 语调类型的明显影响，因为普通话参与者倾向于在分类和词汇处理水平音调对比方面遇到困难，这在普通话中不会发生。例如，音乐体验促进了英语的感知和单词学习，但对普通话参与者却没有。我们还发现 L1 语调类型的明显影响，因为普通话参与者倾向于在分类和词汇处理水平音调对比方面遇到困难，这在普通话中不会发生。例如，音乐体验促进了英语的感知和单词学习，但对普通话参与者却没有。我们还发现 L1 语调类型的明显影响，因为普通话参与者倾向于在分类和词汇处理水平音调对比方面遇到困难，这在普通话中不会发生。