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Abstract Abstract: Using phonological experimental methods, two experiments were conducted to investigate how Chinese EFL learners perceive English vowels and what effects of foreign language learning experiences have on their vowel perceptual structures. The results turned out that distinctive perceptual patterns were used by Chinese EFL learners with the two vowel contrasts, /ɛ/-/æ/ and /i/-/I/, most poorly discriminated and the three vowel contrasts, /ei/-/ɛ/, /ei/-/i/, and /æ/-/Ʌ/, least accurately perceived. Influenced by Chinese phonological system, phonetic category conflation occurred in their perceiving English vowels. When two English vowel contrasts were similar to two Chinese vowels, double category-conflation occurred with the two English vowels separately assimilated to the two different Chinese vowel categories. When two English vowel contrasts were similar to only one Chinese vowel category, they would assimilate to one Chinese vowel category, posing difficulty in vowel perception and production. EFL experiences (the length of learning and professional training in English) did not result in qualitative differences in their vowel perception patterns. No significant differences were seen in their perceiving difficulties between undergraduates of non-English majors and graduates of English majors. EFL experiences, however, did improve some aspects of perceptual structures of learners.
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