Journal of Second Language Pronunciation - Volume 10, Issue 2, 2024

This editorial argues for the value of considering subtraction (Klotz, 2021) as a curricular decision in pronunciation teaching and learning. Subtraction is a decision to focus on prioritizing particular aspects of pronunciation that will result in spoken intelligibility and to avoid focusing on aspects of pronunciation that are likely only to mark accentedness.

Studies on language teachers’ self-efficacy (LTSE) have gained attention in recent years; however, limited research has explored LTSE in specific domains of language instruction, particularly pronunciation. The present study employs a domain-specific survey to measure English as a second language (ESL) teachers’ self-efficacy in pronunciation instruction (PI) in Canadian classrooms. Data from the survey and follow-up interviews were analyzed to explore ESL teachers’ overall self-efficacy beliefs, relationships with language, and pronunciation proficiencies. The findings reveal that ESL teachers in Canada generally report high levels of self-efficacy for teaching pronunciation. While the correlation between general language proficiency and self-efficacy was not significant, the correlation between their pronunciation proficiency and self-efficacy for teaching pronunciation was significant, even though it falls below the benchmark for small effect size.

This study examined learner beliefs about Arabic pronunciation instruction and how classroom pronunciation practices affect learners’ speech comprehensibility. To this end, 10 native Arabic speakers and 16 English learners of Arabic with two different proficiency levels were recruited: novice high and intermediate, who answered questionnaires and provided samples for pre and posttests of comprehensibility. The results provided a lens through which to see the status of pronunciation instruction in Arabic language classes. The two groups of learners underlined the importance of pronunciation instruction for their learning, complained of a lack of useful pronunciation materials, and reported a desire to enhance their pronunciation accuracy. There was no change in the learners’ pronunciation on the basis of the learners’ pre- and post-test results assessing comprehensibility. Findings are discussed in relation to current research on the teaching of Arabic pronunciation to provide pedagogical implications.

Individual differences in working memory and musical aptitude, as well as task complexity are crucial in predicting the performance of word stress perception in a second language (L2). The present study investigated the interactive effects of these factors with the listeners’ first language. French and German listeners, both without knowledge of Spanish, performed stress-related tasks in Spanish, as well as musical and working memory tests in their L1. Besides confirming the impact of L1, our findings better define the influence of working memory and musical aptitude on L2 stress perception by specifically tapping into the central executive component of working memory, objectively assessing musical aptitude, and considering task complexity as a moderating factor in the relationship between the inter-individual factors and L2 stress perception. Our findings are also the first to demonstrate task-specific performance differences between French and German listeners, possibly reflecting differential cognitive and perceptual mechanisms depending on L1.

This study compared the productions of American English (AE) vowels /i/, /u/, /ɛ/, /ɔ/, /ɪ/, /æ/, /ʊ/, /ʌ/, and /ɑ/ between speakers of two Chinese dialects, the Leshan dialect (LSd) and the Xining dialect (XNd). The participants were native speakers of XNd (n = 120) and LSd (n = 120) with advanced English proficiency. Their vowel productions were compared with those of 22 native AE speakers. The results showed that (1) XNd and LSd participants significantly differed in F1 and/or F2 from AE participants when producing /ɪ/, /æ/, /ʌ/, and /ʊ/ and /ɪ/, /ɑ/, /ɔ/, and /ʌ/, respectively; (2) compared with AE participants, XNd participants had significantly longer durations of /ɪ/, /ʊ/, /ʌ/, /ɛ/, and /æ/, and LSd participants had significantly longer durations of /ɪ/, /ʌ/, and /ɛ/. Overall, the vowels that differed in production from that of native speakers were absent in both the L1 dialects and L1 of participants.

The past three decades have witnessed growing interest in pronunciation research focused on a range of topics such as the effects of explicit phonetic instruction on second/foreign language (L2) learners’ pronunciation uptake, teachers’ pronunciation teaching practices and beliefs, pronunciation representation in prescribed textbooks, and L2 students’ perceptions of their teachers’ pronunciation instruction. However, L2 learners’ beliefs and practices regarding pronunciation self-regulated learning (PSRL) is under-explored. The present study examines how Vietnamese tertiary EFL learners practice PSRL and what beliefs they hold about it. Data were collected from a questionnaire completed by 215 EFL students at a Vietnamese public university and semi-structured interviews with ten of the students. Results showed that the students demonstrated a strong commitment to self-practicing English pronunciation and that their PSRL practices centered on segmental features through listen-and-repeat activities from YouTube pronunciation lesson videos and textbook audio-recordings. The study further showed that the students believed PSRL had a positive impact on their own pronunciation but called for phonetic instruction to guide their self-practice, followed by teachers giving feedback on their pronunciation. Implications for L2 pronunciation instruction and PSRL are discussed.