Journal of Second Language Pronunciation - Volume 3, Issue 1, 2017

Previous research has shown that English-speaking learners of Russian, even those with advanced proficiency, often have not acquired the contrast between palatalized and unpalatalized consonants, which is a central feature of the Russian consonant system. The present study examined whether training utilizing electropalatography (EPG) could help a group of Russian learners achieve more native-like productions of this contrast. Although not all subjects showed significant improvements, on average, the Russian learners showed an increase from pre- to post-training in the second formant frequency of vowels preceding palatalized consonants, thus enhancing their contrast between palatalized and unpalatalized consonants. To determine whether these acoustic differences were associated with increased identification accuracy, three native Russian speakers listened to all pre- and post-training productions. A modest increase in identification accuracy was observed. These results suggest that even short-term EPG training can be an effective intervention with adult L2 learners.

Shadowing has been demonstrated to improve various aspects of second language learners’ pronunciation but few studies have investigated whether these changes impact untrained listeners’ perceptions. In the present study, sixteen participants used iPods to practice shadowing short dialogues for eight weeks. The participants practiced at least four times per week for a minimum of 10 minutes each time, and recorded themselves while shadowing. Two tasks (a shadowing task and an extemporaneous speaking task) were administered as pre-, mid-, and post-tests, and were rated by 22 speakers of English. The shadowing task was rated for learners’ ability to imitate a speech model and the extemporaneous speaking task was rated for comprehensibility, accentedness, and fluency. Interview data were also collected during the study to gauge participants’ opinions of the activities. Results indicated that the participants improved significantly on all speaking measures apart from accentedness and were largely positive about the activities.

The concept of functional load has been invoked for nearly a century in both research and pedagogy relating to pronunciation. However, it often suffers from a certain vagueness of definition. This article revisits the concept of functional load, outlining its origins and placing it within functionalist approaches to language and communication. The elaborated concept is then applied to the findings of lingua franca intelligibility studies, and it is argued that functional factors have explanatory potential. The application of functional load thus serves as a reinterpretation of the findings of lingua franca intelligibility studies by providing additional theoretical background. This reinterpretation suggests that although functional load is not a universal property of abstract language systems, certain features (such as consonants in general, and initial segments in particular) are widely relied upon in both lingua franca and non-lingua franca communication.

In spite of the well-documented advantage of an early age of acquisition, findings from one-way (foreign language) immersion programs suggest that this instructional context is insufficient for acquisition of nativelike articulations by child foreign language learners. It has been suggested that the lack of exposure to native speaking peers may contribute to reported non-native pronunciation. This study expands upon the previous research with child second language learners of Spanish, exploring how children, who learn academic content in Spanish, alongside native Spanish-speaking peers produce the Spanish vowels. Few differences are observed between the learner and peer native speaker groups, suggesting that the direct contact with native speakers of Spanish afforded by two-way bilingual immersion promotes phonological acquisition.

Evidence on the impact of second language teacher education is inconclusive in the area of pronunciation pedagogy. This study explores how the cognition (knowledge, beliefs, thoughts, attitudes and perceptions) of 10 pre-service and five in-service teachers developed during a postgraduate course on pronunciation pedagogy. Questionnaire items, focus group meetings, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and an assessment task were used to trace the development of participants’ beliefs and knowledge. Findings demonstrated that the development of the student teachers’ cognition was limited and the notion of integrating pronunciation into L2 lessons proved to be challenging for participants irrespective of their pronunciation teaching background. Also, while student teachers’ awareness about the benefits of kinesthetic/tactile teaching techniques increased, native English-speaking teachers without any pronunciation teaching experience appeared to be particularly susceptible to factors restricting cognition development. The paper concludes with a discussion about implications for language teacher educators preparing pronunciation instructors.