Journal of Second Language Pronunciation - Volume 3, Issue 2, 2017

This editorial responds to a review of JSLP published in the Journal of the International Phonetic Association and uses that review to explore directions for the future.

This study investigated the relationship between processing time and comprehensibility judgments in non-native listeners’ perception of L2 speech as a function of an L1- match between speaker and listener and non-native listeners’ proficiency. Instructed L2-English learners differing in L1 (Catalan, German) and L2-proficiency (Low, High), and native-English listeners performed speeded speech processing tasks with English word and sentence stimuli spoken by L1-Catalan, L1-German and native English speakers, and rated the sentence stimuli for comprehensibility. The results showed significant moderate correlations between processing times and comprehensibility judgments mediated by an interaction between listeners’ L1 and their L2 proficiency. Non-native English was processed faster and judged to be more comprehensible by non-native listeners if produced by L1-matched speakers. When non-native English was produced by L1-matched speakers, low-proficiency listeners found it easier to process and understand than native English, whereas high-proficiency listeners showed a processing advantage over native English listeners

This study examined phonological, temporal, lexical and grammatical correlates of native speakers’ perception of second language (L2) comprehensibility (i.e., ease of understanding). L2 learners of Japanese with various proficiency levels engaged in oral picture description tasks which were judged by native speaking raters for comprehensibility, and then submitted to pronunciation, fluency, and lexicogrammar analyses. According to correlation analyses and linear mixed-models, the native speaking judges’ comprehensibility ratings were significantly linked not only with actual usage of words in context (lexical appropriateness) but also with the surface details of words (pitch accent, speech rate, lexical variation). Similar to previous L2 English studies (e.g., Isaacs & Trofimovich, 2012 ), the influence of segmental and morphological errors in the comprehensibility of L2 Japanese speech appeared to be minor.

In Spanish, voiced stops weaken to approximants and display variables degrees of lenition according to the context in which the stop occurs, making them a complex pronunciation feature. Accumulated findings from cross-sectional research on second language (L2) speakers suggests that many L2 learners struggle to produce the approximants even at the most advanced levels of study. The present study offers a new perspective on the approximants by studying individual learners’ production of Spanish [β] over time and across phonetic contexts. Twenty-six English-speaking learners of L2 Spanish recorded two speaking tasks five times over a yearlong period corresponding to their second and third semesters of college-level language instruction. Mixed-effects models were fit to learners’ C:V intensity ratio data to examine development, and stress and task type were included as substantive predictors. Although the group trajectory was flat, many learners displayed substantial change over time, including positive and negative trajectories.

This study investigated how previous linguistic experience and universal strategies guide the acquisition of phonology in the classroom. More specifically, it focused on the possible advantages that bilingual children have over monolingual children. Thirty-four children completed a picture-naming task: 9 Spanish native speakers, 19 English native speakers acquiring Spanish as L2 and 6 Korean-English bilinguals acquiring Spanish as L3. Results indicated that in general the children rapidly acquired native-like pronunciation of the Spanish rhotics, but the Korean-English bilinguals outperformed the English-speaking children. We propose that although previous linguistic knowledge plays a role in L2 and L3 acquisition, children are able to overcome transfer errors because they are guided by universal developmental strategies from the initial stages of acquisition. We suggest that if L3 learners have an advantage over L2 learners, this may be due to their complex linguistic knowledge and higher metalinguistic competence.

The central purpose of this study is to illustrate how ESL instructors can take a principled approach to setting pronunciation instruction priorities for learners. Elicited speech samples from 30 adult English learners were analysed for suprasegmental and segmental pronunciation features. Guided by Levis’ (2005) intelligibility principle, results of the analysis led to recommended foci for pronunciation instruction. The study’s participants come from three distinct first language (L1) backgrounds (Mandarin Chinese, Colombian Spanish, and Slavic), reflecting the type of linguistic breadth found in typical ESL classrooms. It is recommended that problematic features observed in the speech of participants from all three L1s be addressed as a whole group, with each L1 group also receiving separate instruction for their specific difficulties. Finally, results of the speech analysis are compared with previously published material describing L1-specific pronunciation difficulties.