Journal of Second Language Pronunciation - Volume 7, Issue 1, 2021

Abstract

The global pandemic caused a storm of cancellations of professional conferences and professional travel, but the storm has also had technological silver linings in opportunities for professional development including greater numbers of webinars, virtual conferences, and new uses of videoconferencing. We expect that many of these new expansions of professional development will continue in the field of L2 pronunciation.

Abstract

This study explored the potential impact of pronunciation instruction on L2 listening comprehension. Seventy-two intermediate Vietnamese EFL university learners formed two groups. The pronunciation group (n = 35) received seven weekly 45-minute pronunciation instruction sessions targeting segmental and suprasegmental features of English. The control group (n = 37) did not receive any pronunciation instruction. Weekly reflections, an exit questionnaire and focus group interviews were used to investigate learners’ perceptions of the impact of the pronunciation instruction. Results showed that the two groups’ immediate listening post-test scores did not differ significantly after the first two sessions on syllables and consonants/vowels. However, the pronunciation group outperformed the control group after three further pronunciation sessions on word stress, thought groups and sentence focus, but these differences disappeared on subsequent immediate and delayed post-tests. Self-report data indicated learners’ positive perceptions of the helpfulness of the pronunciation instruction and how the gained pronunciation knowledge helped improve their listening comprehension.

Abstract

This study investigates how English and Mandarin speakers (1) use pitch resets and pauses to signal discourse boundaries, and (2) use pitch, duration, and intensity to indicate contrastive stress in their L1s. This study also explores how Mandarin-speaking English learners use prosodic features in L1 Mandarin and L2 English. Linear mixed-effects models showed that Mandarin and English share similarities in the forms and functions of prosody. However, Mandarin-speaking English learners did not transfer prosody usage to L2 English despite these similarities. These findings suggest that L2 prosody learning is not a typological transfer between two static language systems. Rather, it involves the interaction between two complex and dynamic prosody systems, each with its own mapping between prosodic forms and functions. Prosody teaching, therefore, should take into account the dynamic nature of prosody and compare L1 and L2 prosody in forms, meanings, and functions.

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of teacher and peer corrective feedback on pronunciation development, with a special focus on whether providing or receiving peer feedback on pronunciation is more beneficial for L2 production skills. Participants included 96 L2 learners of German. They were assigned to one of three experimental groups or a control group. After general pronunciation training on a segmental and a suprasegmental feature, the teacher group received feedback from a teacher, the provider group gave feedback to peers, and the receiver group listened to feedback from peers. The control group received neither pronunciation training nor feedback. Results from native speaker comprehensibility ratings of learners’ productions indicated that while all groups outperformed the control group, both the teacher and the provider group improved more than the receiver group. In addition, the provider group had a slight edge over the teacher group. Theoretical and pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.

Abstract

Visual feedback, in which learners visually analyze acoustic speech characteristics, has been shown to significantly improve pronunciation, but extant research has varied widely with respect to the target feature, length of the intervention, and type of intervention. This study presents a comparative analysis of three methods of visual feedback for L2 segmental pronunciation instruction. These methods, all focused on training voice onset time for English-speaking learners of Spanish, differed in duration of instruction (i.e., short and long) and the nature of each intervention (i.e., phonemes presented simultaneously or sequentially). Results show that while all forms of visual feedback significantly improve L2 Spanish pronunciation, evidenced by a reduction in voice onset time, the greatest improvement was found following both longer treatments and a sequential approach. Theoretical and pedagogical implications are discussed.

This article reviews Suullinen kielitaito – Opi, opeta, arvioi

This article reviews Fluency in L2 learning and use

This article reviews How to Write Pronunciation Activities

This article reviews American English phonetics and pronunciation practice

This article reviews English Pronunciation in L2 Instruction: The Case of Secondary School Learners