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- Volume 9, Issue 1, 2023
Journal of Second Language Pronunciation - Volume 9, Issue 1, 2023
Volume 9, Issue 1, 2023
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Recent dissertations on L2 pronunciation
Author(s): John M. Levis and Zoë Zawadzkipp.: 1–19 (19)More LessAbstractThis editorial summarizes 40 recent dissertations (2018–2023) on L2 pronunciation topics. Although it was nearly impossible to pigeonhole dissertations into single sub-categories (e.g., pronunciation training studies often also address questions of intelligibility), we have organized them into six main topic areas: Teachers and Learners; Special Contexts; Prosody and Fluency; Technology; Pronunciation Training; and Intelligibility, Comprehensibility and Accentedness. The wide range of dissertations from around the world indicates a bright future for the field.
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Long-term effects of peer and teacher feedback on L2 pronunciation
Author(s): Ines A. Martin and Lieselotte Sippelpp.: 20–46 (27)More LessAbstractThis study investigated the long-term effects of peer and teacher feedback on pronunciation development. Participants included 94 learners of German. They were assigned to a teacher feedback group (TeacherF Group), a peer feedback provider group (PeerF Providers), a peer feedback receiver group (PeerF Receivers), or a control group. After completing general pronunciation training on a segmental and a suprasegmental feature in German, the TeacherF Group received feedback on their pronunciation from a teacher, the PeerF Providers gave feedback to peers, and the PeerF Receivers received feedback from peers. The control group did not complete pronunciation training or receive feedback. Results from native speaker comprehensibility ratings of learners’ productions indicated that while the TeacherF Group and the PeerF Receivers improved in the short term, only the PeerF Providers maintained their gains in pronunciation development over time. Methodological and pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.
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The characteristics and effects of peer feedback on second language pronunciation
Author(s): Yuhui Huang, Andrew H. Lee and Susan Ballingerpp.: 47–70 (24)More LessAbstractIn order to investigate the characteristics and effects of peer feedback targeting second language (L2) pronunciation, the present study recruited 32 Mandarin-speaking learners of English who received five pronunciation instructional sessions through an instant messaging application on their smart phones. The phonological targets, types, and formats of peer feedback as well as its effects on their pronunciation (i.e., comprehensibility and accentedness) were examined. Results revealed that the participants mainly targeted segmental errors rather than suprasegmental errors and that they tended to provide more feedback on vowels rather than on consonants. Their feedback, delivered mainly in writing, was found to be effective in improving learners’ comprehensibility, but not their accentedness. The findings demonstrate the potential of peer feedback complementary to teacher feedback in instructed L2 pronunciation and highlight the importance of training in optimizing the effectiveness of peer feedback.
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Explicit pronunciation instruction in the second language classroom
Author(s): James M. Strattonpp.: 71–102 (32)More LessAbstractThe present study uses an acoustic analysis to examine the effects of implicit and explicit pronunciation instruction on the acquisition of German final devoicing in the L2 classroom. Twenty-nine English-speaking L2 learners of German at a North American university were assigned to an implicit or explicit condition. Learner speech samples were recorded, following a pre/post/delayed-post-test design. Four acoustic correlates of final and medial obstruent voicing were analyzed to establish the degree to which underlyingly voiced word-final stops were phonetically devoiced. Results indicate that learners in the explicit condition significantly outperformed learners in the implicit condition, with all four acoustic measures signaling significantly greater word-final devoicing by the post-test in the explicit condition. Orthography, declarative knowledge, and level of awareness are hypothesized as factors that influenced the acquisition process. The study calls for additional acoustic work on the effects of different instructional practices on German L2 pronunciation.
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Is seeing believing?
Author(s): Lara Bryfonskipp.: 103–129 (27)More LessAbstractThis study compares the effects of visual and oral corrective feedback (CF) on L2 pronunciation development. While many studies have investigated the effects of oral CF for various types of L2 learner productions (Li, 2010; Mackey & Goo, 2007), research in visual biofeedback is still developing (Antolík et al., 2019; Gick, et al., 2008). In this study, 21 Japanese learners of English were divided into two groups: an oral CF group and a visual (ultrasound) CF group where participants received either oral or visual feedback on task-essential pronunciations of English /l/ and /r/ after induced communication breakdowns in task-based interactions. Development, determined by accuracy ratings of /l/ and /r/ productions and comprehensibly ratings of phrases from reading passages by naïve raters, was examined pre and post participation in task-based interactions. Introspective reports in the form of stimulated recall interviews assessed learners’ noticing of visual and oral CF and provided qualitative evaluations of the utility of ultrasound imaging for improving pronunciation. Findings uncovered gains for the group who received biofeedback using ultrasound on a story reading task, but not a word list task, when compared with learners who only received oral CF. The training was positively received by participants with those in the ultrasound group finding use of the ultrasound motivating and useful for their production of /r/ and /l/.
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Review of Sardgena & Jarosz (2022): Theoretical and practical developments in English speech assessment, research, and training: Studies in honour of Ewa Waniek-Klimczak
Author(s): Joshua Gordonpp.: 134–138 (5)More LessThis article reviews Theoretical and practical developments in English speech assessment, research, and training: Studies in honour of Ewa Waniek-Klimczak
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