scholarly journals Exploring the Connection between Teacher Training and Teacher Cognitions Related to L2 Pronunciation Instruction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Kochem
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Training ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
L2 Pronunciation

scholarly journals Improving L2 pronunciation inside and outside the classroom

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 99-124
Author(s):  
Angélica Carlet ◽  
Hanna Kivistö-de Souza
Keyword(s):  
Target Language ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Comparison Task ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Perceptual Skills ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Before And After ◽  
First Languages ◽  
L2 Pronunciation

Spanish/Catalan learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) attended a formal instruction (FI) period combined with explicit pronunciation instruction, which consisted of theoretical and practical approaches to English segmental phonetics as well as a contrastive analysis between the participants’ first languages and the target language, English. The EFL learners’ ability to perceive and produce L2 vowels was assessed before and after the 8-week instructional treatment. Results show that the EFL learners significantly improved their perception of vowel sounds embedded in real and non-words. However, no improvement in production was found as a result of the instruction received. While these results suggest that learners’ perceptual skills can be improved with teacher-led instruction, the quantity and availability of explicit pronunciation instruction is not sufficient to modify learners’ speech production. Thus, optimal results require learners to continue learning outside the classroom context. With this aim, this paper presents two autonomous activities developed to increase learners’ awareness about phonology: L1-L2 Pronunciation Comparison Task and a Phonological Self-awareness Questionnaire.

Voice and Mirroring in SLA: Top-Down Pedagogy for L2 Pronunciation Instruction

RELC Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 003368822095391
Author(s):  
Darren LaScotte ◽  
Colleen Meyers ◽  
Elaine Tarone
Keyword(s):  
Native Speaker ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
International Teaching Assistant ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
International Teaching ◽  
Instructional Goal ◽  
L2 Pronunciation

There are two broad approaches to the research and teaching of second-language (L2) pronunciation—‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’—which roughly align with structural and communicative approaches to language teaching. A bottom-up approach, explicitly focusing on de-contextualised linguistic forms, is structuralist and predominated in the second half of the 20th century; a top-down approach to L2 pronunciation takes a more communicative orientation, defining the instructional goal not as acquiring a native-speaker accent, but rather as ‘intelligibility.’ In consideration of this pronunciation goal (i.e. intelligibility) and recent L2 acquisition theoretical frameworks emphasising the role of social and contextual factors in shaping interlanguage (IL) systems, we argue that a top-down approach is paramount to L2 pronunciation instruction. Drawing on variationist research on IL phonology and a brief recount of International Teaching Assistant pronunciation course programs in the US, we present the Mirroring Project as an effective top-down pedagogical approach for L2 pronunciation instruction.

Pronunciation research in recent dissertations

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-194
Author(s):  
John M. Levis
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Training ◽  
Instructional Interventions ◽  
The Future ◽  
Types Of Instruction ◽  
Interest In Research ◽  
L2 Pronunciation

Abstract This editorial looks at L2 pronunciation dissertations from 2017 and 2018 to see what topics were of interest in research, to examine trends, and to suggest ideas for the future. The largest group of dissertations reflect interest in instruction and instructional interventions. These interventions look at a wide variety of features, types of instruction (e.g., implicit vs. explicit), different L1-L2 combinations, and the importance of materials in teacher training. The next most common topic was perception, followed by prosody (including stress, intonation, tone and fluency) and acquisition. English and Spanish were the most frequently studied L2s, indicating a need for L2 pronunciation in less commonly researched languages.

The foundations of accent and intelligibility in pronunciation research

2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murray J. Munro ◽  
Tracey M. Derwing
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
L2 Pronunciation

Our goal in developing this timeline was to trace the empirical bases of current approaches to L2 pronunciation teaching, with particular attention to the concepts of accent and intelligibility. The process of identifying suitable works for inclusion challenged us in several ways. First, the number of empirical studies of pronunciation instruction is far too small to provide an interesting perspective on the issues. In fact, the dearth of such investigations has been noted many times since at least as far back as the 1960s (Strain 1963; Sisson 1970). Consequently, tracing the roots of contemporary teaching practices required that we expand our purview to consider theoretically-motivated research, as well as influential non-empirical writing about pronunciation. Here we encountered a second problem: the field of applied phonetics and phonology is so diverse that it was very difficult to decide what to omit. The research follows multifarious threads, some of which can directly inform classroom practices, while others are more concerned with general learning influences and processes. In addition, a large body of speculative and opinionated commentary on pronunciation has been published, much of which has never been submitted to empirical test.

Implementing explicit pronunciation instruction: The case of a nonnative English-speaking teacher

2020 ◽  
pp. 136216882094199
Author(s):  
Joshua Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Context ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Second Language Teacher ◽  
Actual Teaching ◽  
The Way ◽  
L2 Pronunciation

Studies in second language teacher cognition (SLTC) of pronunciation teachers have increased in the last 10 years, due mainly to the fact that the decisions teachers make about explicit instruction are critical for the development of second language (L2) pronunciation in learners. Although recent research has indicated that nonnative-speaking teachers (NNSTs) can be as effective as native-speaking teachers (NSTs) in pronunciation instruction, and that their training needs resemble those of NSTs, the way NNSTs implement L2 pronunciation instruction has not been studied extensively. This is important to understand given the number of NNSTs of English worldwide at present, and because of the potential benefits of nonnative-speaking pronunciation teaching models in general. In this study, I analysed the way an experienced NNST implemented explicit pronunciation instruction in a context of English as a foreign language (EFL) to understand both his actual teaching practices and the rationale behind such practices. Using a framework of knowledge base of language teaching, this study demonstrates how factors such as previous teaching and learning experiences, teaching context, and L2 learner characteristics shaped and guided the techniques the teacher implemented in class. These results are discussed in terms of implications for pronunciation teaching and teacher training purposes.

scholarly journals How Motivation as Quality Influence ESL Learners’ Attitudes toward English Pronunciation Learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Yang Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Regulatory Focus ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Factor Solution ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Ideal L2 Self ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
L2 Pronunciation

The current study attempted to examine ESL learners’ attitudes toward L2 pronunciation learning and meanwhile, toinvestigate how these learners’ qualitative motivation explain their attitudes toward pronunciation learning. A total of124 ESL learners participated in the survey in which several questionnaires were included regarding L2 selfrepresentations (Papi et al., 2018), chronic regulatory focus (Higgins et al., 2001) and L2 learners attitudes towardpronunciation learning (Elliot, 1995a; Gardner, 1985). An exploratory factor analysis was performed on allpronunciation items and the results revealed a threefold-factor solution: importance of pronunciation, learningpronunciation for communicative purpose and preference for native accent. The data analysis suggested thatpromotion-focused orientation, ideal L2 self own, ought-to L2 self own and ought-to L2 self other were respectivelycorrelated with ESL learners’ attitudes toward all three factors of pronunciation learning. Particularly, ideal L2 selfown was found to predict more positive attitude toward the importance of pronunciation learning and toward thepreference for native accent than ought-to L2 self own, while the former one also predicted more negative attitudetoward learning pronunciation for communicative purpose. The study has yielded significant implications forresearchers regarding the understanding of motivation from its qualitative perspective which delineates individual’sinclination to different goals and to specific strategies for attaining these goals (Papi, 2018), as well as for ESLinstructors concerning the improvement of L2 pronunciation pedagogy and the selection of motivational approachesfor L2 pronunciation instruction.

Pronunciation and Task-Based Instruction: Effects of a Classroom Intervention

RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003368822098691
Author(s):  
Joshua Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Classroom Intervention ◽  
Focus On Form ◽  
Accented Speech ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Based Instruction ◽  
Task Based Instruction ◽  
L2 Pronunciation

Explicit pronunciation instruction enhances production of intelligible, comprehensible, and fluent second language (L2) speech. Additionally, task-based instruction (TBI) enhances the production of segmentals and suprasegmentals, and promotes awareness of L2 forms in pronunciation. Since most previous research on TBI in L2 pronunciation learning has been carried out in laboratory settings, it is necessary to investigate how the implementation of tasks that differ in complexity in actual classroom settings could benefit L2 pronunciation learners. This classroom-based study investigated the effects of combining focus on form and TBI in L2 pronunciation instruction in the production of comprehensible, fluent, and L2-accented speech in English-as-a-foreign-language learners. Although the results of the study present modest gains, they make a case for the inclusion of explicit pronunciation instruction and tasks that differ in complexity to help learners develop pronunciation skills. Responding to recent calls for more classroom-based research that demonstrates how pronunciation can be implemented in systematic and principled ways, the results of this study are discussed in terms of implications and pedagogical recommendations for L2 pronunciation teaching and learning.

scholarly journals The Contribution of Individual Differences to L2 Pronunciation Learning: Insights from Research and Pedagogical Implications

RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-61
Author(s):  
Yui Suzukida
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Musical Aptitude ◽  
The Third ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Instruction And Learning ◽  
L2 Pronunciation

Adult second language (L2) learning often exhibits great variability in its rate and outcome. Although research shows that learning trajectories are partly shaped by social and contextual factors (e.g. Larson-Hall, 2008), certain learner factors play an important role in enhancing L2 pronunciation learning by helping L2 learners notice and process input efficiently, whereas certain learner factors may impede L2 pronunciation learning by impairing attention control or slowing down L2 input processing. Therefore, in order for language teachers to provide effective instruction and help students improve their L2 pronunciation proficiency, it is beneficial for them to understand the differential impact of learner characteristics on L2 learning and adapt such understanding to their instruction and learning activities. The aim of the current article is to provide a review of existing studies that have explored individual differences (IDs) in relation to L2 pronunciation acquisition and to present implications for effective L2 pronunciation teaching. The article begins with an introduction of the paradigm shift in L2 pronunciation research and the conceptual framework of IDs proposed by Dörnyei (2009). This is followed by a summary of the processes involved in L2 pronunciation learning. The third section focuses on the characteristics of four IDs that have been found to influence the development of L2 pronunciation. Those IDs include foreign language learning aptitude (e.g. Saito and Hanzawa, 2016), musical aptitude (e.g. Milovanov et al., 2010), L2 learning motivation (e.g. Moyer, 1999), and anxiety (e.g. Baran-Łucarz, 2016). Based on the discussion in the third section, the last section will offer various applications of IDs research findings to L2 pronunciation instruction (e.g. instructional approaches, feedback, and pronunciation syllabi) for successful L2 pronunciation teaching.

scholarly journals Integrating Form and Meaning in L2 Pronunciation Instruction

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Talia Isaacs
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Recent Article ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Communicative Language Teaching ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
World War ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
The Right ◽  
L2 Pronunciation

One of the central challenges of ESL teaching is striking the right balance between form and meaning. In pronunciation pedagogy, this challenge is compounded because repetitive practice, which has been shown to enhance phonological acquisition and promote fluency, is widely viewed as being incompatible with communicative principles. This article provides a brief historical background for modern pronunciation pedagogy (from World War II to the present) as part of a backdrop for understanding the current disjuncture between pronunciation and communicative language teaching. A discussion on form-focused instruction, its applicability for pronunciation pedagogy, and challenges in implementation follows with reference to a recent article that presents evidence for the appropriateness of a communicative instructional framework for teaching L2 pronunciation (Trofimovich & Gatbonton, 2006). Finally, a communicative activity that encourages repetitive practice while integrating pronunciation with other components of language use is proposed.

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