Second Language Pronunciation E-Book
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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
Practical resources designed to help language educators apply the latest research and most effective pedagogical methods to classroom pronunciation instruction
In Second Language Pronunciation: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Teaching, a team of distinguished researchers and educators delivers an incisive and practical approach to evidence-based pronunciation instruction in second language classrooms. Developed for language teachers who want to incorporate and implement the most effective pedagogical methods in their language instruction, this edited volume offers 15 essays that connect the latest research with practical applications in the classroom.
In addition to exploring recent but less well-known methods—like High Variability Phonetic Training, discourse-based teaching, communicative classrooms, and technology-based methods—these chapters are unified in bringing theory to bear on practical questions faced by language teachers. The chapters follow a standard format, moving from critical research issues to pedagogical implications, and practical resources to equip language teachers, scholars, administrators, and teachers-in-training with the tools they require to develop their students’ pronunciation abilities. Readers will also find:
- A thorough introduction to using empirical evidence to guide pronunciation instruction in second language students
- Comprehensive explorations of the integration of pronunciation instruction into second language education
- Practical discussions of perception training in pronunciation instruction and the importance of L2 segmental and suprasegmental contrasts in pronunciation learning
- In-depth examinations of classroom research for pronunciation and the use of technology to explore L2 pronunciation
Perfect for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students studying TESOL, applied linguistics, and second language acquisition, Second Language Pronunciation: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Teaching will also earn a place in the libraries of researchers, scholars, and teachers of language and education.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022
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Second Language Pronunciation
Bridging the Gap Between Research and Teaching
Edited by John M. Levis, Tracey M. Derwing, and Sinem Sonsaat-Hegelheimer
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Contents
Cover
Title page
Copyright
1 Introduction to Product Development
2 Integrating Pronunciation into Language Instruction
3 Perception in Pronunciation Training
4 Making the Teaching of Segmentals Purposeful
5 Making the Teaching of Suprasegmentals Accessible
6 Classroom Research for Pronunciation
7 Using Technology to Explore L2 Pronunciation
8 Beyond Controlled, Guided, and Free Practice: Teaching Pronunciation Effectively Via a Coaching Model
9 Effective Feedback for Pronunciation Teaching
10 Pronunciation Assessment in Classroom Contexts
11 Pronunciation in Varied Teaching and Learning Contexts
12 Pronunciation Teaching in EFL K-12 Settings
13 The Laboratory, the Classroom, and Online: What Works in Each Context
14 Teaching Pronunciation in the Context of Multiple Varieties of English
15 Research-Informed Materials for Pronunciation Teaching
Glossary
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Illustrations
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1 Possible pronunciation features in a fill-in-the-blank activity.
Figure 2.2 Pronunciation and the learning of participial adjectives
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1 Articulators and places of articulation.
Figure 4.2 Vowels of general American English.
Figure 4.3 Explicit instruction (consonants).
Figure 4.4 Explicit instruction (vowels).
Figure 4.4 Listening tasks.
Figure 4.5 Controlled practice.
Figure 4.7 Guided practice.
Figure 4.8 Communicative activity.
Chapter 7
Figure 7.1 An example of visual feedback...
Chapter 8
Figure 8.1 Coaching-informed approach to...
Chapter 9
Figure 9.1 Modelling the process of corrective feedback.
Figure 9.2 Stress in English and Māori...
Figure 9.3 Screenshot of cards (reduced size).
Chapter 10
Figure 10.1 A picture naming task.
Figure 10.2 Types of optimization models.
Figure 10.3 A self-assessment format...
List of Tables
Chapter 1
Table 1.1 Names given to suprasegmentals by different authors.
Chapter 2
Table 2.1 Two general approaches to integrating pronunciation with other skills.
Table 2.2 Ideas for researching pronunciation integration.
Table 2.3 Lesson plan for final sounds...
Table 2.4 Lesson plan for word stress and emphasis in Vignette 2.
Chapter 4
Table 4.1 Places of articulation for consonants in English.
Table 4.2 Manners of articulation for consonants in English.
Table 4.3 Communicative framework for teaching...
Chapter 6
Table 6.1 Summary of Studies.
Chapter 9
Table 9.1 Overview of teaching stages.
Table 9.2 Worksheet controlled practice 1.
Table 9.3 Type 1 practice.
Chapter 10
Table 10.1 Key assessment terms.
Table 10.2 Dimensions of CBA.
Table 10.3 A rubric for assessing achievement...
Guide
Cover
Title page
Copyright
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Glossary
Index
End User License Agreement
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1 Bridging the Research-Practice Gap in L2 Pronunciation
Tracey M. Derwing1, John M. Levis2, and Sinem Sonsaat-Hegelheimer2
1University of Alberta & Simon Fraser University
2Iowa State University
In our experience, language instructors are very interested in teaching pronunciation, as is obvious from the overflowing sessions on pronunciation at any professional conference such as TESOL. But teachers also confess that they do not know what is important to teach and how to teach it; nor do they know much about research findings that can inform practice (Foote, Holtby & Derwing, 2011; Huensch, 2019; Murphy, 2014). The issues explored in this volume are intended to address these teacher needs; they are relevant to a range of second languages and teaching contexts; but our primary goal is to address some of the concerns held by teachers who are uncomfortable introducing pronunciation into their classrooms.
This book brings together established and upcoming experts who specialize in the research and teaching of second language pronunciation. As a whole the chapters contribute to our vision for research-informed second language pronunciation teaching, bridging the gap between expanding second language (L2) pronunciation research agendas and the much more slowly changing field of L2 pronunciation teaching. The authors have written chapters that preservice and inservice teachers and researchers will find accessible, current, and practical. Several of the authors are working in different L2 contexts; this ensures that we have included complementary views of the teaching/researching connection.
Below we briefly introduce the other chapters in this volume and then we make the argument for the benefits of pronunciation instruction. We also cover some lesser-known activities that have been shown to be useful in enhancing learners’ speech, while at the same time engaging learners either through gamification or through genuine communication. Many other activities can be found throughout the individual chapters.
Chapter 2:Integrating pronunciation into language instruction (John M. Levis, Iowa State University andAndrea Echelberger, Literacy Minnesota)
Pronunciation theorists regularly call for integrating pronunciation into the second language classroom, both to ensure that it is actually taught and because of the assumption that pronunciation will be learned more effectively when it is integrated. This topic explores the extent to which integrating pronunciation is an effective approach to long-term improvement.
Chapter 3:Perception in pronunciation training (Ron Thomson, Brock University)
Pronunciation training is dominated by production despite convincing evidence that short-term and long-term improvement is dependent on being able to identify and interpret L2 segmental and suprasegmental contrasts. This chapter explains why perception training should be more central to pronunciation instruction.
Chapter 4:Making the teaching of segmentals purposeful (Joshua Gordon, University of Northern Iowa)
Although segments form the basis of much pronunciation teaching, classroom materials suggest that many instructors still take a scatter-gun approach, rather than being guided by empirical evidence, such as the Functional Load Principle. The how-to for segments is readily available in many resources, but the what and the why are lacking. This chapter brings them together.
Chapter 5:Making the teaching of suprasegmentals accessible (Mary Grantham O’Brien, University of Calgary)
Teachers regularly report that suprasegmentals are hard to teach. They are hard for teachers to understand, hard to hear, and hard to explain. Innovations in the teaching of pronunciation require that description of suprasegmentals be accessible to teachers first of all, and that, second, activities and approaches to teaching be developed that make learning of suprasegmentals accessible to L2 learners. This chapter addresses these two issues.
Chapter 6:Classroom research for pronunciation (Veronica Sardegna, Duquesne University andAlison McGregor, Princeton University)
Understanding why some approaches to pronunciation teaching are more or less effective requires that we understand the constraints of classroom instruction for student learning at different levels of proficiency, for different ages, and for different learning goals. This chapter examines how variables of classroom instruction (teachers, learners, features, teaching techniques) can be studied.
Chapter 7:Using technology to explore L2 pronunciation (Dorothy Chun, UC Santa Barbara andYan Jiang, Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
Pronunciation learning and teaching should be based, at least partially, on authentic language use, both in the types of production typical of L2 learners and in the models that learners are provided. This topic explores the promise of technology for L2 pronunciation teaching and learning, including issues related to materials development, learning and teaching priorities, and the ways that pronunciation functions in authentic speech.
Chapter 8:Beyond controlled, guided, and free practice: Teaching pronunciation effectively via a coaching model (Donna Brinton, Educational consultant, Michael Burri, University of Wollongong &Amanda A. Baker, University of Wollongong)
The authors present a holistic view of effective pronunciation, taking into account the knowledge base of practitioners (Baker & Murphy, 2011) and the need to attend to additional (i.e., learner and/or learning-specific) variables when designing effective practice. Unique to this re-definition is the application of a coaching approach to pronunciation teaching (Baker, 2021), adapted from work in the field of psychology (Kauffman, 2010); this approach considers the additional situational, cultural, and linguistic variables critical to effective delivery.
Chapter 9:Effective feedback for pronunciation learning (Graeme Couper, Auckland University of Technology)
L2 pronunciation learning, whether face-to-face or online, requires feedback on the success of perception and production. Such feedback needs to address both form and function of the errors, and it needs to be understandable to the L2 learners. It should also be delivered in the most effective manner so that L2 learners are most likely to improve. This topic addresses best practices in providing feedback on L2 pronunciation.
Chapter 10:Pronunciation assessment in classroom contexts (Daniel Isbell, University of Hawaii &Mari Sakai, Georgetown University)
The future of pronunciation teaching is closely connected to the role of pronunciation in spoken language assessment. This chapter looks at how classroom and high-stakes pronunciation assessment can inform classroom practice and materials development.
Chapter 11:Pronunciation in varied teaching and learning contexts (Mark TannerandLynn Henrichsen, Brigham Young University)
The authors examine how pronunciation teaching and learning can be flexibly adjusted to different teaching contexts in which constraints of time, expertise, curricula, and confidence make the teaching of pronunciation more challenging. Included in the chapter are discussions of priorities, outside practice, classroom and self-assessment, how listeners hear accented speech, and ultimate achievement.
Chapter 12:Pronunciation teaching in EFL K-12 settings (Elina Tergujeff, University of Jyväskylä)
In immigrant-receiving countries, pronunciation problems among L2 learners in K-12 are uncommon, and in fact, often their L2 pronunciation is so good that it masks learners’ lack of language proficiency. However, in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings, learners may have limited exposure to various pronunciation models, and thus may require explicit instruction. Tergujeff explores the need for pronunciation instruction in EFL K-12 contexts.
Chapter 13:The laboratory, the classroom, and online: What works in each context (Solène Inceoglu, The Australian National University andInes Martin, US Naval Academy)
Pronunciation training studies take place in a variety of contexts, each with their own strengths and constraints. This topic looks at the pros and cons of each and how effective pronunciation training in one context can inform training in others.
Chapter 14:Models of English and teaching across varieties (Lucy Pickering, Texas A & M, Commerce, andMeichan Huang, Syracuse University)
Pronunciation training typically privileges a small number of prestige varieties that may not be widely spoken in certain contexts. This creates an assumption that pronunciation learning involves learning and teaching a variety that may not be appropriate for a particular regional or social context. The authors examine new approaches to pronunciation variation for both perception and production.
Chapter 15: Research-informed materials for pronunciation teaching (Sinem Sonsaat-Hegelheimer, Iowa State University, andShannon McCrocklin, Southern Illinois University)
At the heart of pronunciation teaching are the materials used to teach pronunciation. Effective materials should demonstrate effectiveness in promoting learning, in creating interest for teachers, and should be based on research findings. This chapter provides an excellent rubric for teachers to use when choosing resources.
Critical Issues
Terminology
The chapters reflect different approaches to teaching pronunciation, nowhere more than in the varied terminology used by the authors. Although we considered requiring uniform terminology, we decided that it was more important that authors use the terminology that is theoretically and practically comfortable for them. As a result, some things may be unclear to readers who are unfamiliar with the different names for pronunciation features, especially for suprasegmental features. Suprasegmentals have a long history of being described and named in different ways, although for the purposes of this book, the differences are minor enough that they can be ignored by teachers. Nonetheless, it is helpful to list the terms used by various authors in Table 1.1. Thought groups refer to the speaker’s breaking speech up into logical and typically grammatical phrases of around five to seven words. They are the structure in which all suprasegmentals (except word stress) occur. Prominence refers to speakers’ highlighting particular words within a phrase to call attention to them (e.g., I HATE eating that stuff!). Intonation refers to the movement of pitch across the thought group, and especially at the end of a phrase (e.g., Really? You hate it?, both with rising pitch). Rhythm refers to the patterns of strong and weak syllables across a thought group. A language like English has large differences in syllable length, while other languages, such as varieties of Chinese, do not. Finally, word stress refers to the dictionary patterns of prominence within a word. But since not all languages use stress, we also refer to word prosody and tone.
Table 1.1 Names given to suprasegmentals by different authors.
Names for Suprasegmental Features
Word Stress
Lexical stress, Syllable stress
Thought Groups
Phrasing, Phrase groups, Tone units, Tonality
Rhythm
Rhythm (sometimes referred to by duration)
Prominence
Nuclear stress, Primary (phrase) stress, Emphatic stress, Sentence stress, Phrase stress, Contrastive stress, Tonic syllable, Pitch accent
Intonation
Tune, Contour, Tonicity
Other Terms
Tone, Pitch accent (types of word prosody)
Why Research Findings Should Matter to Teachers
There is a clear need for pronunciation instruction to be guided by empirical evidence. Sometimes intuitions on which teachers rely are wrong. For instance, in a teacher-focused publication, Thompson (2011) suggests that the distinction between English /p/ and /b/ is that the former is produced when exhaling, while the latter is made while inhaling. This latter claim is patently false; English has no ingressive phonemes. As any introductory linguistics textbook will show, these two stops differ in voicing; in addition, in word initial position, aspiration of the /p/ further distinguishes the sounds. It may be that the aspiration caused Thompson and others (e.g., Usher, 1995) to assume that the expulsion of air accompanying /p/ is its only defining feature, and that /b/ must be produced in an opposite way. These “folk” intuitions can have unintentional consequences. Best outcomes for pronunciation students are dependent on the quality of the instruction they receive. Research has shown that ill-informed teachers can actually induce errors in their learners’ speech (Derwing & Munro, 2015; Wang & Munro, 2004). It is thus crucial for language instructors to have a good grasp of the linguistic factors involved in pronunciation in addition to strong pedagogical skills.
The topic of L2 pronunciation, almost forgotten in teacher training programs and language classrooms during the communicative era, has made a dramatic comeback reflected in:
the numbers of new PhDs working on pronunciation topics
the remarkable increase of research being published across a wide range of journals
the establishment of a dedicated journal for the field (
Journal of Second Language Pronunciation
)
the explosion of professional books looking at various aspects of pronunciation for different languages in the past decade
the extension of pronunciation teaching voices beyond English contexts into other languages, especially Mandarin, Spanish, German and French
the connections of L2 pronunciation across applied linguistics, teaching, computer science and engineering research
extensive research on pronunciation teacher cognition and learner beliefs
the increased attention to new types of technology for pronunciation teaching and learning
the greater visibility of the field reflected in conferences highlighting the research and teaching of L2 pronunciation.
These advances are important, but pedagogy is often still overly influenced by traditional models emphasizing controlled practice such as reading aloud, repeating, and imitating native models. Traditional approaches to teaching pronunciation are typically based on descriptions of sound systems and expert views on challenges faced by L2 learners. They rarely provide evidence that the teaching works (Levis, 2017) or that one approach works better than another. Nor do they explain why certain approaches to teaching work, whether improvement as a result of instruction lasts over time, or whether improvement transfers to untrained contexts.
Nonetheless, as research into L2 pronunciation expands, suggestions for changes to pedagogy are also changing. There is an increasing emphasis on integrating pronunciation with other aspects of language (Derwing et al., 2021; Jones, 2016; Levis & Grant, 2003; Ruivivar & Collins, 2019); on perception training and the increasing use of approaches such as High Variability Phonetic Training (Thomson, 2018); and on approaches that focus on discourse-based rather than word-based and sound-based teaching (Gluhareva & Prieto, 2017; Hardison, 2004; Hirata, 2004). Moreover, we now have evidence regarding the use of task-based pronunciation teaching for pronunciation improvement (Mora & Levkina, 2017); on the primacy of intelligibility and comprehensibility as goals over accentedness (Derwing & Munro, 2015; Levis, 2018); on pronunciation teaching in communicative classrooms (Foote et al., 2016); and on new approaches to teaching pronunciation using technology (O’Brien et al., 2018) and coaching methods (Baker, 2021).
Another issue facing instructors is when to introduce pronunciation, especially since many of the available resources are intended for intermediate or advanced level students. Darcy et al. (2012) suggest that pronunciation instruction should be included “in the first year of extensive exposure to the L2” (p. 94) during the period which Derwing and Munro (2015) have labelled the Window of Maximal Opportunity. Derwing and Munro’s longitudinal study of naturalistic L2 phonological development (in the absence of instruction) indicated that most change happens in the early part of the first year of massive exposure. Thus, it makes sense to capitalize on what Darcy et al. (2012) called the time of greatest pronunciation malleability.
If pronunciation is to be initiated when learners are first intensively exposed to the L2 (as is the case, for instance, with immigrants to a majority English-speaking country), then materials should be available at all levels. Zielinski and Yates (2014) offer sound reasons for implementing pronunciation instruction right from the start, including helping learners with their self-confidence, which, in turn, could lead to increased exposure. Their book of explanations and activities, Give It a Go (Yates & Zielinski, 2009), is freely available and is intended for teachers who have had little or no experience teaching pronunciation: http://www.ameprc.mq.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/276135/interactive_sm.pdf
Intensive instruction at some point, even if it does not continue, also appears to affect future comprehensibility and fluency, suggesting that pronunciation-focused instruction has long-term effects. French et al. (2020) report on an intensive five-month ESL course taken by French L2 learners of English at the beginning of high school with their abilities four years later. Compared to a control group that had not received intensive ESL instruction, the intensive learners had significantly higher ratings of both fluency and comprehensibility. There was no difference with ratings of accentedness.
Although nascent, there are now some studies which probe the success of individual activities on learners’ productions. For instance, Foote and McDonough (2017) examined the efficacy of shadowing recorded dialogues (imitating a model) and found significant improvement. The same learners also produced a picture narrative at three times over an eight-week period, and were subsequently judged by listeners to have improved in both comprehensibility and fluency. The authors attribute these changes to the shadowing activity. More investigations of stand-alone activities such as this will be a benefit to teachers and students alike (see Murphy & Baker, 2015) for a historical review of empirical research in pronunciation teaching).
Pedagogical Implications
Pronunciation teaching and learning includes, like any area of language teaching, a wide variety of activity and exercise types, from minimal pair exercises to discrimination listening exercises, to guided and communicative exercises. How do we know which activities are best suited to promote improvement, and what kind of improvement they promote? It is largely left up to the instructor to determine which ones will work best for their students’ particular needs, taking into consideration not only the type and severity of their problems, but also their age, the nature of the course, their prior education levels, and other aspects of the context. Some activities are relatively simple, while others are complex and require considerable preparation. Here is where research can help the teacher in making choices. In the next section, we address some empirically tested activities that are rarely found in pronunciation texts but which have been shown to have positive results. We have included only suprasegmental activities focused on global speaking and listening skills, in light of the fact that a broad range of segmental resources are more widely available.
Contrastive Stress
Levis and Muller Levis (2018) conducted an experiment with learners of English with a focus on contrastive stress. Over a three-week period, the instructors provided explicit instruction regarding contrastive stress (e.g., pointing out “lexicogrammatical patterns that are used to compare and contrast (e.g., other, first/second, on the left/right)” (p. 149) and offered auditory examples. Students practiced by producing sentences based on pictures that differed (e.g., two houses with different sizes, colors, number of stories, and number of windows, examples of which are available in their open-access publication). Pre- and post-picture descriptions were recorded, and were the basis of a listening study in which 20 undergraduate students rated the descriptions for comprehensibility and fluency from the experimental group and a control group on 9-point scales. The authors found that comprehensibility was improved in the experimental group, although fluency did not change in either group. A simple focus on contrastive stress over a relatively short time period made the speech of these learners easier to understand.
Sitcom Cycle
For many years, expert practitioner Janet Goodwin used clips from sitcoms to aid her students’ awareness of English pronunciation (for details, see Goodwin, 2005). She would take a scene from a popular TV show, such as Seinfeld or Friends, and would ask her students to break into small groups and transcribe the segment. This required multiple listenings. She then had the students mark word stress and major intonation patterns, getting them to focus on prosody. Again, this took multiple listenings. After each of these rounds, she went through the clip with the students, correcting any errors and asking them to listen again to confirm that they could perceive the productions accurately. The next step was to have the students perform the scene, incorporating the body language used by the characters, and using their marked transcriptions as the script. This arc of activities serves several purposes. First, students tend to accept sitcom language as “real” speech, despite the fact that it is scripted, and therefore tends to be more grammatical and coherent than actual “real” speech. The multiple listenings, first for general understanding (transcription) and next for prosody, offer the learners the repetition they need, but with an achievable goal. The teacher can flag areas of difficulty and do some extra work on those areas before moving on. The performance aspect of the activity is carried out only after the learners have heard the clip many, many times, in the company of their classmates. Thus, it is nowhere near as threatening as a speaking activity that is imposed out of the blue. Goodwin video-recorded the learners’ performance, and the whole class would then comment on the strengths and areas for improvement. This intensive focus on a short (2- to 3-minute) clip can lead to significant awareness raising and improvement in production. Goodwin’s activity entails a great deal of recycling of the same material. Repeated passes at the same activity for different purposes can be highly beneficial.
Jazz Chants
Another old, but useful, resource is Jazz Chants (Graham, 1978), which can be employed quite differently from the author’s original intention, which was a focus on grammar in spoken English, along with affective intonation. Prosodic elements can be practiced by going through a chant once with the learners listening, and then having them listen again and tap or clap the beats. The instructor can then substitute a single syllable such as “da” for all of the syllables and have the students first listen and then repeat the chant, using “da” throughout (this eliminates any struggles with consonant clusters or other segmental difficulties, which should not be the focus of a prosodic lesson). The students can be asked to count the number of syllables in each line, and then count the number of stressed syllables. For some learners it is a surprise to find that lines that are meant to be of equal length can vary by several syllables yet share the same stress pattern. Several Jazz Chants are available on the internet for teachers who may not be able to access the printed resource, or who are unsure as to the rhythm of each chant.
TED Talks
McGregor et al. (2016) pointed out that most pronunciation textbooks treat intonation in a mechanistic way that belies its relationship to context. They chose to analyze aspects of intonation (prominence, salience, tone choice) employed in a Ted Talk using both a perceptual analysis (thought groups, pitch changes, etc.) and an interpretive analysis, examining given and new information, speaker’s perceived attitude toward content, and speaker’s perceived attitude toward audience. Ted Talks are generally recognized as informative monologues presented with the intent to persuade and educate in an effective manner, and are exemplars of successful communication. Speakers make an overall impression on their listeners not only through the content of what they say, but how they say it in real time. McGregor et al. showed in this study that intonation conveyed the speaker’s attitude toward both the content and the audience – thus it carried meaning that goes far beyond the typical atomistic treatment of intonation in pronunciation texts (e.g., raise pitch at the end of a yes/no question). Intonation, they argue, contributes to meaning-making in a holistic way and should be taught as such. They suggest bringing students’ attention to the general impression created by the speaker, followed by an examination of how that impression was developed by examining the structure of the talk.
Readers Theater
Tanner and Chugg (2018) adapted a technique long used to develop reading skills to enhance oral fluency. As the authors point out, Readers Theater does not require props, costumes, or even much bodily involvement. The authors developed four scripts suitable for young adults (“academic honesty, finding a job, ways of travel, and modern innovations” pp. 187–188) and invited intermediate level ESL students enrolled in a 14-week program to engage in scripted performances. A comparison group received standard classroom practice. Prior to the implementation of Readers Theater, the classroom teacher introduced some basic tenets of pronunciation, including the role of pausing, word and sentence stress, and pitch changes. The students spent three weeks on each of the four scripts, and the teacher provided regular feedback on their communicative success. At the end of the term, the learners reported that their self-confidence and their fluency had improved. General language proficiency pre- and post-tests showed that both the comparison and experimental group improved significantly, and that the two groups did not differ. The authors recommend further research to determine if the speaking of the Readers Theater learners improves in comparison to a control group, but given the very positive increase in self-confidence, and the enjoyment factor, they recommend the inclusion of Readers Theater going forward.
Drama
Moving beyond Readers Theater, Galante and Thomson (2017) conducted an experiment to determine whether the inclusion of drama in ESL classrooms would improve learners’ comprehensibility, fluency, and accentedness. Although drama can include scripted elements, it also extends to improvisational roleplays. The authors worked with four low intermediate classes, two of which comprised a Comparison group who followed a standard communicative program incorporating pair and group work but no drama activities. The experimental classes undertook a wide range of drama activities and ultimately wrote and performed their own play at the end of term.
Pre- and post-intervention listening tests were designed for 30 listeners, who rated speech samples for fluency, comprehensibility, and accentedness. The Drama group exhibited significant improvement in fluency ratings, but no changes were noted in the Comparison group. Both groups improved in comprehensibility over time, although it appears as though the Drama group made slightly more gains. As with many other pronunciation studies, no difference in accent ratings was noted over time.
Debates
Fluency, or the degree to which speakers can talk without pauses, self-repairs, and other disruptive elements, is included in our definition of what pronunciation entails, and it clearly has an impact on comprehensibility. One activity often found in general speaking classes, but which can also contribute to pronunciation, is the debate. El Majidi et al. (2018) undertook a small study in which they introduced debates into language classes. They interviewed the students afterward and asked them to reflect on how their own speech had changed. The students indicated that they had a much better sense of how to pronounce new vocabulary. In a follow-up study, the same authors (El Majidi et al. 2021) examined the effects of an intervention employing debates compared to a control group, and found many significant improvements in the experimental group. Although they did not examine pronunciation of segments and suprasegmentals, they did measure fluency, which was significantly enhanced by debate; we know from other research that improvements in fluency in slow talkers result in an increase in comprehensibility (Munro & Derwing, 1998). The learners read about their topic, prepared their position in writing, and then prepared their speaking points.
Pragmatic Speech Acts
Derwing et al. (2021) hypothesized that predictability in speech contributes to overall comprehensibility. They tested this by teaching the pragmatics of four speech acts (compliments, requests, polite refusals, and apologies) to intermediate learners of English through the use of role-plays. Aspects of each speech act were taught explicitly; for instance, requests were broken down into Interruptions (Do you have a minute?/Sorry to interrupt), Explanations (The school called and my child is sick), Requests (Can I leave a bit early to pick him up?) and Solutions (I can make up the time tomorrow). The students watched videos of appropriate and inappropriate speech acts, and then practiced scenarios on their own. They were in turn video-recorded, and they watched each other’s role-plays and offered suggestions for improvement. The students were deeply engaged with the classes, and felt as though they were learning “the flow of Canadian speaking, which is different from back home speaking” (p. 124). Pre- and post-recordings of two requests and two polite refusals (considered the most difficult of the speech acts taught) were played to listeners who rated them for social appropriateness, comprehensibility, and fluency. All four scenarios were rated as significantly more socially appropriate after instruction. All but one of the scenarios was rated as significantly more comprehensible, suggesting that predictability does make it easier for listeners to process L2 speech. Only one scenario was rated as significantly more fluent post-intervention; one was significantly less fluent, and two were unchanged. The authors attribute this finding to the relative difficulty of negotiating the pragmatics of these speech acts.
Where to Start
This volume is rich with ideas from research that can inform pronunciation instruction in the classroom. Empirical studies offer extremely helpful ideas to teachers, and they provide insights as to why certain activities will have beneficial outcomes. However, knowing about some new activities and understanding why they may be useful is likely not enough to encourage a teacher who has not had any training in pronunciation to try implementing some of these ideas. The first step is always to determine where students’ pronunciation problems lie, and this is often the most difficult.
We suggest not doing this alone; a new endeavor will be easier to undertake with one or two colleagues. In one of the first classes in a language course, students should be asked to send a short (2–3 minutes) recording to their teacher on an easy topic such as “My favorite food” or “my happiest moment” or “my daily routine.” Teachers could also ask their students to describe a picture and send the recording. To assess where intelligibility and comprehensibility problems lie, two or three teachers should listen to these recordings together. Listening for specific aspects of speech helps to isolate problems – “once for overall comprehensibility, once for word stress, once for sentence stress, once for vowels, and finally consonants” (Derwing, in press). When each student’s most difficult problems have been identified, it is time to make a plan for both in-class and homework activities. (Note that some students may not have any features in their speech that interfere with comprehensibility.) If several students share specific difficulties, then classroom activities can be considered (often suprasegmentals will fall into this category). If individual students are struggling with certain segments, the teacher must then determine if the problem is related to perception, production, or both by doing a simple perception test. For example, if a student produces a /b/ where a /p/ is warranted, teachers can display a minimal pair, and produce one of the words. If the students can perceive correctly, then their problem is strictly production. If they cannot, then explicit explanation, along with listening practice can be introduced. Much of the listening practice can be done at home on a website such as English Accent Coach (Thomson, 2021) and students’ scores can be forwarded to the instructor.
This may seem like a daunting undertaking, but it is far less onerous if two or more teachers do it together. To trace their learners’ progress, teachers may want to conduct an informal action research project. Burns (2009) provides guidelines on how classroom teachers can systematically keep track of pronunciation activities, ensuring spiraling for optimal exposure. Burns provides a very clear example of one language teacher’s approach to action research that follows a cycle of “planning, action, observation and reflection” (115). It isn’t necessary to undertake action research, but reading about the process may provide teachers with ideas for structure that hadn’t occurred to them before.
We hope that the chapters here will bridge the gap for teachers who are uncomfortable teaching pronunciation in the language classroom. In the words of Yates and Zielinski, “Give it a go!”
Practical Resources for Pedagogy and Research
Derwing, T. M. & Munro, M. J. (2015). Pronunciation fundamentals: Evidence-based perspectives for L2 teaching and research. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
This book covers the how, why, and when of teaching pronunciation by examining empirical research outcomes and making pedagogical recommendations.
Jones, T. (Ed.) (2016). Pronunciation in the classroom: The overlooked essential. Alexandria, Virginia: TESOL Press.
The chapters in this edited volume are written by well-known experts. They discuss the integration of pronunciation teaching within several other linguistic foci such as vocabulary, listening and speaking, presentations skills, grammar, reading, spelling, and punctuation.
Levis, J. M. (2018). Intelligibility, oral communication, and the teaching of pronunciation. Cambridge University Press.
The field of pronunciation teaching has swung from an unnecessary focus on accuracy to a more reasonable goal of intelligibility. This volume is the most in-depth examination of intelligibility and how it matters to pronunciation.
Journal of Second Language Pronunciation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
This triannual journal is the go-to site for top pronunciation researchers. The journal welcomes submissions that integrate research and practice.
PSLLT Proceedings
The Proceedings of the Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference are freely available: https://apling.engl.iastate.edu/conferences/pronunciation-in-second-language-learning-and-teaching-conference/psllt-archive.
Each Proceedings has a section on Teaching Tips, contributed by expert practitioners, with clear, step-by-step directions for activities, along with the rationale for each. Every issue of the Proceedings also has several short, accessible articles on pronunciation teaching, often with suggestions for activities.
Pronunciationforteachers.com
This website is intended to assist language teachers by offering short, accessible essays on key concepts in pronunciation and pointing to several resources and activities that could be incorporated into any language class.
Author Biographies
Tracey M. Derwing is Professor Emeritus, the University of Alberta, and an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University. She has researched L2 pronunciation, especially the relationships among intelligibility, comprehensibility, fluency, and accent. She has also examined interventions enhancing native speakers’ comprehension of L2 accented speech. Much of her research concerns the successful social integration of immigrants and refugees.
John M. Levis is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Iowa State University. He is the founding editor of the Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, the founder of the Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference, the co-editor of the Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Proceedings, and the co-developer of pronunciationforteachers.com. He is co-editor of several books, including The Handbook of English Pronunciation (2015), Social Dynamics in Second Language Accent (2014), and Critical Concepts in Linguistics: Pronunciation (2017). He is also the author of Intelligibility, Oral Communication, and the Teaching of Pronunciation (2018).
Sinem Sonsaat-Hegelheimer is Assistant Professor at Iowa State University. She is the editorial assistant of Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, the co-developer of pronunciationforteachers.com, and the chair of Speech Pronunciation and Listening Interest Section of TESOL International Association. Sinem’s interests include pronunciation teaching, materials evaluation and development, and computer-assisted language learning. She has published in TESOL Quarterly, CATESOL Journal, and The Routledge Handbook of English Pronunciation.
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2 Integrating Pronunciation into Language Instruction
John M. Levis1 and Andrea Echelberger2
1Iowa State University
2Literacy Minnesota
“Teacher [only] you understand me” said a visibly frustrated student in a beginning level adult ESL class. Heads nodded in agreement around the room. The student recounted an experience she’d had over the weekend while shopping in the community. She’d asked a native English-speaking store employee a question, one she had practiced numerous times in class the previous week. The employee couldn’t understand her after she had unsuccessfully repeated it several times, and walked away without answering.
This story highlights a frequent occurrence in language classrooms, especially for individuals early in their L2 learning. The teacher knew that the students had pronunciation difficulties, but after several years of working with this population had become accustomed to their pronunciation patterns, making unconscious allowances in listening and largely ignoring pronunciation teaching. This “teacher ear” means that language teachers may have a different interpretation of intelligibility than other people because of exposure to accented speech and comfort with negotiation for meaning (Macdonald, 2002). While it is beneficial for students to have teachers who can understand them, in this case it did not contribute to the improvement of their ability to communicate outside of class. As one teacher in MacDonald’s study observed, “Out in society… not everyone is as patient and understanding” (p. 8). The approach of this teacher to pronunciation instruction parallels the practices of many teachers. When they address pronunciation in the classroom, it is often in an unsystematic and reactive manner (Foote et al., 2016), only addressing errors that “are too prominent to be ignored” (Levis & Grant, 2003, p. 13). This chapter suggests one way to address pronunciation consistently, by integrating pronunciation with the teaching of other skills. We take the perspective of teachers working with immigrant/refugee populations in Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs in the United States.
Critical Issues
Integrating pronunciation into language classes requires an understanding of contextual constraints that influence what can be done by teachers (McGregor & Reed, 2018). This is particularly true for teachers working with adult migrants, immigrants, and refugees in ABE or community-based settings. Due to limited class time, multilevel classes, space constraints, and testing requirements, many teachers in these settings teach pronunciation haphazardly, if they address it at all. The challenges they face make for an interesting opportunity for researchers to explore effective pronunciation teaching; if teachers working in less than ideal situations can effectively integrate pronunciation into regular instruction, so can teachers in a wide variety of teaching and learning contexts.
Community-based language classes have students with a broad range of needs, language and educational backgrounds, and ability levels. For example, a beginning-level adult ESL class may have learners aged 22–82. Within the same classroom there may be learners with advanced degrees who are literate in multiple languages (but not the target language), while others may have only attended a few years of elementary school, with limited literacy in their native language. Some learners may attend classes to develop language skills for employment, others attend to help their children with homework, while still others come to class to stay connected to a community and socialize outside their homes. There are additional logistical challenges that community-based teachers contend with. Classes may take place in shared spaces, requiring teachers to set up and break down their classroom space every day. Classes may have open enrollment, meaning that learners can enter a program anytime or leave anytime because of employment changes, family obligations, health, and so on. It is also common for teaching positions in community-based classes to be part-time and low-paying, with teacher experience and educational requirements varying widely from school to school.
These factors may imply that the stakes for these classes are low, but quite the opposite is true. Several countries that commonly receive immigrants and refugees have national language proficiency requirements built into their naturalization (citizenship acquisition) processes, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States (Berger & Lenz, 2014). Given the demands on adult immigrants’ and refugees’ lives (e.g., working spouses, children, caring for elders), community-based language/citizenship courses, which are generally offered free-of-charge and sometimes include childcare, are frequently the most accessible educational opportunities for this student population. National testing requirements needed for continued funding can add additional pressure on school administrators and teachers. For example, in the United States, adult schools receiving federal education funding must use one of a small handful of tests approved by the National Reporting System (NRS). States are also required to create a state plan for the implementation of content standards aligned with the national Common Core State Standards. A majority of adult education state systems have adopted the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) for Adults (2013), or the English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards (U.S. Department of Education, 2016), or individual state standards adapted to align to the Common Core, CCRS or ELP Standards. While all sets of national standards for adults specifically address listening and speaking skills, pronunciation features contributing to clear and coherent speech are not specifically referenced. Some states or programs address pronunciation more systematically; adult English language programs in Massachusetts, for example, are required to align their curriculum to the Massachusetts English Language Proficiency Standards for Adult Education (MA ELPS), which directly refers to pronunciation for all levels of speaking and listening standards. However, standards such as the MA ELPS are the exception rather than the norm, and most ABE instruction is literacy-oriented; that is, it emphasizes written language, which is a major, but not the only, challenge faced by learners in ABE, many of whom have been displaced from their countries of origin.
For displaced people, education has long been a limited commodity. In 2019, the United Nations High Commission on Refugees reported that only 63% of refugee children attend primary school, while only 24% attend secondary school. Resettled refugees, asylum seekers, and family reunification immigrants who have experienced no or interrupted schooling face a steep learning curve when they arrive in language classes. Over the years, the literacy researchers who have focused on this understudied population have documented evidence of what ABE teachers have always known instinctively; adults who are not literate in a native language learn a new language differently from literate adults and from children learning to read for the first time (Bigelow & Tarone, 2004; Gardner et al., 1996; Malicky & Derwing, 1993). Traditional methods of teaching pronunciation, which are tied to textbooks and require a basic level of literacy, do not work for these learners. Literacy-level learners need much more than alphabetics and phonics instruction to become successful readers. They also need extensive instruction in speaking and listening to build the necessary foundation for literacy skills. To this end, explicit pronunciation instruction is a crucial component in the development of reading skills (Walter, 2008). Strube (2009, p. 49) writes that literacy-level learners often have a very restricted grasp of second language (L2) oral skills, which results in an “inadequately developed” lexicon and working knowledge of sounds, words, and sentences in the target language. Research with literacy-level learners has shown that oral processing is interconnected with print literacy, making it more challenging to complete target language verbal tasks that require phonemic and phonological awareness; likewise, a lack of alphabetic print literacy makes it harder for learners to focus on the segments of the target language (Bigelow & Vinogradov, 2011; Kurvers et al., 2006; Tarone, 2010; Tarone et al., 2009). Researchers have found that young children (Ehri & Wilce, 1985; Liberman, Shankweiler, Fisher, & Carter, 1974) and adults (Kurvers et al., 2006) who were identified as non-readers were able to segment utterances by syllables but not able to segment utterances by phonemes or words, leading to “fuzzy and imprecise word representations” (Darcy, 2018, p. 25) and difficulty recognizing and producing target words. Developing a working oral vocabulary paves the way for literacy skills: without it, reading is akin to “sounding out nonsense words” (Kurvers, 2007, p. 41).
