Second Language Pronunciation Assessment

Second Language Pronunciation Assessment

Author: Talia Isaacs

Publisher: Multilingual Matters

Published: 2016-12-22

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 1783096861

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This book is open access under a CC BY licence. It spans the areas of assessment, second language acquisition (SLA) and pronunciation and examines topical issues and challenges that relate to formal and informal assessments of second language (L2) speech in classroom, research and real-world contexts. It showcases insights from assessing other skills (e.g. listening and writing) and highlights perspectives from research in speech sciences, SLA, psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics, including lingua franca communication, with concrete implications for pronunciation assessment. This collection will help to establish commonalities across research areas and facilitate greater consensus about key issues, terminology and best practice in L2 pronunciation research and assessment. Due to its interdisciplinary nature, this book will appeal to a mixed audience of researchers, graduate students, teacher-educators and exam board staff with varying levels of expertise in pronunciation and assessment and wide-ranging interests in applied linguistics.


Second Language Pronunciation

Second Language Pronunciation

Author: John M. Levis

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2022-03-29

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 1119801575

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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.


Pronunciation Myths

Pronunciation Myths

Author: Linda Grant

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2014-02-21

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 0472035169

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This volume was conceived as a "best practices" resource for pronunciation and speaking teachers in the way that Vocabulary Myths by Keith S. Folse is one for reading and vocabulary teachers. Like others in the Myths series, this book combines research with good pedagogical practices. The book opens with a Prologue by Linda Grant (author of the Well Said textbook series), which reviews the last four decades of pronunciation teaching, the differences between accent and intelligibility, the rudiments of the English sound system, and other factors related to the ways that pronunciation is learned and taught. The myths challenged in this book are: § Once you’ve been speaking a second language for years, it’s too late to change your pronunciation. (Derwing and Munro) § Pronunciation instruction is not appropriate for beginning-level learners. (Zielinski and Yates) § Pronunciation teaching has to establish in the minds of language learners a set of distinct consonant and vowel sounds. (Field) § Intonation is hard to teach. (Gilbert) § Students would make better progress if they just practiced more. (Grant) § Accent reduction and pronunciation instruction are the same thing. (Thomson) § Teacher training programs provide adequate preparation in how to teach pronunciation (Murphy). The book concludes with an Epilogue by Donna M. Brinton, who synthesizes some of the best practices explored in the volume.


English Pronunciation in L2 Instruction

English Pronunciation in L2 Instruction

Author: Anna Jarosz

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-03-21

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 3030138925

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This book provides an overview of pronunciation teaching and learning practices in secondary schools, providing insights into secondary school learners' needs, expectations and motivation regarding the importance of learning English and particularly English pronunciation. It presents a summary of the research on L2 pronunciation acquisition, teaching techniques and factors affecting the learning process as well as the results and conclusions of a longitudinal study conducted in a Polish secondary school. The study indicates that learners consider pronunciation a crucial component of English learning and a predictor of successful communication. Moreover, it shows that accuracy is highly valued by learners, and that systematic and regular pronunciation instruction, even if devoted mainly to segments, has the potential to contribute to the overall improvement in learners' communicative competence and their confidence as speakers and users of English. The book is based on the first-hand experience of a teacher-researcher.


Assessment in Second Language Pronunciation

Assessment in Second Language Pronunciation

Author: Okim Kang

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2017-07-14

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 135169281X

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Assessment in Second Language Pronunciation highlights the importance of pronunciation in the assessment of second language speaking proficiency. Leading researchers from around the world cover practical issues as well as theoretical principles, enabling the understanding and application of the theory involved in assessment in pronunciation. Key features of this book include: Examination of key criteria in pronunciation assessment, including intelligibility, comprehensibility and accentedness; Exploration of the impact of World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca on pronunciation assessment; Evaluation of the validity and reliability of testing, including analysis of scoring methodologies; Discussion of current and future practice in assessing pronunciation via speech recognition technology. Assessment in Second Language Pronunciation is vital reading for students studying modules on pronunciation and language testing and assessment.


The Acquisition of Chinese as a Second Language Pronunciation

The Acquisition of Chinese as a Second Language Pronunciation

Author: Chunsheng Yang

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-03-22

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9811538093

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This book is the first edited book to cover a wide range of issues related to Chinese as a second language (CSL) speech, including tone and segment acquisition and processing, categorical perception of tones, CSL fluency, CSL intelligibility/comprehensibility and accentedness, and pronunciation pedagogy. Moreover, the book addresses both theoretical and pedagogical issues. It offers an essential go-to book for anyone who is interested in CSL speech, e.g. CSL speech researchers, Chinese instructors, CSL learners, and anyone interested in second language speech.


Foreign Language Pronunciation, from Theory to Practice

Foreign Language Pronunciation, from Theory to Practice

Author: Zdena Kráľová

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2021-09-16

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13: 1527574881

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This book comprehensively deals with foreign language pronunciation. It considers several essential issues, including the relationship between native and foreign language pronunciations, the problems of non-native learners when learning foreign language pronunciation and the factors that can positively or negatively affect its learning. The book analyses foreign language pronunciation from both the linguistic and pedagogical points of view. It will thus appeal to all foreign language learners, teachers, linguists, and methodologists.


Teaching Pronunciation

Teaching Pronunciation

Author: Marianne Celce-Murcia

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1996-10-13

Total Pages: 470

ISBN-13: 9780521406949

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This course includes an overview of current theory and practice. The paperback edition offers current and prospective teachers of English a comprehensive treatment of pronunciation pedagogy, drawing on current theory and practice. The text provides an overview of teaching issues from the perspective of different methodologies and second language acquisition research. It has a thorough grounding in the sound system of North American English, and contains insights into how this sound system intersects with listening, morphology, and spelling. It also contains diagnostic tools, assessment measures, and suggestions for syllabus design. Discussion questions encourage readers to draw on their personal language learning/teaching experiences as they assimilate the contents of each chapter. Follow-up exercises guide teachers in developing a range of classroom activities within a communicative framework.


Phonology and Second Language Acquisition

Phonology and Second Language Acquisition

Author: Jette G. Hansen Edwards

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2008-03-05

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 902729139X

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This volume is a collection of 13 chapters, each devoted to a particular issue that is crucial to our understanding of the way learners acquire, learn, and use an L2 sound system. In addition, it spans both theory and application in L2 phonology. The book is divided into three parts, with each section unified by broad thematic content: Part I, “Theoretical Issues and Frameworks in L2 Phonology,” lays the groundwork for examining L2 phonological acquisition. Part II, “Second Language Speech Perception and Production,” examines these two aspects of L2 speech in more detail. Finally, Part III, “Technology, Training, and Curriculum,” bridges the gap between theory and practice. Each chapter examines theoretical frameworks, major research findings (both classic and recent), methodological issues and choices for conducting research in a particular area of L2 phonology, and major implications of the research findings for more general models of language acquisition and/or pedagogy.


Pronunciation Fundamentals

Pronunciation Fundamentals

Author: Tracey M. Derwing

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Published: 2015-07-15

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9027268592

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The emergence of empirical approaches to L2 pronunciation research and teaching is a powerful fourth wave in the history of the field. Authored by two leading proponents of evidence-based instruction, this volume surveys both foundational and cutting-edge empirical work and pinpoints its ramifications for pedagogy. The authors begin by tracing the history of pronunciation instruction and explicating L2 phonetic learning processes. Subsequent chapters explore the themes, strengths, and ethical problems of the field through the lens of the intelligibility principle. The importance of error gravity, and the need for assessment and individualized instruction are highlighted, and the role of L2 accents in social contexts is probed. Material readily available elsewhere has been omitted in favour of an emphasis on the how, why, and when of pronunciation instruction. Anyone with an interest in L2 pronunciation–especially graduate students, language teachers, and experienced researchers–will find much value in this indispensible resource.