Chapter 2:

RESEARCH ON THE TEACHING AND ACQUISITION

OF PRONUNCIATION SKILLS
1. The Learner
o Age
o Exposure to target language – L2
o Prior pronunciation instruction in L2
o Attitude toward L2
o Motivation to achieve intelligible speech in L2
1A. Age
o Joseph Conrad or Henry Kissinger o Possible auditory problems for older
phenomenon adults
o Lateralization/Critical Period o Classroom not an input rich
o Sometimes good adult learning of environment
syntax/morphology; less of o Learning situation different for child
pronunciation and adult in many ways
o Ego permeability, attitude toward L2, o Consider this when establishing adult
motivation? goals
1B. Exposure to the Target Language
o Large amounts of o French(Canada) and Spanish
comprehensible input needed (USA) emersion results in
(Postovsky, Asher, Krashen, …) native-like pronunciation
o Difficult of EFL; maybe even ESL
o Bradlow et al. (1997) Japanese
with extensive /r/ vs. /l/
training DID do better
o Wang & Munro (2004):
Mandarin speakers’ vowels
improved
1C. Prior Pronunciation Instruction
o Previous experience may
result in fixed or systematic
errors
o Tailor the syllabus and
techniques to address this
1D.1 Aptitude, Attitude, Motivation
o4 traits of aptitude (Carrol)
 Phonemic coding ability:
discriminate foreign sounds
 Grammatical sensitivity: figure out
rules
 Inductive language learning ability:
learn through exposure
 Memory: rote learning
1D.2 Aptitude, Attitude, Motivation
o (Snow & Sapira 1985) “…but consider o Motivation
L1 acquisition and L2 learning by those 
Integrative: desire to be socially
with low aptitude test scores.”
integrated into the target culture
o Guiora (1972) “Speaking entails …  Assimilative: desire to become an
modifying … the way we sound” indistinguishable member of the
o Shumann (1975): target culture
 Instrumental: desire to attain a
o“… learners will acquire the target certain goal in the target language –
language to the degree that they job, education, etc.
acculturate.”
2. The Role of the Native Language
o Three questions
 To what degree are acquiring L1
and L2 similar?
 To what degree do L1 patterns
determine learning sounds of L2?
 Are there underlying language
universals in acquiring phonology?
How would these give us insight in
learning phonology?
2A. Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis
o Long-standing theory (Lado
1957)
o L2 is filtered thru L1, helping
where similar and interfering
where different
o Now, strong form rejected;
weak form still popular: “CA
helps us explain many problems
2B. Error Analysis and Avoidance
o Critics of CA suggested “Error o Avoidance
Analysis.”  Learners dodge words or
o Richards (1971) structures they find difficult
• Interlingual errors  Passives
• Intralingual errors  Relative clauses
• Developmental errors  Two-word verbs
o Criticism: Emphasis on what is
wrong and not what is right
2C. The Interlanguage Hypothesis
o Selinker (1969, 1972) o Tarone (1988):
• L2 learners use a unique system, Continuum reflect developmental
neither L1 or L2 nature of 2LL’s phonology
• Fossilization: a plateau in L2 beyond • Models of phonological development
which the learner has difficulty • Theories of interlanguage phonology
rising • Acquisition of syllable structure
• Corder (1974): • Acquisition of suprasegmentals
Interlanguage as a dynamic • Variation and formality
continuum on which the L2 learner
progresses
2D. Markedness Theory
o Reaches back to Trubetzkoy (1939) o Example:
& Jakobson (1941)  English & German /b,d,g,v,z/
o Meaning: In all linguistic  Occur initially and finally in
oppositions, we have English, but not finally in
 Marked: less specific, less German
frequent, more limited, later  Eckman (1987) says Germans
acquired have more trouble voicing in
 Unmarked: more basic, neutral, final position because voiced
more universal, more frequent, segments are more marked.
first acquired
2E. Other Theories of L1’s role in L2
Phonology Acquisition
o Language universals o Information Processing Theory
 Joos (1958)  Phonological acquisition
“… languages can differ from affected by principles
each other unpredictably and described in cognitive science.
without limit.” NOT!  E.g., IPT predicts in SLA
 Languages actually share Phonology, learners will
common properties and may lead interpret sounds based on their
us to universals that may help L1
phonological acquisition.
3A. New Directions is Research
 Newer research focuses on
 Intonation
• English > Japanese/Spanish
 Rhythm
• Problem with stressed and unstressed
vowels
 Connected Speech
• Eg., Flapping, reduction, consonant
cluster simplification, etc.
 Voice Quality
• Eg., position of organs, muscular tension,
pitch, etc.
4A. Intelligibility and the Lingua
Franca Core (LFC)
o Intelligibility & comprehensibility
more important than accentedness
o Suprasegmentals (prosidy) &
segmentals must both be considered
o Lingua Franca Core:
 Common pronunciation for all EIL
 EG., Don’t push /θ, ð/
 Accept British /t/
 Accept NAE /r/ everywhere
 But will this work everywhere for 2LLs?
5A. Conclusion
o Native language is part of o Age is a factor; the earlier the
the puzzle better
o Negative transfer varies o After puberty, aim for
among 2LLs intelligibility in speech
o Learning pronunciation is
o Some parallels between L1
different from syntax & lexicon
and L2 learning o Also important are attitude,
o Formality may change motivation, language ego, and
performance accuracy other social factors