Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T18:11:22.313Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Research into practice: How research appears in pronunciation teaching materials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2016

John M. Levis
John M. Levis*
Affiliation:
Iowa State University, [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Research into pronunciation has often disregarded its potential to inform pedagogy. This is due partly to the historical development of pronunciation teaching and research, but its effect is that there is often a mismatch between research and teaching. This paper looks at four areas in which the (mis)match is imperfect but in which a greater recognition of research can lead to better teaching materials (high variability phonetic training, intonation, information structure, and setting priorities). Furthermore, two areas in which teaching materials are desperate for research to be carried out (connected speech and the primacy of suprasegmentals) will be discussed.

Type
Thinking Allowed
Information
Language Teaching , Volume 49 , Issue 3 , July 2016 , pp. 423 - 437
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abercrombie, D. (1949). Teaching pronunciation. ELT Journal 3.5, 113–122.Google Scholar
Alameen, G. & Levis, J. (2015). Connected speech. In Reed, M. & Levis, J. (eds.), The handbook of English pronunciation. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 159–174.Google Scholar
Allen, V. (1971). Teaching intonation, from theory to practice. TESOL Quarterly 5.1, 73–81.Google Scholar
Baumann, S. & Grice, M. (2006). The intonation of accessibility. Journal of Pragmatics 38.10, 1636–1657.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolinger, D. (1972). Accent is predictable (if you're a mind-reader). Language 48.3, 633–644.Google Scholar
Bradford, B. (1988). Intonation in context: Intonation practice for upper-intermediate and advanced learners of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Bradlow, A., Pisoni, D., Akahane-Yamada, R. & Tohkura, Y. (1997). Training Japanese listeners to identify English /r/ and /l/: Some effects of perceptual learning on speech production. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 101, 2299–2310.Google Scholar
Brazil, D. (1997). The communicative value of intonation in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Brown, A. (1988). Functional load and the teaching of pronunciation. TESOL Quarterly 22.4, 593–606.Google Scholar
Brown, J. (2012). New ways in teaching connected speech. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.Google Scholar
Brown, J. & Hilferty, A. (1986). Listening for reduced forms. TESOL Quarterly 20.4, 759–763.Google Scholar
Brown, J. & Kondo-Brown, K. (2006). Perspectives on teaching connected speech to second language speakers (NFLRC Monographs). Hawaii: National Foreign Language Resource Center.Google Scholar
Catford, J. (1987). Phonetics and the teaching of pronunciation: A systemic description of English phonology. In Morley, J. (ed.), Current perspectives on pronunciation. Alexandria, VA: TESOL, 87–100.Google Scholar
Cauldwell, R. (2002). Streaming speech: Listening and pronunciation for advanced learners of English. Harborne, Birmingham: speechinaction.Google Scholar
Cauldwell, R. (2013). Phonology for listening. Harborne, Birmingham: speechinaction.Google Scholar
Celce-Murcia, M. (1987). Teaching pronunciation as communication. In Morley, J. (ed.), Current perspectives on pronunciation. Alexandria, VA: TESOL, 1–12.Google Scholar
Chun, D. (2002). Discourse intonation in L2: From theory and research to practice (vol. 1). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crystal, D. (1969). Prosodic systems and intonation in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Dauer, R. (2005). The Lingua Franca Core: A new model for pronunciation instruction? TESOL Quarterly 39.3, 543–550.Google Scholar
Deng, J., Holtby, A., Howden-Weaver, L., Nessim, L., Nicholas, B., Nickle, K., Pannekoek, C., Stephan, S. & Sun, M. (2009). English pronunciation research: The neglected orphan of second language acquisition studies. Prairie Metropolis Centre Working Paper Series. University of Alberta, 1–14.Google Scholar
Derwing, T., Munro, M. & Wiebe, G. (1998). Evidence in favor of a broad framework for pronunciation instruction. Language Learning 48.3, 393–410.Google Scholar
Derwing, T., Diepenbroek, L. & Foote, J. (2013). How well do general-skills ESL textbooks address pronunciation? TESL Canada Journal 30.1, 22–44.Google Scholar
Deterding, D. (2013). Misunderstandings in English as a lingua franca: An analysis of ELF interactions in South-East Asia. Berlin: De Gruyter.Google Scholar
Field, J. (2003). Promoting perception: Lexical segmentation in L2 listening. ELT Journal 57.4, 325–334.Google Scholar
Field, J. (2005). Intelligibility and the listener: The role of lexical stress. TESOL Quarterly 39.3, 399–423.Google Scholar
Field, J. (2008). Bricks or mortar: Which parts of the input does a second language listener rely on? TESOL Quarterly 42.3, 411–432.Google Scholar
Gilbert, J. (2012). Clear speech (4th edn). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gorsuch, G., Meyers, C. M., Pickering, L. & Griffee, D. (2010). English communication for international teaching assistants. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.Google Scholar
Grant, L. (1993). Well said: Pronunciation for clear communication. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.Google Scholar
Grant, L. (2001). Well said: Pronunciation for clear communication (2nd edn). Boston: Heinle & Heinle.Google Scholar
Grant, L. (2010). Well said: Pronunciation for clear communication (3rd edn). Boston: Heinle Cengage.Google Scholar
Greenberg, S. (1999). Speaking in shorthand: A syllable-centric perspective for understanding pronunciation variation. Speech Communication 29.2, 159–176.Google Scholar
Hahn, L. (2004). Primary stress and intelligibility: Research to motivate the teaching of suprasegmentals. TESOL Quarterly 38.2, 201–223.Google Scholar
Hahn, M. (2002). The persistence of learned primary phrase stress patterns among learners of English. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Google Scholar
Halliday, M. (1967). Intonation and grammar in British English. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
Henrichsen, L. (1984). Sandhi‐variation: A filter of input for learners of ESL. Language Learning 34.3, 103–123.Google Scholar
Henrichsen, L., Green, B., Nishitani, A. & Bagley, C. (1999). Pronunciation matters. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Hieke, A. (1984). Linking as a marker of fluent speech. Language and Speech 27.4, 343–354.Google Scholar
Hieke, A. (1987). The resolution of dynamic speech in L2 listening. Language Learning 37.1, 123–140.Google Scholar
Hill, C. & Beebe, L. (1980). Contraction and blending: The use of orthographic clues in teaching pronunciation. TESOL Quarterly 14, 299–323.Google Scholar
Hinofotis, F. & Bailey, K. (1981). American undergraduates’ reactions to the communication skills of foreign teaching assistants. In Fisher, J., Clarke, M. & Schachter, J. (eds.), On TESOL '80: Building bridges: Research and practice in Teaching English as a Second Language. Washington, D.C.: TESOL, 120–133.Google Scholar
Hirst, D. & Di Cristo, A. (eds.) (1998). Intonation systems: A survey of twenty languages. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Iverson, P. & Evans, B. (2007). Learning English vowels with different first-language vowel systems: Perception of formant targets, formant movement and duration. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 122, 2842–2854.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Iverson, P. & Evans, B. (2009). Learning English vowels with different first-language vowel systems II: Auditory training for native Spanish and German speakers. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 126, 866–877.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Iverson, P., Hazan, V. & Bannister, K. (2005). Phonetic training with acoustic cue manipulations: A comparison of methods for teaching English /r/-/l/ to Japanese adults. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 118, 3267–3278.Google Scholar
Jenkins, J. (2000). The phonology of English as an international language: New models, new norms, new goals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kenworthy, J. (1987). Teaching English pronunciation. New York: Longman.Google Scholar
Ladd, D. (2008). Intonational phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lambacher, S., Martens, W., Kakehi, K., Marasinghe, C. & Molholt, G. (2005). The effects of identification training on the identification and production of American English vowels by native speakers of Japanese. Applied Psycholinguistics 26, 227–247.Google Scholar
Lee, J. T. & Kuo, F. L. (2010). Effects of teaching connected speech on EFL adolescents’ listening comprehension. In Selected papers from 2010 PAC/The nineteenth international symposium on English teaching. National Tsing-Hua University: Taiwan, 153–162.Google Scholar
Levis, J. (1997). Grammar and intonation: An alternative approach. Speak Out! 21, 26–29.Google Scholar
Levis, J. (1999). The intonation and meaning of normal yes/no questions. World Englishes 18.3, 373–380.Google Scholar
Levis, J. (2005). Changing contexts and shifting paradigms in pronunciation teaching. TESOL Quarterly 39, 369–377.Google Scholar
Levis, J. (2006). Pronunciation and the assessment of spoken language. In Hughes, R. (ed.), Spoken English, applied linguistics, and TESOL: Challenges for theory and practice (2nd edn). New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 245–270.Google Scholar
Levis, J. (2014). New and given information in English: Conflicting pedagogical models. Speak Out! 50, 32–36. Kent, UK: IATEFL.Google Scholar
Levis, J. & Pickering, L. (2004). Teaching intonation in discourse using speech visualization technology. System 32.4, 505–524.Google Scholar
Levis, J. & Wichmann, A. (2015). English intonation: Form and meaning. In Reed, M. & Levis, J. (eds.), The handbook of English pronunciation, (pp. 139–155). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 36–65.Google Scholar
Lively, S., Logan, J. & Pisoni, D. (1993). Training Japanese listeners to identify English /r/ and /l/ II: The role of phonetic environment and talker variability in learning new perceptual categories. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 94, 1242–1255.Google Scholar
Lively, S., Pisoni, D., Yamada, R., Tokhura, Y. & Yamada, T. (1994). Training Japanese listeners to identify English /r/ and /l/ III. Long-term retention of new phonetic categories. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 96, 2076–2087.Google Scholar
Lu, Y. H. & Kuo, F. L. (2011). A survey of EFL teachers’ perspectives on connected speech instruction. In Selected papers from 2011 PAC/The twentieth international symposium on English teaching. National Tsing-Hua University, Taiwan, 206–215.Google Scholar
McNerney, M. & Mendelsohn, D. (1987). Putting suprasegmentals in their place. TESL Talk 17.1, 132–140.Google Scholar
McNerney, M. & Mendelsohn, D. (1992). Suprasegmentals in the pronunciation class: Setting priorities. In Avery, P. & Ehrlich, S. (eds.), Teaching American English pronunciation. New York: Oxford University Press, 185–196.Google Scholar
Miller, S. (2000). Targeting pronunciation: The intonation, sounds, and rhythm of American English. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Muller Levis, G. & Levis, J. (2012). Learning to produce contrastive focus: A study of advanced learners of English. In Levis, J. & LeVelle, K. (eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd Pronunciation in second language learning and teaching conference. Ames, IA: Iowa State University, 124–133.Google Scholar
Munro, M. (2011). Intelligibility: Buzzword or buzzworthy? In Levis, J. & LeVelle, K. (eds.), Proceedings of the 2nd Pronunciation in second language learning and teaching conference. Ames, IA: Iowa State University, 7–16.Google Scholar
Munro, M. & Derwing, T. (1995). Foreign accent, comprehensibility, and intelligibility in the speech of second language learners. Language Learning 45.1, 73–97.Google Scholar
Munro, M. & Derwing, T. (2006). The functional load principle in ESL pronunciation instruction: An exploratory study. System 34.4, 520–531.Google Scholar
Munro, M. & Derwing, T. (2008). Segmental acquisition in adult ESL learners: A longitudinal study of vowel production. Language Learning 58.3, 479–502.Google Scholar
Murphy, J. & Baker, A. (2015). History of ESL pronunciation teaching. In Reed, M. & Levis, J. (eds.), The handbook of English pronunciation, Wiley Blackwell 36–65.Google Scholar
Nishi, K. & Kewley-Port, D. (2007). Training Japanese listeners to perceive American English vowels: Influence of training sets. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 50, 1496–1509.Google Scholar
Nishi, K. & Kewley-Port, D. (2008). Nonnative speech perception training using vowel subsets: Effects of vowels in sets and order of training. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 51, 1480–1493.Google Scholar
O'Connor, J. D. & Arnold, G. (1963). Intonation of colloquial English. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Orion, G. (1997). Pronouncing American English: Sounds, stress, and intonation (2nd edn). Boston: Heinle & Heinle.Google Scholar
Pennington, M. & Ellis, N. (2000). Cantonese speakers’ memory for English sentences with prosodic cues. The Modern Language Journal 84.3, 372–389.Google Scholar
Pierrehumbert, J. (1980). The phonology and phonetics of English intonation. Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Google Scholar
Pierrehumbert, J. & Hirschberg, J. (1990). The meaning of intonational contours in the interpretation of discourse. In Cohen, P., Morgan, J. & Pollack, M. (eds.), Intentions in communication. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 271–323.Google Scholar
Pike, K. (1945). The intonation of American English. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Prator, C. & Robinett, B. (1985). Manual of American English pronunciation (4th edn). New York: Holt Rinehart & Winston.Google Scholar
Reed, M. & Michaud, C. (2005). Sound concepts: An integrated pronunciation course. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Riesco-Bernier, S. & Romero-Trillo, J. (2008). The acoustics of ‘newness’ and its pragmatic implications in classroom discourse. Journal of Pragmatics 40.6, 1103–1116.Google Scholar
Saito, K. (2012). Effects of instruction on L2 pronunciation development: A synthesis of 15 quasi‐experimental intervention studies. TESOL Quarterly 46.4, 842–854.Google Scholar
Shockey, L. (2003). Sound patterns of spoken English. Oxford: John Wiley & Sons.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, L. & Nelson, C. (1985). International intelligibility of English: Directions and resources. World Englishes 4.3, 333–342.Google Scholar
Szczepek Reed, B. (2012). Prosody in conversation: Implications for teaching English pronunciation. In Trillo, R. (ed.), Pragmatics and prosody in English language teaching. Netherlands: Springer Verlag, 147–168.Google Scholar
Thompson, S. (1995). Teaching intonation on questions. ELT Journal 49.3, 235–243.Google Scholar
Thomson, R. (2011). Computer assisted pronunciation training: Targeting second language vowel perception improves pronunciation. CALICO Journal 28.3, 744–765.Google Scholar
Thomson, R. (2012). Improving L2 listeners’ perception of English vowels: A computer‐mediated approach. Language Learning 62.4, 1231–1258.Google Scholar
Tyler, A., Jefferies, A. & Davies, C. (1988). The effect of discourse structuring devices on listener perceptions of coherence in non‐native university teacher's spoken discourse. World Englishes 7.2, 101–110.Google Scholar
Walker, R. (2010). Teaching the pronunciation of English as a lingua franca. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Wang, X. & Munro, M. (2004). Computer-based training for learning English vowel contrasts. System 32.4, 539–552.Google Scholar
Weinstein, N. (1982). Whaddaya say? Culver City, CA: English Language Services.Google Scholar
Wennerstrom, A. (2001). The music of everyday speech: Prosody and discourse analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Wichmann, A. (2000). Intonation in text and discourse: Beginnings, middles, and ends. Harlow: Longman.Google Scholar
Wong, R. (1987). Teaching pronunciation: Focus on English rhythm and intonation. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Zielinski, B. (2008). The listener: No longer the silent partner in reduced intelligibility. System 36.1, 69–84.Google Scholar