Social Factors and the Teaching of Pronunciation: What the Research Tells Us

Abstract

The current article presents a state-of-the-art review of research on the social factors that have been found to impact how learners acquire and use a second language (L2) sound system. These factors include ethnic group identification, gender, and study abroad experience. The research synthesis presents the key findings on each social factor, with examples drawn from the cited research for illustration. The article then presents recommendations for pedagogical practice. These recommendations are aimed at both teachers and learners, and for use both outside and inside the L2 classroom; they include examples and links to free online resources that both teachers and learners can use to enhance meaningful L2 pronunciation teaching and learning.

Keywords

Social factors L2 pronunciation identity ethnic group affiliation gender peer group networks Social networks

Introduction

What do we mean by social factors and L2 acquisition? And why are social factors important to our understanding of how learners acquire and use a second language (L2) sound system? Early research (see Piske et al., 2001 for a review) viewed the L2 in isolation from the social context, with differences between the learners’ first language (L1) and the L2 as the main factor informing both pronunciation theory and practice. Over the past two decades, however, there has been an increasing recognition that L2 learning is not only about the language – it is also about the language learner – and that language learning is a social practice embedded within the L1 and L2 speech communities to which the L2 learner is a member or seeks membership. This growing body of research has shown that learners may choose some aspects of the L2 for acquisition and use while resisting others. Learners may also primarily be exposed to L2 features prevalent in their speech communities, and access to these communities may be impacted by ethnic group affiliation, peer group networks, gender norms, and ability to develop L2 social networks. Language learning is a social act and all language is imbued with social meaning. Therefore, in order to more effectively teach L2 pronunciation, we need to understand the potential impact of social factors on how learners view the L1 and the L2, and the effect this may have on learners’ acquisition and use of L2 phonetic and phonological features. Without this understanding, it may be challenging for teachers to understand their students’ classroom behaviour and L2 pronunciation attainment. This article will first present the findings we believe are critical to understanding the impact of social factors on the acquisition and use by a language learner of the phonetic and phonological features of the L2. Based on these findings, we then provide recommendations for pedagogical practice that aims to enhance L2 pronunciation achievement.

Pronunciation and Identity

Language and identity are inextricably intertwined. Identity can be defined as how one views oneself in relation to others, particularly in terms of group membership. Gender is one dimension of identity; ethnic group affiliation, peer, and social group networks are others. Language is used to mark our identity – our belonging – to particular groups. It is therefore not surprising that research has demonstrated that L2 learners acquire the pronunciation features of the social groups to which they seek to affirm or gain membership. Conversely, L2 learners may avoid or resist using L2 pronunciation features that are in conflict with their own perceived L1 identities and developing or aspirational L2 identities.

Important caveats in interpreting the findings of this research are (i) that the relationship between language and identity is fluid rather than static and (ii) that identity and L2 pronunciation development are multifaceted phenomena that are intricately tied to a variety of social factors. A considerable body of empirical research (e.g. Jenkins, 2000; Reed and Levis, 2015) has revealed the proactive agentive role of language users in moving between different pronunciations as they shift between communities or communicative events in which they are engaged. Clark (2007), for example, reported that language users often modify their pronunciation to accommodate to that of their interlocutors in order to be accepted and to be seen as belonging to the same group.

Ethnic group affiliation has been widely studied with regard to L2 pronunciation learning and use. Based on our review of the research, we conclude that:

1) A strong identification with either the L2 community or both the L1 and the L2 communities is associated with higher L2 pronunciation attainment.

2) More heavily accented L2 speech is associated with a stronger identification with the L1 community and lower identification with the L2 community.

Each of these findings will be explored in more detail below.

A range of studies (Amirian and Bazrafshan, 2016; Gatbonton and Trofimovich, 2008; Polat and Schallert, 2013) has shown that a strong identification with the new L2 community as well as one’s own L1 community may help foster L2 pronunciation development, likely due to the desire to accommodate to the L2 community through the adoption of a new linguistic identity. These studies indicate that for learners who view the L2 – and/or the L2 ethnic group – as non-threatening or are able to construct a multidimensional linguistic identity, L2 pronunciation learning is fostered. For example, in research on French L2 learners in Canada, Gatbonton and Trofimovich (2008) found that L2 learners who had a positive orientation to their own L1 ethnic identity group as well as the L2 group had higher self-rated L2 pronunciation skills. In research on Kurdish L1 learners of Turkish, Polat and Schallert (2013) found that the L2 learners who either had a strong identification with the L2 community or a strong identification with both the L1 and L2 communities had higher L2 pronunciation attainment than those who had a strong identification with only the L1 community. Amirian and Bazrafshan (2016) also found that the Iranian EFL students’ abilities to construct a secondary identity fostered L2 pronunciation acquisition.

Research also suggests that when learners perceive that learning the L2 does not threaten their L1 identity, L2 pronunciation acquisition is supported (Georgountzou and Tsantila, 2017; Pullen, 2011; Zahoor and Kausar, 2018). In research on Turkish ESL learners, for example, Pullen (2011) found that there was no direct relationship between cultural identity and pronunciation ability and that native-like pronunciation was not perceived to be a threat to cultural identity. Similar results were obtained by Georgountzou and Tsantila (2017) in research on Greek ESL learners: A strong bond to Greek identity was not correlated to the production of more accented L2 English speech. Zahoor and Kausar (2018) determined that English L2 learners in Pakistan did not perceive English to be a threat to their L1 identity despite a strong bond to their L1 culture. Instead, the learners expressed an openness to a native-like accent in the L2.

In contrast, a strong identification with the L1 community only or a negative view of the L2 speech community appears to negatively impact L2 pronunciation attainment, possibly because the L2 – and native-like L2 pronunciation – is viewed as a threat to the learner’s L1 identity. As noted above, in research on Kurdish L1 learners of Turkish, Polat and Schallert (2013) found that the learners who only identified with the L1 community had a lower level of L2 pronunciation attainment than those who identified strongly with either the L2 community or both the L1 and L2 communities. In research on American women in Norway, Lybeck (2002) found that use of either American English or Norwegian /r/ was directly related to the women’s identification with the L1 or L2 community, with greater American English /r/ usage for the women who did not develop a strong identification with the Norwegian L2 community.

Socio-political views are another factor affecting L2 pronunciation attainment and may help to explain differences in identification L1/L2 community and L2 pronunciation attainment. Studies on French L1 speakers of L2 English in Quebec (Gatbonton, Trofimovich, and Magid, 2005; Gatbonton and Trofimovich, 2008) has found a stronger L2 accent among English learners who favoured independence for Quebec; a stronger English accent was also linked to a loss of loyalty to the French (L1) group. Research on Latvian L1 learners of L2 German (Trofimovich, Turuševa, and Gatbonton, 2013) similarly found that learners with a stronger sense of ethnic identity and political views towards Latvian languages rated themselves as having a lower L2 ability.

Peer group networks are important for L2 identity formation, and consequently, for L2 acquisition and use. L2 learners may have access to and target different L2 speech communities, as research (Anisman, 1975; Morris, 2013; Nance, 2020) shows, and this impacts the L2 pronunciation features they acquire and use. For example, Anisman (1975) found that Puerto Rican male adolescents in New York City had access to several peer group networks and that membership(s) in different networks was associated with use of particular L2 speech features. Anisman found that the adolescents who had more African American peer group memberships used more African American Vernacular English variants while those with more Puerto Rican peer group memberships used more Spanish variants. In research on Welsh (L1) – English (L2) bilinguals, Morris (2013) found greater use of the Welsh pronunciation of /r/, in contrast to English /r/, in the English of adolescents with strong Welsh peer networks. In a Scottish study, Nance (2020) found a unique usage of stop and lateral pronunciations had developed among Gaelic-English immersion school children which did not exist among adolescents and adults, possibly indicating that the children were developing their own peer group pronunciation norms.

Gender

That females are better at learning languages than males is a pervasive myth in L2 teaching despite a lack of conclusive evidence to demonstrate that this is the case. It is our belief that the studies (see Piske et al., 2001, for a review) which have concluded that biological differences explain any gender differences in pronunciation accuracy are flawed in assuming that this equates to a language learning advantage for females, when it may instead be due to a gender-based difference in what is targeted for pronunciation. We believe that while differences in biological sex do not lead to innate differences in the ability to acquire an L2, social differences related to gender may impact L2 pronunciation attainment in several ways:

1) Learners may accommodate to the pronunciation features in wider usage among members of the same gender in the L2 speech community.

2) Gender roles in the L1 and/or L2 community may impact the speech norms that learners are exposed to and therefore create barriers or foster opportunities for L2 acquisition and use.

3) Gendered speech norms in the L2 may be in conflict with learners’ gender identity in the L1, leading to language resistance and avoidance.

In terms of L2 learners targeting the gender norms for sociolinguistic variation in the L2 community, in their study of {-ing} acquisition, Adamson and Regan (1991) argued that a higher usage of the non-standard variant [ɪn] by male L2 learners was likely due to their desire to accommodate to male speech norms, as the [ɪn] variant was more prevalent among native L1 speaking males in their speech community. Similar findings have also been reported by Major (2004) on the acquisition of American English casual speech processes by L1 speakers of Japanese and Spanish. These findings illustrate that some L2 learners are aware of how different pronunciation features are used by men and women in the L2 community, and are, as Hansen Edwards (2008: 251) argues ‘active agents in their language use, language choices, and targets for acquisition. . .[T]hey are not passive recipients of the target language’.

The active targeting of particular speech norms by L2 is further illustrated by research on the acquisition of Spanish L2 segmentals by L1 speakers of English (Díaz-Campos, 2004), which found that females favoured native-like pronunciation of L2 Spanish (e.g. more standard pronunciation norms) while males disfavoured native-like pronunciation, though it is not clear which norms they targeted instead. Gender differences in the targeting of non-standard versus more standard L2 pronunciation features have also been found for L1 speakers of Farsi learning L2 English (Esteki and Rezazadeh, 2009) and Cantonese L1 learners of English (Chan, 2018). Major (2004) also found that L2 learners appear to acquire gender norms before stylistic norms, despite stylistic norms being explicitly taught while gender norms are typically not taught. This indicates that acquisition of gender-specific speech norms occurs early in the L2 acquisition process and may occur despite L2 classroom instruction, which typically focusses on standard L2 features.

Differences in usage of standard and non-standard speech features have been widely attested in the L1 sociolinguistic literature (see for example, Coates and Pichler, 2011), with research consistently demonstrating that women are more likely to target and use prestige standard variants while men are more likely than women to use the non-standard variant, likely due to the educational, social, and economic access and advantages standard speech may give women, particularly in societies where women may have access to fewer economic resources than men.

Gender may not only impact adoption of sociolinguistic speech patterns, it may also create barriers or opportunities for L2 acquisition. Research on L1 Kurdish adolescent learners of L2 Turkish (Polat and Mahalingappa, 2010) found that L1 gender norms impacted how girls were socialized, and as a result, girls developed more social networks and a stronger identification with the L2 community while the boys had a stronger identification with the L1 community. The researchers suggest that this helps to explain the more native-like L2 accent ratings of the girls as compared to the boys. In a longitudinal study, Hansen Edwards (2009) found English L2 consonant attainment differences between a Vietnamese husband and wife, hypothesizing that L1 gender norms for occupational opportunities limited the access the wife had to L2 acquisition and use opportunities, resulting in differences in L2 pronunciation attainment over the one-year study. In research on Saudi Arabian women in a study abroad (SA) programme, Alfayez and Huttner (2019) also found that the L1 cultural requirement that women must be accompanied by a male guardian shaped the women’s access to L2 social networks and thus L2 use opportunities. By relying on existing contacts rather than establishing new L2 contacts, which was not possible due to L1 cultural norms, the women were able to engage in L2 use and, as a result, to achieve L2 fluency gains during the SA experience.

The use of particular L2 speech features may also project an identity in conflict with learners’ L1 gender-related identity, resulting in resistance and avoidance of using particular L2 pronunciation features. Ohara (2001), for example, in research on American women learning L2 Japanese, found that some learners avoided the use of high pitch when speaking Japanese, even when they knew it was culturally appropriate to use it in a particular situation or with a particular interactant. They felt that the high pitch projected an overly feminine identity, which was at odds with their own L1 identity. As a result, they knowingly used a less appropriate pitch.

Language Exposure/Experience

Another much-studied factor that impacts L2 pronunciation acquisition and use is L2 exposure and experience. While L2 exposure and experience is often included in discussions of individual difference factors in language learning, typically focussing on amount of exposure and quality of input, in our discussion, we focus on the social dimensions of L2 exposure and experience, including on the level of social engagement the learner has with the L2 culture and speakers, and the development of L2 social networks.

A range of types of experience and exposure have been researched. One of the most often examined is the impact of study abroad (SA) in the L2 context. SA research has focussed on a number of L1s and L2s, including German, French, and Spanish, with the majority of research on L2 pronunciation gains focussing on English L1 learners of L2 Spanish as this research has primarily emerged from North American universities with large-scale foreign language programmes in Spanish. Our analysis of the research leads to several key findings:

1) L2 learners who go abroad improve their L2 pronunciation more significantly than those who stay at home.

2) Pronunciation gains are not systematic across all L2 features – some L2 pronunciation features improve more than others. The research suggests that:

a) one key element in pronunciation attainment during SA is a raised awareness of how particular L2 pronunciation features are produced and used, and

b) some L2 pronunciation features are more likely to be noticed by L2 learners than others, likely due to the frequency in the input and/or salience of the feature.

3) Learners’ level of integration into the L2 community and development of L2 social network groups impacts L2 pronunciation gains.

In research on L2 Spanish acquisition by L1 speakers of English, Díaz-Campos (2004) and Stevens (2011) both found that SA students improved their Spanish consonant production more significantly than those who stayed at home. Research by Shively (2008) and Alvord and Christiansen (2012) also found that SA experience improved L2 learners’ production of Spanish /b, d, g/ consonants as [b, d, g] or [ß, ð, ɣ], respectively. As research by Ringer-Hilfinger (2012) on L2 Spanish acquisition illustrates, it is likely that raised awareness about a particular speech feature in terms of articulation and dialectal variation impacts L2 pronunciation acquisition and use. Ringer-Hilfinger’s research found that SA participants had a higher awareness of dialectal differences in the usage of the three allophones of /θ/ (as [θ], [s], or [z]) than non-SA participants. These learners were not only aware of the sociolinguistic variation of /θ/ in Castilian Spanish speech, but they also had formed opinions about it in terms of their own use. Gains in suprasegmental phonology have also been found for L2 Spanish SA learners (Trimble, 2013), including increased consistency in the use of particular intonation patterns.

Another benefit of SA is the increased exposure L2 learners have to particular features in the input; this appears to benefit certain L2 pronunciation features more than others, perhaps due to salience of the feature (e.g. stop consonants may be more salient than laterals and nasals due to the acoustic features of their manner of articulation). Research by Mora (2008) on L2 English acquisition by L1 speakers of Spanish found that learners had an increase in English L2 voice onset time (VOT) duration after a three-month SA experience; the researcher concluded that VOT is more sensitive to the type of massive L2 exposure in SA contexts than to the more limited L2 exposure at home. Similarly, a study by Nagle, Morales-Front, Moorman, and Sanz (2016) reported that an intensive, six-week study abroad experience yielded substantial gains in VOT for L2 learners of Spanish.

Our review of the research indicates that there appear to be differential effects of SA on L2 pronunciation, with some features appearing to be more impacted by increased exposure in the SA environment. Research by Díaz-Campos (2004) found that SA learners outperformed regular L2 classroom learners in conversational speech for word-initial voiceless stops, syllable-final laterals, and palatal nasals. However, the regular L2 classroom students produced more target-like intervocalic voiced fricatives than the SA students. Research has also determined that the SA experience helps L2 learners acquire pronunciation features related to fluency, including fewer disruptions such as self-repetitions, pauses, and non-lexical fillers as well as increases in speech rate (Trenchs-Parera, 2009). In one of the few studies examining L2 vowel acquisition during the SA experience, Stevens (2011) found that accuracy in L2 Spanish vowels increased during SA. L2 pronunciation gains appear to be greater in more conversational speech styles, likely due to the prevalence of this speech style in the SA experience. Gains also appear to be greater for advanced proficiency learners (Martinsen and Alvord, 2012), likely due to increased L2 metalinguistic and sociolinguistic knowledge that advanced learners may have. In this connection, research suggests that prior instruction on particular L2 features – providing students with more sociolinguistic and metalinguistic knowledge – increases pronunciation gains from the SA experience (Lord, 2010).

As these studies show, while SA students appear to make greater gains than L2 classroom students, the effects of SA experience appear to be mitigated by a number of constraints: accuracy appears to be greater in conversational speech styles, particularly for features that are salient and frequent in the input; the SA experience also appears to be more beneficial for advanced L2 learners and/or learners who have received explicit instruction on L2 features before the SA experience, likely due to the increased awareness both advanced proficiency and direct instruction may bring.

A key factor in the success of the SA experience is related to the learner’s desire and ability to integrate into the L2 community and develop L2 social networks during the SA experience. Research by Müller (2016) on the SA experience of L1 English learners of L2 German found that learners who desired to ‘fit in’ to the German L2 community and develop viable L2 social networks often had greater L2 pronunciation gains during the SA experience. Ringer-Hilfinger (2012) also found that the Spanish L2 SA students in her study acquired the dialectal variation for /θ/ in use within the L2 social networks they developed during their SA experience. In research on Dutch L1 ERASMUS¹ students on SA in various European countries including Sweden, France, Germany, and Italy, Baten (2020) found that self-perceived L2 fluency gains were significantly correlated with friendships with L2 speakers and L2 social network size, with larger L2 social networks correlated with greater L2 fluency gains. Baten (2020) concludes that deep relationships with L2 speakers are key to language gains during the SA experience. Bejarano, Dewey, Baker-Smemoe, Henrichsen, and Hall (2019) also found that L2 English learners in an intensive English SA experience in the US with larger L2 social network groups had more significant gains in L2 oral fluency than those with smaller L2 social networks. This was likely due to the richer and more varied L2 use experience a larger L2 social network affords.

Similar findings have been found in research on L2 exposure outside the language classroom (Derwing et al., 2007; Moyer, 2011; Trofimovich and Baker, 2006). This research suggests that the amount and type of contact with the L2 and/or L2 speakers has an impact on pronunciation achievement, with greater quantity and quality of engagement increasing pronunciation gains. Similar to findings from the SA research, research on L2 engagement has established that only some L2 pronunciation features improve with greater L2 engagement. For example, Trofimovich and Baker (2006) determined that L2 experience benefited learners’ development of stress timing though not speech rate or overall fluency. Derwing et al. (2007) uncovered greater gains for fluency than accentedness for speakers of Slavic languages and Chinese, with those who had greater levels of engagement with the L2 exhibiting greater gains in fluency. Moyer (2011) argues that both quality and quantity of engagement with the L2 are critical, with multiple modes of L2 experience (including reading and writing in the L2) fostering greater L2 pronunciation achievement, though speaking in the L2 is likely to be the most significant mode impacting L2 pronunciation attainment. Gains may also be higher if the L2 learner engages in more personal modes than academic modes of language use, similar to the finding for the SA research that conversational gains appear to be greater than those in more formal speech tasks.

To conclude, as we have set forth in our review of both the SA and L2 experience research, rich and varied L2 use fosters L2 pronunciation gains, both for segmentals and fluency. In addition, larger social networks provide L2 learners with greater opportunities to engage in the types of language behaviours that foster L2 pronunciation gains.

Recommendations for Practice

Based on the review of findings presented above, we make a number of pedagogical recommendations to assist both L2 teachers and learners in increasing their awareness of the social meaning of different pronunciation features and to empower learners to meaningfully engage with the L2 across their various language use contexts. The recommendations include reference to a range of online resources which can be used both inside and outside the classroom by teachers and learners to enhance L2 language learning practices. We begin by reviewing a number of key findings based on our research synthesis, followed by concrete suggestions for practice.

Variation exists in the use of pronunciation features within and across the L1 and L2 speech communities to which the learner belongs or aspires to belong. It may be the case that L2 learners target not only the L2 pronunciation norms taught in the classroom but also what they are exposed to outside the classroom and that L2 learners may have different goals in L2 learning that are not in alignment with teacher and curriculum goals. Deviation from ‘standard’ or ‘accurate’ L2 pronunciation may therefore not indicate a lack of acquisition but rather may be reflective of the linguistic practices and norms of the different speech communities the L2 learner is a member of or to which the learner seeks membership. As such, there is a difference between what the learner ‘knows’ of the L2 and how the learner uses it.

We therefore recommend that teachers conduct a needs assessment of learners at the beginning of each course. The needs assessment can serve multiple purposes for both teachers and learners, including to:

1) Provide a diagnostic tool for teachers to identify the pronunciation areas to target.

2) Identify learners’ pronunciation goals – whether they are to be ‘more accurate’ or more intelligible/understandable in the L2, or other pronunciation goals.

3) Probe the students’ L2 use outside the classroom, including across peer and social groups, modes (reading, writing), and contexts.

4) Give learners the opportunity to reflect on their own L2 learning goals and uses.

The needs assessment can then be used by teachers to develop targeted L2 pronunciation tasks for each learner, select online resources for learners to access both outside and inside the classroom, and help identify areas of L2 use that learners can benefit from, including reading and listening practice. Teachers and learners can use the needs assessment together to set goals for each learner and to track learners’ L2 pronunciation progress. It can also be used as the basis for a ‘pronunciation diary’ in which the learner can write (or record orally) observations about the L2 use of different pronunciation features in their environment, L2 sounds they would like to learn to pronounce, as well as their engagement with the L2, including reading, writing, and listening in addition to speaking. As such, the needs assessment serves as a springboard from which the L2 teacher and learner can discuss individualized pronunciation tasks, goals, and out-of-class assignments.

Along with the needs assessment, teachers can initiate a discussion about how L2 pronunciation features vary across different groups in the community, in order to help raise students’ noticing and awareness of the social meaning of specific aspects of the L2. Teachers can also consider embedding both formal/standard varieties of the target language and informal/non-standard varieties in the curriculum and pronunciation tasks. The teacher can guide the students through examining and analysing a particular task in terms of the purpose, audience, setting, and linguistic style or model appropriate for the situation. Teachers can use available databases to show students how the L2 can vary in pronunciation and to highlight different L2 speech features. There are a number of useful websites showing differences in pronunciation norms, with a few examples given below for English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Chinese.

English

The Audio Archive (http://www.alt-usage-english.org/audio_archive.html)

English Accents Worldwide (http://www.eng.cuhk.edu.hk/ENGE-EAWW/)

Speech Accent Archive (https://accent.gmu.edu/)

International Dialects of English Archive (IDEA) (http://www.dialectsarchive.com/globalmap)

German/Spanish/English/French/Italian

Sound Comparisons (https://soundcomparisons.com/#home)

Spanish

The Linguistics of Spanish (https://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/i.e.mackenzie/index.html)

History and Dialectology of Spanish (https://people.cas.sc.edu/deholt01/links/Historyofspanishlinks.html#Valencian)

French

Eurolinguiste (http://eurolinguiste.com/look-languages-dialects-france/)

Voices.com (https://www.voices.com/blog/types-of-french/)

Chinese

Phonemica (http://phonemica.net/)

As L2 pronunciation attainment is enhanced not only by L2 speaking practice, but also through meaningful engagement with the L2 through reading, listening, and writing, teachers can assist students in getting access to a range of resources, including podcasts, audiobooks, and movies and TV series (with closed captioning), to provide learners with opportunities to use the L2 across a range of modes and genres. As an example, young or beginning learners of English may benefit from accessing Story Nory (https://www.storynory.com/) while older or more advanced learners of English or Spanish can access free audiobooks via DigitalBook.io (https://www.digitalbook.io/). Free audiobooks in a range of languages, including English, Spanish, French, and German, are also available through LibriVox (https://librivox.org/). News in Slow is a podcast developed by Linguistica360 (https://www.linguistica360.com/) to enhance L2 learning in Italian, German, Spanish (in both Spanish and Latino dialects), and French. Other useful language learning podcasts include: Talk in French (https://www.talkinfrench.com/category/podcast-category/), 30 Minute Italian (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/30-minute-italian/id677568406?mt=2), Yes Japan (accessible through the Apple iTunes Store), Spanish Obsessed (http://spanishobsessed.com/spanish-podcasts/), Slow Chinese (accessible through the Apple iTunes Store) and for German, Deutsche Welle (https://www.dw.com/de/media-center/podcasts/s-100976). The podcasts can also be used as a resource for teachers to give learners the linguistic and sociolinguistic tools needed to enable learners to engage in naturalistic conversations outside the classroom.

Finally, for teachers and administrators of SA programmes, a pre-departure explicit pronunciation training course can also be developed. This course should cover not only specific L2 pronunciation features, but also sociolinguistic variation and social meaning in the L2 context. SA students might also be encouraged to keep a pronunciation diary of unusual or untaught uses of L2 pronunciation features. These can be reviewed and discussed during a post-SA session, to further foster noticing and awareness of different L2 features the learner was exposed to during the SA experience, thus further facilitating L2 pronunciation attainment. SA students should also be encouraged to listen to L2 podcasts to have more naturalistic exposure to the L2 pre-departure. These podcasts can also be used as a resource for classroom discussion of different pronunciation patterns and social meanings in the L2.

Conclusion

As we believe the research makes clear, L2 learners’ pronunciation learning and use must be viewed not only as a linguistic process but as a complex interplay between learners’ engagement with the L1 and the L2 and the various social factors – ethnic group affiliation, gender, peer group networks, and contact with L2 speakers – that influence: (i) which features of the L2 the learners are exposed to (ii) learners’ awareness of the social meaning of different L2 pronunciation features in the various speech communities to which they belong or to which they aspire to belong; (iii) the type and amount of pronunciation practice learners engage in. It is the complex interplay among these various facets of the sociocultural milieu of language learning and use that may ultimately impact pronunciation attainment in the L2. With this in mind, teachers need to develop meaningful and linguistically varied L2 pronunciation activities that expose learners to a range of L2 pronunciation features in use in the various L2 speech communities that the learners are targeting for membership, to allow learners to develop viable (and multiple) L2 identities and social networks. Our recommendations for practice, presented above, were developed to assist teachers and learners to engage in meaningful and socially-situated L2 acquisition and use practices.

Footnotes

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs

Jette Hansen Edwards

Ka Long Roy Chan

Notes

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