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1 Bridging the Research-Practice Gap in L2 Pronunciation

       Tracey M. Derwing1, John M. Levis2, and Sinem Sonsaat-Hegelheimer2

      1 University of Alberta & Simon Fraser University

      2 Iowa 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 and Andrea 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.

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