Channeling Voices to Improve L2 English Intelligibility

TL;DR: This paper found that the construct of voice and the influence of social contextual factors in SLA are critical in shaping interlanguage phonology and raise a number of important pedagogical implications for addressing learning outcomes in L2 pronunciation.

Abstract: In commercial materials for the teaching of second language (L2) pronunciation, common bottom-up approaches segment phonology into a series of discrete and decontextualized linguistic components with rules that students are encouraged to internalize. Such approaches seem out of step with recent second language acquisition (SLA) theory and research that emphasize the central influence of social context, interlocutor, empathy, and nonverbal elements on the meaningful use of L2 forms. Research showing that these factors profoundly influence the pronunciation of an L2 in social discourse suggests a more top-down, holistic pedagogy to better harness the agentive energy of motivated and goal-oriented L2 learners. Drawing on findings in interlanguage phonology and Bakhtinian sociocultural theory, this article documents ways that 7 adult L2 learners in an intensive English program improved their English intelligibility, while some of them also improved their delivery, as they all mirrored and subsequently channeled the voices of model speakers in rehearsed oral presentations over the course of a short 7-week pedagogical treatment. The findings of this study support the view that the construct of voice and the influence of social contextual factors in SLA are critical in shaping interlanguage phonology and raise a number of important pedagogical implications for addressing learning outcomes in L2 pronunciation.