Second Language Pronunciation Assessment

Talia Isaacs is Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and TESOL at the UCL Centre for Applied Linguistics, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK. Her research interests include second language speaking and listening, pronunciation assessment and instruction, raters, rating scales, machine scoring, and language for specific and academic purposes. Pavel Trofimovich is Professor in the Department of Education at Concordia University, Canada. His research interests include cognitive aspects of second language processing, second language pronunciation, sociolinguistic aspects of second language acquisition and the teaching of second language pronunciation.

Section 1: Introduction



1. Talia Isaacs and Pavel Trofimovich: Key Themes, Constructs, and Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Second Language Pronunciation Assessment



2. Luke Harding: What Do Raters Need In A Pronunciation Scale? The Users’ View



Section 2: Insights from Assessing Other Language Skills



3. Kevin Browne and Glenn Fulcher: Pronunciation and Intelligibility in Assessing Spoken Fluency



4. Ute Knoch: What Can Pronunciation Researchers Learn From Research Into Second Language Writing?



5. Elvis Wagner and Paul Toth: The Role of Pronunciation in the Assessment of L2 Listening Ability



Section 3: Perspectives on Pronunciation Assessment from Psycholinguistics and Speech Sciences



6. Joan C. Mora and Isabelle Darcy: The Relationship between Cognitive Control and Pronunciation in a Second Language



7. Laura Ballard and Paula Winke: The Interplay of Accent Familiarity, Comprehensibility, Intelligibility, Perceived Native-Speaker Status, and Acceptability as a Teacher



8. Kazuya Saito, Pavel Trofimovich, Talia Isaacs and Stuart Webb: Re-Examining Phonological and Lexical Correlates Of Second Language Comprehensibility: The Role of Rater Experience



9. Evelina Galaczi, Brechtje Post, Aike Li, Fiona Barker and Elaine Schmidt: Assessing L2 Pronunciation: Distinguishing Features Of Rhythm in Learner Speech at Different Proficiency Levels



Section 4: Sociolinguistic, Cross-Cultural and Lingua Franca Perspectives in Pronunciation Assessment



10. Alan Davies: Commentary on the Native Speaker Status in Pronunciation Research



11. Stephanie Lindemann: Variation or ‘Error’? Perception of Pronunciation Variation and Its Implications for Assessment



12. Sara Kennedy, Josée Blanchet and Danielle Guénette: Teacher-Raters’ Assessments of French Lingua Franca Pronunciation



13. Andrew Sewell: Pronunciation Assessment in Asia’s World City: Implications of a Lingua Franca Approach in Hong Kong



Section 5: Concluding Remarks



14. Pavel Trofimovich and Talia Isaacs: L2 Pronunciation Assessment: A Look at the Present and the Future