The Short and Long-Term Effects of Pronunciation Instruction

There has been surprisingly little exploration of the effectiveness of pronunciation teaching by researchers. This classroom-based study makes an initial step towards addressing this gap by determining the immediate effect of instruction on specific forms in second language (L2) pronunciation and the extent to which gains were retained over time and integrated into phonological competence. The subjects were New Zealand (NZ) immigrants, largely of Asian origin, attending a high-intermediate level English class. The study focused on epenthesis (the addition of an extra sound, usually a schwa, after a consonant) and absence (the inappropriate dropping of a consonant sound). The instruction was explicit and…