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Part of
English Pronunciation Instruction: Research-based insights
Edited by Anastazija Kirkova-Naskova, Alice Henderson and Jonás Fouz-González
[AILA Applied Linguistics Series 19] 2021
► pp. 147–172

Chapter 7
Pronunciation learning strategies

A task-based perspective

| University of Opole

The purpose of this chapter is to present the results of a study that examined types of pronunciation learning strategies (PLSs) used by high- (HA) and low-achieving (LA) L2 pronunciation learners. The participants completed six different tasks and an open-ended questionnaire eliciting the participants’ PLSs deployed for a specific task. Subsequently, the individuals were tested following the same instructions but different content in order to designate high- and low-achievers on particular tasks. The results revealed a considerable divergence in the strategy choice for different tasks and a frequent use of strategy chains in both HA and LA groups. Pedagogical practices informed by these findings are suggested in order to better support effective strategy use by L2 pronunciation learners.

Keywords: situated learning, pronunciation learning strategies, pronunciation learning tasks
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Previous research on pronunciation learning strategies
  • The current study
    • Research questions
    • Participants
    • Stimulus materials
    • Instruments
    • Procedure
  • Results and analysis
    • Task 1 results: Vowel identification
    • Task 2 results: IPA-to-orthography
    • Task 3 results: Vowel matching
    • Task 4 results: Minimal pair matching and providing vowel symbols
    • Task 5 results: Identifying letters representing vowels and diphthongs
    • Task 6 results: Identifying schwa in a simple text
  • Discussion and key findings
  • Pedagogical implications
  • Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 13 October 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aals.19.07szy
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