Chapter 3
Issues for second language pronunciation in children
Many L2 children exhibit native-like phonology,
which can result in false assumptions about overall language
development. For instance, teachers may assume that a child’s
difficulties understanding schoolwork are due to cognitive delays
rather than attributable to incomplete language acquisition. These
suppositions can lead to the placement of L2 students in special
education classes rather than language enrichment programming.
Studies of children’s second language (L2) pronunciation development
reveal that, contrary to popular opinion, some children have foreign
accents. Although some L2 accents are easy to understand, requiring
no intervention, pronunciation instruction research has identified
strategies to enhance intelligibility when children’s productions
are difficult to understand. Suggestions for assisting children and
youth with intelligibility difficulties are made.
Article outline
- Introduction and key definitions
- Contexts in which an L2 is learned
- Factors that determine whether a learner will have a foreign
accent
- Issues facing children with little or no L2 accent
- Issues facing children who have intelligibility and/or
comprehensibility problems
- L2 pronunciation difficulties
- Conclusion
-
Acknowledgements
-
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