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Child Bilingualism and Second Language Learning: Multidisciplinary perspectives
Edited by Fangfang Li, Karen E. Pollock and Robbin Gibb
[Bilingual Processing and Acquisition 10] 2020
► pp. 29–42

Chapter 3
Issues for second language pronunciation in children

| University of Alberta | Simon Fraser University

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
  • References
Published online: 1 December 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/bpa.10.03der
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