Cover not available
Article published In:
Journal of Second Language Pronunciation
Vol. 7:2 (2021) ► pp.154–182

Assessing the state of the art in longitudinal L2 pronunciation research

Trends and future directions

ORCID logo | Iowa State University

Longitudinal research methods often call to mind studies of various lengths. However, longitudinal research involves complex decisions related to study length, number of sessions, and session spacing, and these longitudinal choices must be coordinated with other aspects of research methodology. In this synthesis, I analyze 39 longitudinal L2 pronunciation studies that were published between 2006 and 2021 and did not include a pronunciation-specific intervention. I examine longitudinal design choices in light of participant sample characteristics such as age and context of learning, and measurement framework characteristics, which include choices related to target structures and tasks. Among other findings, results point to a lack of longer-term, multiwave studies dealing with pronunciation development. I offer suggestions for future work that can enhance the scope of L2 pronunciation research as well as recommendations for conducting and reporting longitudinal research.

Keywords: L2 pronunciation, longitudinal research, research synthesis, research methods
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1Longitudinal design choices in longitudinal L2 pronunciation research
    • 2.2Methodological choices in longitudinal L2 pronunciation research
    • 2.3The current research synthesis
  • 3.Method
    • 3.1Study retrieval and publication trends
    • 3.2Coding
  • 4.General characteristics
    • 4.1Longitudinal characteristics
    • 4.2Sample characteristics
    • 4.3Measurement and analytical characteristics
    • 4.4Interim summary
    • 4.5Longitudinal design by participant sample
    • 4.6Longitudinal design by measurement framework
  • 5.Future directions in longitudinal L2 pronunciation research
  • 6.Recommendations for conducting and reporting longitudinal work
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 4 August 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.20059.nag
References
Akiyama, Y., & Saito, K.
(2016) Development of comprehensibility and its linguistic correlates: A longitudinal study of video-mediated telecollaboration. The Modern Language Journal, 100(3), 585–609. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Andringa, S., & Godfroid, A.
(2020) Sampling bias and the problem of generalizability in applied linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 401, 134–142. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Anwyl-Irvine, A. L., Massonnié, J., Flitton, A., Kirkham, N., & Evershed, J. K.
(2020) Gorilla in our midst: An online behavioral experiment builder. Behavior Research Methods, 52(1), 388–407. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Baker Smemoe, W., & Haslam, N.
(2013) The effect of language learning aptitude, strategy use and learning context on L2 pronunciation learning. Applied Linguistics, 34(4), 435–456. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Casillas, J. V.
(2019) Phonetic category formation is perceptually driven during the early stages of adult L2 development. Language and Speech. Advance online publication. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2020) The longitudinal development of fine-phonetic detail: Stop production in a domestic immersion program. Language Learning. Advance online publication. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chang, C.
(2012) Rapid and multifaceted effects of second-language learning on first-language speech production. Journal of Phonetics, 40(2), 249–268. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chang, C. B.
(2019) Language change and linguistic inquiry in a world of multicompetence: Sustained phonetic drift and its implications for behavioral linguistic research. Journal of Phonetics, 741, 96–113. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cunnings, I., & Finlayson, I.
(2015) Mixed effects modeling and longitudinal data analysis. In L. Plonsky (Ed.), Advancing Quantitative Methods in Second Language Research (pp. 159–181). New York: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
de Bot, K., Lowie, W., & Verspoor, M.
(2007) A Dynamic Systems Theory approach to second language acquisition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 10(1), 7–21. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Derwing, T. M.
(2010) Utopian goals for pronunciation teaching. In J. Levis & K. LeVelle (Eds.), Proceedings of the 1st Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference (pp. 24–37). Ames, IA: Iowa State University.Google Scholar
Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J.
(2013) The development of L2 oral language skills in two L1 groups: A 7-year study. Language Learning, 63(2), 163–185. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2015) Pronunciation fundamentals: Evidence-based perspectives for L2 teaching and research. John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2017, August 31). Overcoming fears about longitudinal pronunciation research: Anxiety reduction through planning, flexibility, and teamwork [Workshop presentation]. Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference, Salt Lake City, UT, United States.
Derwing, T. M., Munro, M. J., & Thomson, R. I.
(2008) A longitudinal study of ESL learners’ fluency and comprehensibility development. Applied Linguistics, 29(3), 359–380. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Derwing, T. M., Munro, M. J., Thomson, R. I., & Rossiter, M. J.
(2009) The relationship between L1 fluency and L2 fluency development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 31(4), 533–557. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Earle, F. S., & Myers, E. B.
(2014) Building phonetic categories: an argument for the role of sleep. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, Article 1192. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ellis, N. C.
(2014) Cognitive AND social language usage. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 36(3), 397–402. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gass, S., Loewen, S., & Plonsky, L.
(2020) Coming of age: The past, present, and future of quantitative SLA research. Language Teaching. Advance online publication. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Heinrich, J., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A.
(2010) The weirdest people in the world? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33(2–3), 61–83. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hiver, P., & Al-Hoorie, A.
(2019) Research methods for complexity theory in applied linguistics. Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Holliday, J. J.
(2015) A longitudinal study of the second language acquisition of a three-way stop contrast. Journal of Phonetics, 501, 1–14. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Huensch, A., & Tracy-Ventura, N.
(2017) L2 utterance fluency development before, during, and after residence abroad: A multidimensional investigation. The Modern Language Journal, 101(2), 275–293. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kim, D., Clayards, M., & Goad, H.
(2018) A longitudinal study of individual differences in the acquisition of new vowel contrasts. Journal of Phonetics, 671, 1–20. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lee, J., Jang, J., & Plonsky, L.
(2015) The effectiveness of second language pronunciation instruction: A meta-analysis. Applied Linguistics, 36(3), 345–366. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Loewen, S., & Hui, B.
(2021) Small samples in instructed second language acquisition research. The Modern Language Journal, 105(1), 187–193. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McAndrews, M.
(2019) Short periods of instruction improve learners’ phonological categories for L2 suprasegmental features. System, 821, 151–160. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Moyer, A.
(2014a) Exceptional outcomes in L2 phonology: The critical factors of learner engagement and self-regulation. Applied Linguistics, 35(4), 418–440. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2014b) What’s age got to do with it? Accounting for individual factors in second language accent. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 31, 443–464. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Muñoz, C., & Llanes, À.
(2014) Study abroad and changes in degree of foreign accent in children and adults. The Modern Language Journal, 98(1), 432–449. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Munro, M. J., & Derwing, T. M.
(2008) Segmental acquisition in adult ESL learners: A longitudinal study of vowel production. Language Learning, 58(3), 479–502. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Munro & Derwing
(2015) Intelligibility in research and practice: Teaching priorities. In J. Levis & M. Reed (Eds.), The handbook of English pronunciation (pp. 377–396). Routledge.Google Scholar
Nagle, C.
(2018a) Examining the temporal structure of the perception-production link in second language acquisition: A longitudinal study. Language Learning, 68(1), 234–270. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2018b) Motivation, comprehensibility, and accentedness in L2 Spanish: Investigating motivation as a time-varying predictor of pronunciation development. The Modern Language Journal, 102(1), 1–19. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2019a) A longitudinal study of voice onset time development in L2 Spanish stops. Applied Linguistics, 40(1), 86–107. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2019b) Developing and validating a methodology for crowdsourcing L2 speech ratings in Amazon Mechanical Turk. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 3(2), 294–323. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nagle, C. L.
(2021) Revisiting perception-production relationships: Exploring a new approach to investigate perception as a time-varying predictor. Language Learning, 71(1), 243–279. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nagle, C., Levis, J., & Todey, E.
(2019) The changing face of L2 pronunciation research and teaching. In J. Levis, C. Nagle, & E. Todey (Eds.), Proceedings of the 10th Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference (pp. 1–9). Ames, IA: Iowa State University.Google Scholar
Nagle, C., & Rehman, I.
in press). Doing L2 speech research online: Why and how to collect online ratings data. Studies in Second Language Acquisition.
Nagle, C., Trofimovich, P., & Bergeron, A.
(2019) Toward a dynamic view of second language comprehensibility. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41(4), 647–672. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Norouzian, R.
(2020) Sample size planning in quantitative L2 research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 42(4), 849–870. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ortega, L., & Iberri-Shea, G.
(2005) Longitudinal research in second language acquisition: Recent trends and future directions. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 251, 26–45. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Oswald, F. L.
(2014) How big is “big”? Interpreting effect sizes in L2 research. Language Learning, 64(4), 878–912. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Raudenbush, S. W., & Xiao-Feng, L.
(2001) Effects of study duration, frequency of observation, and sample size on power in studies of group differences in polynomial change. Psychological Methods, 6(4), 387–401. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Saito, K.
(2019) Individual differences in second language speech learning in classroom settings: Roles of awareness in the longitudinal development of Japanese learners’ English /ɹ/ pronunciation. Second Language Research, 35(2), 149–172. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., & Akiyama, Y.
(2017) Video-based interaction, negotiation for comprehensibility, and second language speech learning: A longitudinal study. Language Learning, 67(1), 43–74. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., Dewaele, J.-M., Abe, M., & In’nami, Y.
(2018) Motivation, emotion, learning experience, and second language comprehensibility development in classroom settings: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study. Language Learning, 68(3), 709–743. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., Macmillan, K., Mai, T., Suzukida, Y., Sun, H., Magne, V., Ilkan, M., & Murakami, A.
(2020) Developing, analyzing and sharing multivariate datasets: Individual differences in L2 learning revisited. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 401, 9–25. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., & Plonsky, L.
(2019) Effects of second language pronunciation teaching revisited: A proposed measurement framework and meta-analysis. Language Learning, 69(3), 652–708. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., Suzuki, S., Oyama, T., & Akiyama, Y.
(2019) How does longitudinal interaction promote second language speech learning? Roles of learner experience and proficiency levels. Second Language Research. Advance online publication. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., Suzukida, Y., & Sun, H.
(2019) Aptitude, experience, and second language pronunciation proficiency development in classroom settings. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 411, 201–225. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sturm, J. L.
(2019) Current approaches to pronunciation instruction: A longitudinal case study in French. Foreign Language Annals, 52(1), 32–44. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thomson, R. I., & Derwing, T. M.
(2015) The effectiveness of L2 pronunciation instruction: A narrative review. Applied Linguistics, 36(3), 326–344. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Trofimovich, P., Lightbown, P. M., Halter, R. H., & Song, H.
(2009) Comprehension-based practice. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 31(4), 609–639. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Trofimovich, P., Nagle, C. L., Grantham O’Brien, M., Kennedy, S., Taylor Reid, K., & Strachan, L.
(2020) Second language comprehensibility as a dynamic construct. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 6(3), 430–457. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ushioda, E.
(2009) Motivating learners to speak as themselves. In G. Murray, X. Gao, & T. Lamb (Eds.), Identity, motivation and autonomy in language learning (pp. 11–24). Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Westfall, J., Kenny, D. A., & Judd, C. M.
(2014) Statistical power and optimal design in experiments in which samples of participants respond to samples of stimuli. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(5), 2020–2045. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zielinski, B., & Pryor, E.
(2020) Comprehensibility and everyday English use. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 6(3), 352–379. DOI logoGoogle Scholar