Article published In:
Journal of Second Language PronunciationVol. 9:2 (2023) ► pp.192–207
Listening to the “noise” in the data
The critical importance of individual differences in second-language speech
The term “noise” is often applied to the seemingly random variability that always appears in human data, and which
is assumed to be of no interest to the researcher. Some of this variability is unavoidably due to measurement tools or the way in
which we use them, and some is due to the unstable nature of human behaviour. In such cases, we may be justified in treating the
variability as irrelevant noise. However, we cannot assume that all inexplicable variation is unimportant. Using
examples from earlier research, I will argue that individual variability is a phenomenon worthy of study in its own right. Not
only can it help us understand the nuances of the learning process, but giving it careful consideration can be a valuable step in
determining how to effectively apply research findings in pedagogy.
Keywords: acquisition, individual differences, variability, ergodicity, noise, aspiration, vowels
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.What do we mean by “individual differences”?
- 2.1Example: Listening conditions and speech intelligibility
- 2.2Example: Acquisition trajectories for English /p/
- 2.3Example: English vowel production by Cantonese speakers
- 3.Conclusions
- Acknowledgements
-
References
References (12)
Chan, A. Y., & Li, D. C. (2000). English and Cantonese phonology in contrast: Explaining Cantonese ESL learners’ English pronunciation problems. Language Culture and Curriculum,
13
(
1
), 67–85. 
Dąbrowska, E. (2012). Different speakers, different grammars: Individual differences in native language attainment. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism,
2
(
3
), 219–253.
Flege, J. E., Munro, M. J., & MacKay, I. R. (1995). Factors affecting strength of perceived foreign accent in a second language. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,
97
(5), 3125–3134.
Hulstijn, J. H. (2019). An individual-differences framework for comparing nonnative with native speakers: Perspectives from BLC theory. Language Learning,
69
1, 157–183.
Lowie, W. M., & Verspoor, M. H. (2019). Individual differences and the ergodicity problem. Language Learning,
69
1, 184–206.
Munro, M. J. (1998). The effects of noise on the intelligibility of foreign-accented speech. Studies in Second Language Acquisition,
20
(
2
), 139–154.
Munro, M. J. (2021). On the difficulty of defining “difficult” in second-language vowel acquisition. Frontiers in Communication,
6
1, 639398.
Munro, M. J. (2022). Variability in L2 Vowel Production: Different Elicitation Methods Affect Individual Speakers Differently. Frontiers in Psychology,
13
1, 916736.
Munro, M. J., Derwing, T. M., and Saito, K. (manuscript in review). Aspiring to aspirate: L2 acquisition of English word-initial /p/ over 10 years.
Nilsen, D. L., and Nilsen, A. P. (2010). Pronunciation contrasts in English. Waveland Press.
Swan, M., and Smith, B. (2001). Learner English: A teacher’s guide to interference and other problems (Vol. 1). Cambridge University Press.
Thomson, R. I., Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J. (2023). How long can naturalistic L2 pronunciation learning continue in adults? A 10-year study. Language Awareness.
Cited by (1)
Cited by one other publication
Goldshtein, Maria, Jaclyn Ocumpaugh, Andrew Potter & Rod D. Roscoe
2024. The Social Consequences of Language Technologies and Their Underlying Language Ideologies. In Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction [Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 14696], ► pp. 271 ff. 
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.