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Article In: Journal of Second Language Pronunciation: Online-First Articles

A scoping review of 25 years of research on L2 English pronunciation (1996–2020)

ORCiD logo with link | Université Toulouse-Jean Jaurès,
 | Université Toulouse-Jean Jaurès,
 | Université Toulouse-Jean Jaurès
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Abstract
This scoping review maps 25 years of empirical research on L2 English pronunciation (1996–2020), covering 463 studies published in 35 prominent journals across second language acquisition, second language learning and teaching, and phonetics and phonology. Using Arksey and O’Malley’s framework, it traces developments in participants’ L1 profiles, phonological features, and the treatment of the construct of intelligibility. Four major trends emerge: a gradual diversification of participant profiles, a move away from native-speaker benchmarks, increased attention to suprasegmental features, and a rising — yet still unstable — presence of intelligibility as a research focus. The analysis highlights both changes over time and persistent divides between domains of research. The review calls for more diverse samples, clearer definitions of intelligibility, and stronger cross-disciplinary dialogue. Such developments could help consolidate theoretical foundations, improve comparability across studies, and advance both research and pedagogy in L2 pronunciation.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The present scoping review
  • 3.Method
    • 3.1Identifying the information source
    • 3.2Study selection
    • 3.3Resulting corpus
    • 3.4Charting the data
    • 3.5Limitations
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Participants
      • 4.1.1Foreign-accented englishes represented in the corpus
      • 4.1.2One vs. multiple FAE in the experiments
      • 4.1.3Inclusion of native speakers in the experimental designs
      • 4.1.4Types of speech assessments
      • 4.1.5Presence of non-native listeners
    • 4.2Phonological features
      • 4.2.1Phonological features studied in the corpus
      • 4.2.2Suprasegmental features
    • 4.3Intelligibility
      • 4.3.1Presence of the construct of intelligibility
      • 4.3.2Definitions of intelligibility
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Note
  • Author queries
  • References
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