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L2 pronunciation research has recently seen an increasing amount of documentary research approaches, which use previous research or other documentation of the field as the primary data to synthesize and quantify the findings of previous research on specific topics, such as the effects of pronunciation instruction. These research approaches have changed the character of the field by identifying findings upon which there are agreement, important gaps that have not yet been addressed, and key researchers and topics that have shaped the field. This editorial lists some examples of these types of research studies over the past decade that are specifically related to L2 speech and pronunciation.

This paper reports on the role of technology in state-of-the-art pronunciation research and instruction, and makes concrete suggestions for future developments. The point of departure for this contribution is that the goal of second language (L2) pronunciation research and teaching should be enhanced comprehensibility and intelligibility as opposed to native-likeness. Three main areas are covered here. We begin with a presentation of advanced uses of pronunciation technology in research with a special focus on the expertise required to carry out even small-scale investigations. Next, we discuss the nature of data in pronunciation research, pointing to ways in which future work can build on advances in corpus research and crowdsourcing. Finally, we consider how these insights pave the way for researchers and developers working to create research-informed, computer-assisted pronunciation teaching resources. We conclude with predictions for future developments.

Research on L2 pronunciation needs to occur in a much wider range of languages in order to ensure that findings are not just applicable to dominant languages. This paper argues that research on a wider variety of languages will be valuable for understanding different contexts of learning/instruction, different types and combinations of phonological features, and different instructional approaches. The field especially needs two parallel and interrelated threads of research and teaching-oriented publications. The first is descriptions of and materials for teaching pronunciation in particular languages. The second is research that is built around questions of practical interest and theoretically-motivated models of L2 speech perception and production.

The global pandemic caused a storm of cancellations of professional conferences and professional travel, but the storm has also had technological silver linings in opportunities for professional development including greater numbers of webinars, virtual conferences, and new uses of videoconferencing. We expect that many of these new expansions of professional development will continue in the field of L2 pronunciation.

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – EU funding. Main funding source(s): EU Horizon Background/Introduction In patients with refractory ventricular tachycardia (VT), STereotactic Arrhythmia Radioablation (STAR) showed promising results for otherwise untreatable patients [1]. The STOPSTORM.eu project coordinates European efforts to clinically validate STAR. Purpose The primary goal of the critical structures benchmark study was to harmonize contouring of organs at risk (OAR) for STAR within the STOPSTORM.eu consortium. The results enable to refine protocols and guidelines to ensure treatment harmonization. Methods Three well-selected STAR cases [2] were provided for this benchmark and sent to all radiation oncology centres within the consortium. Every case had a contrast-enhanced cardiac-CT which was already deformed to the primary planning-CT to contour the OAR in detail. Every centre was asked to contour 31 OAR’s according to literature-based guidelines. The resulting structure sets were evaluated within VelocityTM 4.1. Results Twenty centres participated in the critical structure contouring benchmark. Contouring of the structures was performed with high accuracy according to the provided guidelines. The contours of common OAR’s in radiotherapy, such as the heart, lungs, stomach, oesophagus, bronchus, great vessels, and spinal canal were correctly contoured by all centres. In the substructures of the heart (chambers, valves, arteries, and nodes), deviations in the contours occurred more frequently, but no large systematic errors were found (see figure 1-2). The centres that already performed STAR treatments had markedly less difficulties with the contouring of the substructures. However, these structures do not have a consensus for treatment planning purposes and late toxicity but need to be contoured correctly for future analysis within the STOPSTORM project. Conclusion This large STOPSTORM.eu multi-centre critical structure benchmark study showed a high accuracy regarding standard critical structures. In the case of heart substructures some deviations occurred, which lead to new definitions for contouring these structures within the consortium. In addition, a close collaboration between radiation oncologist and cardiac electrophysiologist is recommended.

This special issue revisits an extraordinarily influential paper for L2 pronunciation research and teaching (Munro & Derwing, 1995) by looking again at the original paper with new eyes and new analyses. The special issue also includes invited papers addressing current approaches based on the three key constructs in Munro and Derwing (1995): Intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness. Papers in the issue include a reconsideration of the Intelligibility and Nativeness principles from Levis (2005), applications of the constructs to L2 Spanish (Nagle & Huensch), a consideration of how everyday L2 use affects comprehensibility (Zielinski & Pryor), long-term effects of intensive instruction (French, Gagné & Collins), influences on listener reaction to L2 speech (Isaacs & Thomson), empirical evidence for the dynamic nature of comprehensibility (Trofimovich et al.), a study on ELF intelligibility and functional load considerations (Thir), the relationship between comprehensibility and social evaluation of speech (Vaughn & Whitty), and one book review.

Levis (2005) named two conflicting approaches to pronunciation teaching, the Nativeness Principle and the Intelligibility Principle. This paper revisits those two principles to argue for the superiority of the Intelligibility Principle in regard to where pronunciation fits within the wider field of language teaching, in how it effectively addresses teaching goals, in how it best addresses all contexts of L2 pronunciation learning, and in how it recognizes the reality of social consequences of pronunciation differences. In contrast, the Nativeness Principle, despite its long pedigree and many defenders, falls short by advocating native pronunciation for L2 learners, which is both unlikely to be achieved and unnecessary for effective communication in the L2.

The accurate identification of likely segmental pronunciation errors produced by nonnative speakers of English is a longstanding goal in pronunciation teaching. Most lists of pronunciation errors for speakers of a particular first language (L1) are based on the experience of expert linguists or teachers of English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL). Such lists are useful, but they are also subject to blind spots for less noticeable errors while suggesting that other more noticeable errors are more important. This exploratory study tested whether using a database of read sentences would reveal recurrent errors that had been overlooked by expert opinions. We did a systematic error analysis of advanced L1 Arabic learners of English ( n = 4) using L2 Arctic, a publicly available collection of 1,132 phonetically-balanced English sentences read aloud by 24 speakers of six language backgrounds. To test whether the database was useful for pronunciation error identification, we analysed Arabic speakers’ sentence readings ( n = 599), which were annotated in Praat for pronunciation deviations from General American English. The findings give an empirically supported description of persistent pronunciation errors for Arabic learners of English. Although necessarily limited in scope, the study demonstrates how similar datasets can be used regardless of the L1 being investigated. The discussion of errors in pronunciation in terms of their functional loads (Brown, 1988) suggests which persistent errors are likely to be important for classroom attention, helping teachers focus their limited classroom time for optimal learning.

Professional conferences are a critical part of a growing and thriving field. L2 pronunciation has a growing number of dedicated conferences, and other long-standing conferences that are related to L2 pronunciation have seen greater participation from L2 pronunciation researchers as the field has grown. This article describes conferences that are of interest to the field of L2 pronunciation.

A recurring question for researchers in any field concerns the best place to submit their research. This is also true of L2 pronunciation research. In this paper, we look at journals that have repeatedly published pronunciation research over the past decade. Publication venues include specialist journals that focus on speech, general second language acquisition and learning journals, regional journals, and newsletters. The first two sets of journals are accompanied by word clouds from their scope and aims statements. The paper encourages authors to consider a number of issues in determining the best places to submit L2 pronunciation research.

The type of voice model used in Computer Assisted Pronunciation Instruction is a crucial factor in the quality of practice and the amount of uptake by language learners. As an example, prior research indicates that second-language learners are more likely to succeed when they imitate a speaker with a voice similar to their own, a so-called “golden speaker”. This manuscript presents Golden Speaker Builder (GSB), a tool that allows learners to generate a personalized “golden-speaker” voice: one that mirrors their own voice but with a native accent. We describe the overall system design, including the web application with its user interface, and the underlying speech analysis/synthesis algorithms. Next, we present results from a series of listening tests, which show that GSB is capable of synthesizing such golden-speaker voices. Finally, we present results from a user study in a language-instruction setting, which show that practising with GSB leads to improved fluency and comprehensibility. We suggest reasons for why learners improved as they did and recommendations for the next iteration of the training.

Southwestern Mandarin is one of the most important modern Chinese dialects, with over 270 million speakers. One of its most noticeable phonological features is an inconsistent distinction between the pronunciation of (n) and (l), a feature shared with Cantonese. However, while /n/-/l/ in Cantonese has been studied extensively, especially in its effect upon English pronunciation, the /l/-/n/ distinction has not been widely studied for Southwestern Mandarin speakers. Many speakers of Southwestern Mandarin learn Standard Mandarin as a second language when they begin formal schooling, and English as a third language later. Their lack of /l/-/n/ distinction is largely a marker of regional accent. In English, however, the lack of a distinction risks loss of intelligibility because of the high functional load of /l/-/n/. This study is a phonetic investigation of initial and medial (n) and (l) production in English and Standard Mandarin by speakers of Southwestern Mandarin. Our goal is to identify how Southwestern Mandarin speakers produce (n) and (l) in their additional languages, thus providing evidence for variations within Southwestern Mandarin and identifying likely difficulties for L2 learning. Twenty-five Southwestern Mandarin speakers recorded English words with word initial (n) and (l), medial or spellings (e.g., swallow, winner), and word-medial (nl) combinations (e.g., only) and (ln) combinations (e.g., walnut). They also read Standard Mandarin monosyllabic words with initial (l) and (n), and Standard Mandarin disyllabic words with (l) or (n). Of the 25 subjects, 18 showed difficulties producing (n) and (l) consistently where required, while seven (all part of the same regional variety) showed no such difficulty. The results indicate that SWM speakers had more difficulty with initial nasal sounds in Standard Mandarin, which was similar to their performance in producing Standard Mandarin monosyllabic words. For English, production of (l) was significantly less accurate than (n), and (l) production in English was significantly worse than in Standard Mandarin. When both sounds occurred next to each other, there was a tendency toward producing only one sound, suggesting that the speakers assimilated production toward one phonological target. The results suggest that L1 influence may differ for the L2 and L3.

This editorial looks at L2 pronunciation dissertations from 2017 and 2018 to see what topics were of interest in research, to examine trends, and to suggest ideas for the future. The largest group of dissertations reflect interest in instruction and instructional interventions. These interventions look at a wide variety of features, types of instruction (e.g., implicit vs. explicit), different L1-L2 combinations, and the importance of materials in teacher training. The next most common topic was perception, followed by prosody (including stress, intonation, tone and fluency) and acquisition. English and Spanish were the most frequently studied L2s, indicating a need for L2 pronunciation in less commonly researched languages.

Second language pronunciation is undergoing dramatic changes in research visibility, in the intelligibility-centered goals that drive the field, and in the ways that technology is being deployed to address new needs. This plenary delineates problems that face the field as it has grown. I suggest the reasons that technology must be a critical part of the future of L2 pronunciation and the ways in which technology use can help to address problems facing future growth. These reasons include providing the support teachers need, individualizing instruction, providing ways to ensure that intelligibility-based instruction adheres to effective goals, combining information in unusual and innovative ways, taking advantage of multi-modality in instruction and delivering varied types of feedback, and researching pronunciation learning and teaching processes.

This issue addresses the intersection of technology and pronunciation, discussing past, current and future uses of technology, the use of technology for researching L2 pronunciation, for training instructors, and for teaching learners. Technology is put forth as an essential and interconnected element of second language pronunciation. The topic grew out of the 8th Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching conference, held in August 2016 in Calgary, Alberta.

Teaching and learning second language (L2) prosody attracted attention from early theorists before becoming disconnected from linguistic theory. Now, theoretical and pedagogical attention are both seen as aspects of L2 teaching, especially in regard to how prosody affects how listeners understand the speech of L2 learners. This chapter discusses how prosody affects the comprehensibility and intelligibility of L2 speech. It suggests ways in which prosody training is effective in improving perception and production. Instruction in prosody has been based on theories relating to the perception and production of segmentals, indicating a need for greater attention to L2 prosody in its own right. Finally, the chapter discusses teaching different types of prosodic features, including attention to both low-tech and high-tech tools. The future of L2 prosody teaching is wide open, and attention to instructional approaches must address the importance of L1–L2 (mis)matches and principles tied to L2 acquisition.

Introduction: Three previous individual participant data meta-analyses (IPDMAs) reported that, compared to the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM (SCID), alternative reference standards, primarily the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), tended to misclassify major depression status, when controlling for depression symptom severity. However, there was an important lack of precision in the results. Objective: To compare the odds of the major depression classification based on the SCID, CIDI, and MINI. Methods: We included and standardized data from 3 IPDMA databases. For each IPDMA, separately, we fitted binomial generalized linear mixed models to compare the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of major depression classification, controlling for symptom severity and characteristics of participants, and the interaction between interview and symptom severity. Next, we synthesized results using a DerSimonian-Laird random-effects meta-analysis. Results: In total, 69,405 participants (7,574 [11%] with major depression) from 212 studies were included. Controlling for symptom severity and participant characteristics, the MINI (74 studies; 25,749 participants) classified major depression more often than the SCID (108 studies; 21,953 participants; aOR 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11-1.92]). Classification odds for the CIDI (30 studies; 21,703 participants) and the SCID did not differ overall (aOR 1.19; 95% CI 0.79-1.75); however, as screening scores increased, the aOR increased less for the CIDI than the SCID (interaction aOR 0.64; 95% CI 0.52-0.80). Conclusions: Compared to the SCID, the MINI classified major depression more often. The odds of the depression classification with the CIDI increased less as symptom levels increased. Interpretation of research that uses diagnostic interviews to classify depression should consider the interview characteristics. © 2020

Any discipline requires precision in critical issues while tolerating and perhaps even welcoming imprecision in other respects. This editorial discusses areas in second language pronunciation research in which precision is required (the use of terminology such as intelligibility and comprehensibility), where it is not always required to the same extent (the use of phonetic and phonemic symbols), and where it is rarely required (in how L2 learners are given explanations or ways to pronounce more accurately). The article then describes the content of the full-length articles, commentary and reviews.

Objectives: We sought to understand long-term retrospective parental perceptions of the utility of newborn screening in a context where many affected children never develop sequelae but where intensive support services and ongoing healthcare were provided. Study design: Qualitative study. Methods: Focus groups and interviews among parents (N = 41) of children with congenital CMV who had been enrolled in a long-term follow-up study at a large medical college for a mean of 22 years following diagnosis. Groups included parents whose children were: symptomatic at birth; initially asymptomatic but later developed sensorineural hearing loss; and who remained asymptomatic into adulthood. Results: With proper follow-up support, newborn CMV screening was viewed positively by parents, who felt empowered by the knowledge, though parents often felt that they and healthcare providers needed more information on congenital CMV. Parents in all groups valued newborn CMV screening in the long term and believed it should be embedded within a comprehensive follow-up program. Conclusions: Despite initial distress, parents of CMV-positive children felt newborn CMV screening was a net positive. Mandatory or opt-out screening for conditions with variable presentations and treatment outcomes may be valuable in contexts where follow-up and care are readily available.

This editorial responds to a review of JSLP published in the Journal of the International Phonetic Association and uses that review to explore directions for the future.

Quality education for teaching pronunciation involves multiple areas of knowledge and practical skills. This paper proposes knowledge and skill descriptors for Development Phase 1 teachers for six areas related to pronunciation teaching and learning: values and attitudes, context, methodology, resources, assessment, and independent learning. Teacher training programs should ensure that teacher trainees value all English varieties and adopt intelligibility as the goal of teaching. They should also know that teachers with required professional competencies and from any language background can teach pronunciation. Teacher trainees should be able to create a pronunciation teaching curriculum for their teaching context, combine various teaching resources, and have required content and pedagogical knowledge. They should also be able to assess learners’ pronunciation improvement, help learners track their learning, and assign appropriate individual work. The descriptors are useful for teacher training programs and for experienced teachers who are new to pronunciation teaching.

Research into pronunciation has often disregarded its potential to inform pedagogy. This is due partly to the historical development of pronunciation teaching and research, but its effect is that there is often a mismatch between research and teaching. This paper looks at four areas in which the (mis)match is imperfect but in which a greater recognition of research can lead to better teaching materials (high variability phonetic training, intonation, information structure, and setting priorities). Furthermore, two areas in which teaching materials are desperate for research to be carried out (connected speech and the primacy of suprasegmentals) will be discussed.