Second Language Pronunciation Assessment

Talia Isaacs is Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and TESOL at the UCL Centre for Applied Linguistics, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK. Her research interests include second language speaking and listening, pronunciation assessment and instruction, raters, rating scales, machine scoring, and language for specific and academic purposes.Pavel Trofimovich is Professor in the Department of Education at Concordia University, Canada. His research interests include cognitive aspects of second language processing, second language pronunciation, sociolinguistic aspects of second language acquisition and the teaching of second language pronunciation.

The recent resurgence of interest in L2 pronunciation has been woefully incomplete without a wide-ranging consideration of pronunciation’s role in spoken language assessment. This volume, with its many authoritative voices and varied empirical approaches to the intersection of pronunciation and language testing, will immensely strengthen both future approaches to L2 pronunciation and assessments of spoken language ability.

• Section 1: Introduction1. Talia Isaacs and Pavel Trofimovich: Key Themes, Constructs, and Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Second Language Pronunciation Assessment2. Luke Harding: What Do Raters Need In A Pronunciation Scale? The Users’ ViewSection 2: Insights from Assessing Other Language Skills3. Kevin Browne and Glenn Fulcher: Pronunciation and Intelligibility in Assessing Spoken Fluency4. Ute Knoch: What Can Pronunciation Researchers Learn From Research Into Second Language Writing?5. Elvis Wagner and Paul Toth: The Role of Pronunciation in the Assessment of L2 Listening AbilitySection 3: Perspectives on Pronunciation Assessment from Psycholinguistics and Speech Sciences6. Joan C. Mora and Isabelle Darcy: The Relationship between Cognitive Control and Pronunciation in a Second Language7. Laura Ballard and Paula Winke: The Interplay of Accent Familiarity, Comprehensibility, Intelligibility, Perceived Native-Speaker Status, and Acceptability as a Teacher8. Kazuya Saito, Pavel Trofimovich, Talia Isaacs and Stuart Webb: Re-Examining Phonological and Lexical Correlates Of Second Language Comprehensibility: The Role of Rater Experience9. Evelina Galaczi, Brechtje Post, Aike Li, Fiona Barker and Elaine Schmidt: Assessing L2 Pronunciation: Distinguishing Features Of Rhythm in Learner Speech at Different Proficiency LevelsSection 4: Sociolinguistic, Cross-Cultural and Lingua Franca Perspectives in Pronunciation Assessment10. Alan Davies: Commentary on the Native Speaker Status in Pronunciation Research11. Stephanie Lindemann: Variation or ‘Error’? Perception of Pronunciation Variation and Its Implications for Assessment12. Sara Kennedy, Josée Blanchet and Danielle Guénette: Teacher-Raters’ Assessments of French Lingua Franca Pronunciation13. Andrew Sewell: Pronunciation Assessment in Asia’s World City: Implications of a Lingua Franca Approach in Hong KongSection 5: Concluding Remarks14. Pavel Trofimovich and Talia Isaacs: L2 Pronunciation Assessment: A Look at the Present and the Future