Reflections on the Development of L2 Pronunciation Research in Canada

• Published in: Canadian modern language review Vol. 75; no. 4; pp. 329 - 339
• Main Authors: Derwing, Tracey M, Thomson, Ronald I
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Toronto Press 01-11-2019
• Subjects: College Faculty; College Students; English (Second Language); Foreign Countries; Graduate Students; Grants; Language Research; Language Teachers; Linguistics; Periodicals; Pronunciation Instruction; Refugees; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Teaching Methods; Teamwork; Universities; Vietnamese People; Canada
• ISSN: 0008-4506
• DOI: 10.3138/cmlr.2019-0282

Tracey Derwing and Ron Thomson reflect on the growth of Canadian L2 pronunciation research from the early 1990s onward. Although many phoneticians and language educators called for pronunciation instruction (PI) for decades, in the early 1980s little empirical research existed to inform pronunciation pedagogy, despite an influx of Vietnamese refugees, many of whom needed help with intelligibility. It was serendipity that linguistics students from the University of Alberta were teaching in an ESL program; their employer assigned them stand-alone pronunciation classes. Upon graduating, Tracey Derwing and Murray Munro probed L2 pronunciation issues extensively. Initially they found it difficult to publish, because journals could not identify suitable reviewers. Eventually, however, they garnered grants, hired students, and met like-minded colleagues. Graduate students from several universities have pursued pronunciation-related studies, extending our knowledge of PI and laying the foundation for second and third waves of researchers. Positive team dynamics and sustained scientific curiosity have established Canada as a dominant force in empirical pronunciation research.