Teaching segmentals and suprasegmentals

This study reports the results of a pronunciation intervention to enhance the comprehensibility, fluency, and accentedness of three groups of second language (L2) learners in an English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) context. Three groups of first-semester EFL students at a small university in Costa Rica underwent a 10-week pronunciation intervention for segmentals, suprasegmentals, or a combination of both using explicit phonetic and phonological instruction and communicative tasks. Spontaneous-speech samples from a pretest and posttest were presented to L1 speakers of English to be rated for comprehensibility, fluency, and accentedness. The group trained on suprasegmentals significantly improved comprehensibility and fluency, as opposed to the other two groups that did not improve. No groups improved in accentedness. Analyses of participants’ speech production revealed key differences that may have contributed to the perception of comprehensibility and fluency in their speech. Pedagogical implications are discussed for the implementation of explicit pronunciation instruction in intact L2 classes.