The current article presents a state-of-the-art review of research on the social factors that have been found to impact how learners acquire and use a second language (L2) sound system. These factors include ethnic group identification, gender, and study abroad experience. The research synthesis presents the key findings on each social factor,…

We draw on our lived experiences as faculty of communication studies from Asia, living and working in the United States, to explore how U.S. higher education constituted our identity as linguistic minorities. We also draw on tenets of collaborative autoethnography, producing insight on three levels of linguistic discrimination against non-standard…

Language ideologies are a powerful way of perpetuating inequalities, as peripheralized speakers who have internalized the lack of legitimacy attributed to them often end up reproducing censure rather than resisting it. Foregrounding the affective dimension, this paper explores the role of shame as a fulcrum articulating the individual with the…

Age of onset has long been assumed to predict outcomes in second/foreign language accent. Yet beyond early childhood, acquiring a new accent has much to do with social-affective factors such as learner identity and motivation, as well as cognitive factors such as learning strategies (Pfenninger, 2017). Newer perspectives acknowledge this…

Singapore's language-in-education policies have always prescribed that only a standard variety of English be allowed in teaching and learning. This view of upholding a standard has been pervasive not only in education but also throughout Singapore's society. In this article, we review Singapore's language policy, emphasizing the functional…

An exploration of pronunciation tutorials designed for speakers of English as an additional language (EAL) in a university context in Australia suggests that developing abilities to speak clearly involves more than just focusing on the sounds that are uttered. Students' comments and observations collected during pronunciation tutorials highlight…

This paper discusses the interrelations among accent-based biases, social identity and ethnocentrism. Construction of social identity creates a set of ethnocentric values within a person, which indirectly or directly plays a pivotal role in generating accent related biases. Starting with Tajfel's (1959) social identity theory and then the…

The exigencies of globalization and AEC integration provide an impetus for this paper. In this paper, two major questions are addressed. One, what will happen to the standard varieties of English as a vehicular language for international communication, when the spread of English continues towards global communication? Two, what will happen to a…

Over the past few decades perspectives on second language (L2) pronunciation have evolved from pessimistic appraisals of the capabilities of L2 learners and doubts about the value of instruction to a view of pronunciation teaching as an effective and important part of language pedagogy. Earlier research on the teaching of pronunciation dwelt…

I examine how American students respond to foreign instructors, who teach English Composition and Research Writing. I discuss how minority teacher's cultural, lingual, and ethnic differences interfere with classroom dynamics in the United States. I rely on my experiences as a Turkish instructor of composition at the University of Wisconsin,…

To offset uncertainty about using the language they have to teach, nonnative teachers of English adopt either a deeply pessimistic or an aggressive attitude toward their work. The latter type is more common. These teachers would gain confidence by admitting that they are also students of the language. (Author/MSE)

This paper specifically focuses on the balance between local dialect and the language standard through the examination of generational markers reflecting upheaval and social transformation, as presented from a case study from Denmark, conducted over 8 years in three field trips. Generation is redefined as experiencing specific socio-historical…

This inaugural issue of the journal concerning education programs for refugees in the United States contains 20 articles dealing with teaching English as a second language (ESL) and cultural orientation. They include "The IESL/CO/PET Program" (Anne Morgan); "Studying Refugees' Languages: A New Approach in Staff Development"…