Pronouncing English clusters may be challenging for Arab English learners. Technology-based strategies can be used to improve their pronunciation of English consonant clusters. This study examined how high variability phonetic training (HVPT) can be used to improve the pronunciation of consonant clusters among English as a foreign language (EFL)…

Persuasiveness in oral communication in English can be expressed with various vocal phonetic cues that may not be readily accessible to English second language (L2) learners whose native language may employ a different set of cues. With a goal to increase L2 learners' perceived spoken confidence and persuasiveness, and obtain empirical evidence…

Purpose: Phonetic training has been found to be an effective way on second language (L2) learning, but the evidence is not conclusive regarding the effectiveness of different instructional approaches and possible interactions between language learners, training features, and outcome measures. This study aims to meta-analyze existing studies to…

The current study investigates the influence of L2 English learners' belief about their interlocutor's English proficiency on phonetic accommodation and explores whether interaction-induced phonetic convergence could improve L2 English learners' vowel pronunciation. Results from two experiments show that when the subjects believed that their…

This article explores the potential of phonetic symbols in pronunciation teaching/learning, with a focus on English language teaching (ELT). After a brief contextualisation of current views of pronunciation instruction in the second-language (L2) teaching literature, the article reviews some of the potential advantages of, conditions for, and…

Mastering the phonological aspects of a second language (L2) poses significant challenges for adult learners, often affecting their intelligibility in acquiring that language (Derwing, Munro, & Wiebe, 1998). McAllister (1997) has highlighted L2 learners' struggles in perceiving and producing novel segmental features, which is corroborated by…

The effects of international phonetic alphabet (IPA) instruction on English as a foreign language (EFL) adult learners' pronunciation have been well-recognized. However, not many studies on the topic were conducted in the Vietnamese context. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate (1) the impact of IPA learning on Vietnamese EFL adult…

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,…

The expansion of the English language produced by non-native speakers has, in recent decades, been discussed by applied linguists from various theoretical perspectives. The discussion has highlighted evidence showing that the multiplicity and diversity of English uses have given rise to an acceleration in the rate of inter-variety contacts where…

When it comes to learning an additional language, it is important that teachers prepare students to communicate with different speakers, respecting and understanding the different English-accented speeches around the world. This article helps English teachers from different parts of the world embrace language variation in their lessons,…

Vocabulary learning that overlooks the discrimination of single sounds in English language learning could lead to communication difficulties, such as the inability to hear and speak English pronunciation. To address this issue, vocalization strategy, in which students listen to the sounds of words and memorize them aloud, is considered a useful…

The aim of the paper is to present the findings of an empirical study which contributes to the ongoing research into gender effects on second language acquisition by exploring a biological influence on L2 pronunciation learning. One of the most frequent arguments used to vindicate single-sex education is that there are substantial sensory and…

High-Variability Phonetic Training (HVPT) has demonstrated effectiveness in second language (L2) acquisition. This study utilizes a meta-analysis to explore the influence of high variability on learning L2 pronunciation and identifies the factors that moderate this impact. The studies were collected using a keyword search in the SCOPUS database.…

This study investigated how th (/ð / and /?/) sounds could be improved if opportunities were provided to EFL learners in the Final International University in Kyrenia, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Twelve preparatory students were worked with and the data were gathered through interviews and a pronunciation test. The aim of the test was…

The acquisition of a sound system is an integral component of second language (L2) communication, yet it is one of the most difficult skills to teach and is therefore largely ignored in L2 classrooms (Derwing, 2010). In laboratory settings, phonetic training studies have typically examined syllables, rather than words, with no referential meaning.…