The current study investigated the effects of repetition on the learning of second language (L2) spoken word forms. Japanese university students learning L2 English were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions (one, three, and six exposures) and learned 40 words while hearing them and viewing their corresponding pictures. A…

Teacher cognition has attracted increased attention among second language (L2) researchers and practitioners, likely because of its potential consequences for classroom practices, such as teaching and assessment. Prior research has revealed links between teacher beliefs about pronunciation teaching and teachers' own experience (e.g. amount of…

This study examined how mode of input affects the learning of pronunciation and form-meaning connection of second language (L2) words. Seventy-five Japanese learners of English were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions (reading while listening, reading only, listening only), studied 40 low-frequency words while viewing their corresponding…

Interactive alignment is a phenomenon whereby interlocutors adopt and re-use each other's language patterns in the course of authentic interaction. According to the interactive alignment model, originally proposed by Pickering & Garrod (2004), this linguistic coordination is one way in which interlocutors achieve understanding in dialogue,…

Explanations for the well-documented second language (L2) learning challenge of the English regular past include verb semantics (Bardovi-Harlig, 2000), phonetic properties (Goad, White, & Steele, 2003), and frequency factors (Collins, Trofimovich, White, Cardoso, & Horst, 2009). Difficulty perceiving past-tense morphology (i.e., hearing…

The current study investigated task effects on listener perception of second language (L2) comprehensibility (ease of understanding). Sixty university-level adult speakers of English from 4 first language (L1) backgrounds (Chinese, Romance, Hindi, Farsi), with 15 speakers per group, were recorded performing 2 tasks (IELTS long-turn speaking task…

The current study explored the occurrence of stress pattern alignment during peer interaction in a second language (L2) classroom. Interactive alignment is a sociocognitive phenomenon in which interlocutors reuse each other's expressions, structures, and pronunciation patterns during conversation. Students (N = 41) enrolled in a…

In recent years, language researchers and teachers have attempted to put meaningful communication at the centre of learners' classroom interactions. Yet the majority of existing computer-assisted language learning (CALL) applications have relied on largely non-communicative learner-computer interactions. The challenge facing CALL developers,…

For many patients throughout the world, access to healthcare depends on the patients" and healthcare providers' ability to communicate efficiently in each other's language. One way to reduce linguistic barriers to healthcare access is to increase the number of linguistically and culturally competent healthcare professionals. Conspicuously…

Situated in the context of learning second language (L2) pronunciation, this article discusses from information-processing and pedagogical perspectives the role of repetitive practice with L2 input and of explicit focus on its form-related (phonological) properties. First, we report the results of an auditory word-priming experiment with 60 L2…

This article examines the relationship between ethnic group affiliation (one's sense of belonging to a primary ethnic group) and second-language (L2) pronunciation accuracy defined here as native-like, nonaccented L2 speech or L2 speech that contains no first language (L1) influences. The study addressed these questions: (a) Is there a…