Purpose: This scoping review considers the acoustic features of a clear speech register directed to nonnative listeners known as foreigner-directed speech (FDS). We identify vowel hyperarticulation and low speech rate as the most representative acoustic features of FDS; other features, including wide pitch range and high intensity, are still under…

Mid-20th-century scholars argued that second language (L2) instruction should be rooted in a comparison of the structural characteristics of the first language (L1) and L2. Their enthusiasm for a "scientific" approach to errors reflected the view, based on the contrastive analysis hypothesis (CAH), that learners' difficulties could be…

This monograph discusses the linguistic problems posed by the teaching and learning of non-African languages in multilingual African situations. Chapter 1 identifies and discusses the linguistic problems of foreign language education. Chapter 2 examines (1) the nature of linguistic descriptions, (2) the assumptions underlying contrastive analysis…

Discusses the vowel contrast of the vowel systems of English and Spanish, and concentrates on the difficulties posed by the interference of the English Schwa sound. (GLR)

The sound system of English is described in all its complexity, from the relationship between spelling and pronunciation to the rules of connected speech, focusing on the methods and rationale of teaching pronunciation of English, particularly to English as a second language learners. (CB)

Reviews common pronunciation problems experienced by learners of English as a second language who are native speakers of Vietnamese, Cantonese, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, Greek, and Punjabi. (CB)