Pronunciation research in recent dissertations

Abstract

Abstract This editorial looks at L2 pronunciation dissertations from 2017 and 2018 to see what topics were of interest in research, to examine trends, and to suggest ideas for the future. The largest group of dissertations reflect interest in instruction and instructional interventions. These interventions look at a wide variety of features, types of instruction (e.g., implicit vs. explicit), different L1-L2 combinations, and the importance of materials in teacher training. The next most common topic was perception, followed by prosody (including stress, intonation, tone and fluency) and acquisition. English and Spanish were the most frequently studied L2s, indicating a need for L2 pronunciation in less commonly researched languages.