Second Language Speech Learning: Theoretical and Empirical Progress

Description

Including contributions from a team of world-renowned international scholars, this volume is a state-of-the-art survey of second language speech research, showcasing new empirical studies alongside critical reviews of existing influential speech learning models. It presents a revised version of Flege's Speech Learning Model (SLM-r) for the first time, an update on a cornerstone of second language research. Chapters are grouped into five thematic areas: theoretical progress, segmental acquisition, acquiring suprasegmental features, accentedness and acoustic features, and cognitive and psychological variables. Every chapter provides new empirical evidence, offering new insights as well as challenges on aspects of the second language speech acquisition process. Comprehensive in its coverage, this book summarises the state of current research in second language phonology, and aims to shape and inspire future research in the field. It is an essential resource for academic researchers and students of second language acquisition, applied linguistics and phonetics and phonology.

Ratree Wayland is Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Florida. She has published extensively on cross-language perception and production of lexical tones.

'Striking a good balance between theoretical arguments and empirical findings, this book offers linguistic perspectives on second language (L2) speech learning, which can inform applied linguistics in L2 speech research.' Okim Kang, Professor of TESL / Applied Linguistics, North Arizona University 'Containing the revised version of one of the field's most influential models, a series of empirical studies, and review chapters on a wide variety of topics, and even practical guidelines for L2 speech researchers, this book sets a new landmark in L2 speech research.' Juli Cebrian, Associate Professor, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona