1st Edition
Assessment in Second Language Pronunciation
Assessment in Second Language Pronunciation highlights the importance of pronunciation in the assessment of second language speaking proficiency. Leading researchers from around the world cover practical issues as well as theoretical principles, enabling the understanding and application of the theory involved in assessment in pronunciation.
Key features of this book include:
- Examination of key criteria in pronunciation assessment, including intelligibility, comprehensibility and accentedness;
- Exploration of the impact of World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca on pronunciation assessment;
- Evaluation of the validity and reliability of testing, including analysis of scoring methodologies;
- Discussion of current and future practice in assessing pronunciation via speech recognition technology.
Assessment in Second Language Pronunciation is vital reading for students studying modules on pronunciation and language testing and assessment.
Introduction - Okim Kang and April Ginther
Part 1: Current Issues in Pronunciation Assessment
- Measurement of Accentedness, Intelligibility, and Comprehensibility - Ron Thomson
- Validity in Pronunciation Assessment - Luke Harding
- Pronunciation Assessment in the Context of World Englishes - Slobadanka Dimova
- Listeners and Raters: Similarities and Differences in Evaluation of Accented Speech - Xun Yan and April Ginther
- Assessing Pronunciation for Research Purposes with Listener-Based Numerical Scales - Daniel R. Isbell
- Pronunciation Features in Rating Criteria - Romy Ghanem and Okim Kang
- Using Speech Processing Technology in Assessing Pronunciation - Alistair Van Moere and Masa Suzuki
- Automated Assessment of Pronunciation in Spontaneous Speech - Anastassia Loukina, Larry Davis, and Xiaoming Xi
Part II: Technology and Pronunciation Assessment
Biography
Okim Kang is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics/TESL at Northern Arizona University, USA.
April Ginther is Associate Professor of Second Language Studies at Purdue University, USA.
"This volume revitalizes the field of second language pronunciation assessment, offering new and diverse scholarly insights on features of pronunciation and how these are perceived and evaluated by listeners and trained raters, on the challenges to test validity posed by shifting pronunciation norms, and on technological advances in measurement. Essential reading for pronunciation researchers, professional language testers and graduate students of language assessment, the book will also be illuminating for ESL teachers and applied linguists more generally."
Catherine Elder, University of Melbourne, Australia
