L2 Voices and Materials as Tools in Pronunciation Pedagogy

Abstract

For decades, second and foreign language teaching professionals and their students have contributed to and benefited from a wealth of curriculum materials available to the profession. Despite their ubiquity, however, curriculum materials cannot and should not be considered universal or “one-size-fits-all” in their ability to address and support students’ individual academic and/or professional goals, or the unique course learning outcomes in myriad teaching contexts and settings around the globe (Tomlinson, Lang Teach 45:143–179, 2012). In congruence with recent second language acquisition theory and research (e.g., Douglas Fir Group, Mod Lang J 100:19–47, 2016), the present study applies Bakhtin’s (The dialogic imagination: Four essays by M. M. Bakhtin, University of Texas Press, Austin, 1934/1981) construct of voice and Vygotsky’s (Mind in society: the development of the higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1978) sociocultural theory of psychological processes to examine how materials mediate students’ language learning and development. Exploring the dynamics of the “Mirroring Project” (Lindgren et al., Approaches to accent: the mirroring project. Paper presented at TESOL 2003 International convention & English language expo, Baltimore, MD, 2003; TESOL Video News. http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolvdmis/issues/2013-07-27/6.html. Accessed 3 July 2020, 2013; Tarone, Meyers, Speaking in a second language. John Benjamins, Amsterdam, 2018), this study documents the ways that seven adult learners of English internalize aspects of material tools to further develop features of their English pronunciation, and demonstrates how local, differentiated, and contextualized materials can be used to address individual students’ unique pronunciation needs.