Plenary Speakers
 

 

Tracey Derwing, University of Alberta
Murray Munro, Simon Fraser University
Putting accent it its place: Rethinking obstacles to communication

One of the most salient aspects of speech is accent–either dialectal differences attributable to region or class, or phonological variations resulting from L1 influence on the L2. Our primary concern is with the latter, because of the strong social, psychological, and communicative consequences of speaking with an L2 accent. The decline of audiolingualism led to a concomitant marginalization of pronunciation research and teaching. It was believed that pronunciation instruction could not be effective, in part because of the unrealistic goal of native-like speech in L2 learners, and also because of research findings that suggested that instruction had a negligible impact on oral production. The recent revival of interest in pronunciation research has brought a change of focus away from native-like models toward easy intelligibility. The effects of this change have yet to be fully realized in L2 classrooms. However, many L2 students themselves are keenly interested in pronunciation instruction, a fact not lost on individuals who have recognized a lucrative marketing niche in ‘accent reduction/elimination’ programs that may do more harm than good. Our presentation will relate the core issues of intelligibility, identity, social evaluation, and discrimination to appropriate pronunciation pedagogy for L2 learners.

Tracey Derwing is a professor of TESL in Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta, and a Co-Director of the Prairie Metropolis Centre: A Centre for Research on Immigration, Integration and Diversity. Together with Murray Munro, she has conducted extensive research on second language learners’ pronunciation and oral fluency, focusing on how accent interferes with intelligibility, and how pedagogy can be most effective in addressing pronunciation problems. She has also examined the negative effects of modifications native speakers make when addressing low proficiency L2 learners. Along with colleagues, Tracey has conducted large studies on the settlement experiences of refugees as well as the attraction and retention of immigrants. Her publications appear in journals such as Language Learning, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Applied Linguistics and TESOL Quarterly. She has served as a co-editor of the Canadian Modern Language Review and the TESL Canada Journal. Tracey has worked with immigrant serving agencies for years to improve conditions for ESL students. She has received lifetime achievement awards from her province’s organization, ATESL, and from TESL Canada.

Email: tracey.derwing@ualberta.ca

Web URL: http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/edpsychology/nav03.cfm?nav03=14366&nav02=14211&nav01=13954


Murray Munro is a Professor of Linguistics and Director of TESL at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, and a former co-editor of the TESL Canada Journal. He began his career as an instructor of adult ESL before completing graduate studies in speech production and perception with Terrance Nearey and working as a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow with James Flege. His research, much of it carried out with Tracey Derwing, has appeared in more than 20 journals covering the speech sciences, language teaching, and applied linguistics. He is interested in all aspects of L2 speech, especially age and accent, the role of accents in communication, and the social evaluation of L2 speakers. John Benjamins recently published his co-edited volume with Ocke-Schwen Bohn entitled “Language Experience in Second Language Speech Learning,” based on the 1st ASA workshop on second language speech learning, which he organized in 2005. Murray has received extensive research funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. At Simon Fraser University, he was the recipient of the Dean’s Medal for academic excellence.

Email: mjmunro@sfu.ca

Web URL: http://www.sfu.ca/~mjmunro/