This study examined the speech of 30 adult learners of French as a second language (L2) in a 15‐week listening/speaking course, investigating the relationship between learners' pronunciation development and their pronunciation awareness, measured through learners' conceptions of learning. The course targeted segmental and suprasegmental aspects, including connected speech processes (enchaînement, liaison), intonation, and fluency. Learners wrote weekly journals eliciting measures of pronunciation awareness and completed read‐aloud and picture description tasks at the course's beginning and end. Speech was analyzed through seven measures, including fluency and segmental and suprasegmental accuracy. Results showed significant improvements in learners' segmental production, enchaînement, and some aspects of intonation and fluency. Several variables were associated with pronunciation awareness measures. Results are discussed in light of L2 pronunciation development and instruction‐awareness links.

This study examined the relationship between targeted pronunciation instruction in French as a second language (L2) and listener-based ratings of accent, comprehensibility, and fluency. The ratings by 20 French listeners evaluating the speech of 30 adult L2 French learners enrolled in a 15-week listening and speaking course targeting segments, prosody, fluency, and connected speech processes (e.g., liaison, enchainment) were compared before and after instruction in read-aloud and extemporaneous (picture description) speaking tasks. Results showed that the learners improved in all speech ratings, especially in extemporaneous speaking. Results also revealed that accent ratings were linked to prosody (intonation accuracy, pitch range), while fluency and comprehensibility ratings were additionally linked to fluency phenomena (length of fluent run, hesitation rate). These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for L2 pronunciation learning and links between instruction, listener-rated dimensions of speech, and performance in different tasks.

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The Challenge Accurate self-assessment is a key skill characterizing self-regulated, autonomous language students. However, many students find it particularly challenging to self-assess their second language pronunciation. What activities can second language teachers of French implement to help their students become accurate at evaluating how accented, comprehensible, and fluent they are in French?

Le cinéma muet au Québec et au Canada : nouveaux regards sur une pratique culturelle Volume 6, numéro 1, automne 1995 URI : id.erudit.org/iderudit/1000958ar