Benefits of Visual Feedback on Segmental Production in the L2 Classroom

Daniel J. Olson, Purdue University While a growing body of research has established the benefits of pronunciation training on second language (L2) production, these benefits have yet to be incorporated into the general skills language classroom in a systematic manner. Furthermore, although relatively new speech analysis software has been shown to be useful in providing visual feedback for L2 suprasegmental (i.e., intonation) production, there is a relative lack of research on its potential implementation for segmental instruction. The current paper presents a systematic analysis of the effectiveness of a visual feedback paradigm (VFP), in an L2 Spanish classroom, as a pedagogical method for pronunciation teaching at the segmental level (i.e., Spanish intervocalic stops). Results demonstrate a significant improvement of L2 stop production relative to a control group receiving traditional pronunciation feedback. Furthermore, findings demonstrate that VFP leads to small incremental gains. Discussion addresses the role of VFP on segmental production and the potential practical implementations of visual feedback in the lower-level, general skills language classroom.