Applications of Electropalatography in L2 Pronunciation Teaching and Phonetic Research

Abstract

Over the past 50 years, electropalatography (EPG) has been used in many areas of speech therapy and phonetic research. Some attempts have also been made at the application of EPG for foreign accent reduction. In both therapy and foreign accent reduction, however, there remains a lack of randomized controlled experimental studies, which, combined with the inconvenience of manufacturing and wearing artificial palates as well as their high cost, contributes to the still relatively low popularity of electropalatography in all of these fields. The present chapter provides an overview of studies that address the efficacy of EPG in the context of foreign accent reduction and studies in which EPG was used as a source of articulatory data for phonetic research. We also stress the need for experimental studies that would test if there is evidence that EPG may help in speech therapy and foreign accent reduction to the extent that it substantially outweighs the inconveniences and costs of the technology.