Pronunciation Assessment

Abstract

Pronunciation assessment serves to place, diagnose, and promote L2 speakers, adjust L2 curriculum, and individualize instruction. The field of L2 pronunciation assessment has evolved over several decades in both focus and purpose. The focus shifted from assessing segmental features (vowels and consonants) of L2 speakers who read passages with targeted phonemes to assessing suprasegmental features (stress, intonation, rhythm) of L2 speakers while they performed authentic‐speaking scenarios. As for the purpose of pronunciation assessment, this has evolved in the sense that unrealistic goals, such as attaining native‐speaker pronunciation, have been replaced by more attainable ones, such as becoming intelligible to others. Today's field of pronunciation assessment encompasses listener‐perceived ratings for identifying degrees of L2 intelligibility. After providing a brief overview of pronunciation assessment, this entry examines theoretical considerations and key research findings and concludes with suggestions for classroom‐based pronunciation assessments, both formative and summative.