The longitudinal impact of self-reflection and integrated pronunciation instruction on L2 French learners’ production of /y/ and /u/

Abstract

Abstract Although pronunciation can be fostered through explicit instruction, instructors need practical strategies to support their learners’ pronunciation (Darcy, 2018; Derwing, 2018; Derwing & Munro, 2015; Levis, 2018). Additionally, “researching longitudinal development of L2 learners [pronunciation] is essential to understanding influences in their success” (Derwing & Munro, 2013, p.163). This three-semester-long experimental quantitative study on 72 French learners examined whether self-reflection (open-ended questionnaires) as a learning strategy could complement integrated explicit pronunciation instruction and support the development of intelligible production of the two contrastive vowels /y/ and /u/. Results on pre/post read-aloud tests surrounding pronunciation lessons were compared between a treatment (instruction + self-reflection), a comparison (instruction only) and a control group (neither instruction, nor self-reflection), and within each group to determine if there was significant growth over time. Findings revealed that self-reflection combined with explicit instruction led to better learning outcomes and production gains when compared to oral natural input.