The TSLL 2009 Conference

will be held this year in conjunction with the inaugural conference on

Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching

September 17-19

at Iowa State University's Memorial Union

Gallery Room, 3rd Floor

2229 Lincoln Way, Ames, IA 50011

Invited Speakers

Wayne Dickerson
University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign
Walking the Walk: Integrating the Story of English Phonology

We pedagogical phonologists talk the talk: We assure our students of what we believe, namely, that all the parts of English phonology make up a single, intricate system of subsystems. The problem is that neither our descriptive nor our pedagogical texts present English phonology this way. And I, like many of my colleagues, have not always taught it this way, either. We haven’t walked the walk.

Recently the challenge of moving my pedagogical phonology course to a hybrid format gave me the opportunity to try to practice what I preach. This paper describes how I have come to retell the story of English phonology in a way that is at least truer to its integrated nature than the way I told it before. Walking the walk has been a journey of several years with rough patches along the way. If it were easy, it would be the norm. In retracing some of my steps, I want to show what can be done for our students. The result has been satisfying—a course that is new and interesting even to those who have some background in phonology. But most importantly, it is a course that does a better job now than before to prepare pronunciation teachers, materials developers, and those who want to go on with their study of theoretical or applied phonology.


Tracey Derwing
University of Alberta
Utopian Goals for Pronunciation Teaching

As has often been noted in recent years, pronunciation instruction has received short shrift from researchers and teachers alike. Although there is a small and committed body of individuals who have worked to encourage the incorporation of pronunciation instruction in ESL classes, pronunciation still tends to be the neglected component of many language programs. In this talk, some idealistic goals for pronunciation instruction will be laid out, and suggestions for how the TESOL community might work towards achieving those goals will addressed. Changes to teacher education, increased pronunciation research, optimal use of technology, enhancement of listeners’ skills, and strategies for increasing students’ opportunities to interact with native speakers are identified as potential approaches to meeting students’ communication needs.


Robert Godwin-Jones
Virginia Commonwealth University
Current Trends in Speech Technologies for Language Learning

Advances in speech recognition and analysis present opportunities for the development of electronic language learning environments and for delivery of those applications to learners in new ways. Traditionally, computer applications using speech technologies, such as pronunciation trainers, have used a similar approach, operating within a tightly controlled and limited environment and featuring familiar visual and auditory feedback. Increasingly, there are possibilities for extending such applications through the use of multimedia or game-style interfaces to allow for incorporation of the skill practice into wider and more varied speech contexts. At the same time, the development of Web standards for speech technologies expands the options for Web-delivered applications. Mobile delivery is also becoming a reality, as automatic speech recognition engines have become available for smart phones.