Discourse Intonation in L2: From theory and research to practice(1 Language Learning & Language Teaching)

Intonation, rhythm, and general “melody” of language are among the first aspects of speech that infants attend to and produce themselves. Yet, these same features are among the last to be mastered by adult L2 learners. Why is this, and how can L2 learners be helped? This book first presents the latest linguistic theories of intonation, in particular, how intonation functions in discourse not only to signal sentence types and attitudinal meanings but also to provide turn-taking and other conversational cues. The second part of the book examines the research in applied linguistics on the acquisition of L2 phonology and intonation. The third section offers practical applications of how to incorporate the teaching of intonation into L2 instruction, with a focus on using new speech technologies. The accompanying CD-ROM makes a unique addition in allowing for simultaneous audio playback and visual display of the pitch contours of utterances contained in the book. Users can start or stop the playback at any point in the utterance and can observe first-hand how such visual and audio representations could be useful for L2 learners.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction; 2. Part I. Linguistic Theory: Intonation in L1; 3. 1. Intonation, suprasegmentals, prosody; 4. 2. Phonological organization of prosody: Theories of intonation; 5. 3. Meaning and function of intonation; 6. Part II. Applied Linguistic Research: Intonation in L2; 7. 4. Research agenda of the past: Structuralism and the first attempts to teach intonation; 8. 5. Research agenda for the present and future: Communicative proficiency and discourse intonation; 9. Part III. From theory to practice: Teaching discourse intonation; 10. 6. Teaching stress and rhythm; 11. 7. Teaching discourse intonation; 12. Bibliography; 13. Subject index; 14. Author index

Review :
The book has a very readable style and provides theoretical foundations for its practical applications. To demonstrate crosslinguistic contrasts in prosodic elements, reference is made to German, French, Spanish, and Chinese, in addition to English. This also emphasizes that the role of technology in teaching intonation and the importance of natural contextualized speech input are applicable to the teaching of languages other than English. The CD-ROM brings to life the complexities of intonation, highlights the contribution of technology in this field, and underscores the need to raise awareness of the patterns and functions as well as the need to teach prosody in context using natural speech samples. The content of the book is accessible to nonspecialists and will be particular interest to language teachers and researchers in L2 speech, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics. I read Dorothy Chun’s book with pleasure. I particularly liked the acoustic waveforms, amplitude curves and pitch tracks which accompany the examples in this part. In short, the book has my full endorsement. I would encourage all applied linguists and language teachers to read it and take its message to heart. Dorothy Chun’s book ‘Discourse intonation in L2’ is an invaluable resource for second and foreign language instructors who teach pronunciation and oral skills, for professionals who train such language teachers, and for researchers who are working on the acquisition of suprasegmentals — intonation in particular. The book covers theories of intonation, research on the acquisition of suprasegmentals — intonation in particular, and ways of teaching intonation as part of L2 instruction. It is well written and easy to read, which should encourage many L2 teacher training programs to use it. This book demonstrates a strong command of the literature of intonation; it is well organized and well written and should be accessible to any academic with an interest in discourse intonation, in addition to those interested in applying this knowledge to language teaching. A unique and original work that fills a need. I find the book to be a sound overview of prosodic theory and an intensive evaluation of its applications to second language contexts. Dorothy Chun covers the range of intonational models, their symbolization, and how elements of stress, rhythm, and intonation can be recognized by teachers and by learners in L1 and L2 discourse. From the data that Chun has gathered, it seems that a fruitful path for teaching intonation may focus on perception and appropriate responses on the part of the learner. The work of Van Patten et al. focusing on the role of input processing for both comprehension and production appears relevant, but Chun's work suggests research in a number of directions. Indeed, a major strength of this book is that it outlines areas for further study in L2 teaching. This is a very impressive monograph for several reasons. First, it is a highly readable text. The book is very thorough, covering the topic of intonation from a variety of disciplines. Chun synthesizes the literature well, and the reader is left with a comprehensive idea of the state of the field. The book is well written for its intended audience. The practical application of theory and the clear transition from theory to practice is appropriate. The CD-ROM is a nice bonus, as it provides examples of how the software that Chun advocates looks and sounds. A unique contribution to the literature on teaching pronunciation in L2, this book uses the research done over the years on intonation, and particularly on discourse intonation, as a starting point for a discussion of how to teach discourse intonation in L2. It is comprehensive, well-researched, very well written and the author shows a good command of the field of intonation (plus stress and rhythm) in its descriptive/theoretical and applied dimensions.