There are two broad approaches to the research and teaching of second language (L2) pronunciation, so-called ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’, which roughly align with structural and communicative approaches to language research and teaching. A bottom-up approach, explicitly focusing on de-contextualised linguistic forms, is structuralist and describes speech as a series of rules that students from any and all language backgrounds are encouraged to explicitly compare—perhaps first to rules in their own language(s)/dialect(s)—and internalize. Pronunciation textbooks that take this approach (cf. Gilbert, 2012; Grant, 2017) begin with an analysis of the smallest linguistics units, i.e. phonemes, and build to larger linguistic units such as discursive speech patterns. With the exception of including broad and oftentimes ill-defined categories of situational formality or informality, these materials often neglect to include essential social factors of L2 pronunciation such as context, interlocutor, empathy, and nonverbal elements on the meaningful use of L2 forms. Whereas these textbooks are designed to be universal or “one-size-fits-all,” their exclusion of such social factors may thereby not address or support the specific pronunciation needs and academic and/or professional goals of individual students. In consideration of research published since 1979 showing the powerful impact of sociolinguistic context on L2 pronunciation, as well as recent second-language acquisition theoretical frameworks emphasising the role of social and contextual factors in shaping interlanguage (IL) systems (e.g., Douglas Fir Group, 2016), this volume argues that a top-down approach that begins with social context is preferred in both research and teaching of L2 pronunciation. The authors present both previously published and new unpublished findings in interlanguage phonology and variationist sociolinguistic approaches to SLA, including Bakhtinian sociocultural theory, to show how L2 learners who internalize the “voices” (complexes of linguistic and non- linguistic features that embody particular speakers’ emotion, social stance, and group identification) of proficient speakers of the L2 can dramatically (and unconsciously) shift their pronunciation patterns as they enact these voices for their own purposes in unplanned speech. Such studies support the view that the construct of voice and the influence of social contextual factors in SLA are critical in shaping interlanguage systems and raise a number of important pedagogical implications for addressing learning outcomes in L2 pronunciation and intelligibility. The authors then describe in detail top-down approaches to teaching pronunciation, including those engaging language play, role play, and drama techniques. The book ends with a discussion of the Mirroring Project to teaching pronunciation, including the instructional activities that have been used in a variety of teaching and learning settings in the U.S., as an effective top-down pedagogical approach for L2 pronunciation instruction. It documents the way this approach can help L2 Learners modify their L2 pronunciation patterns and improve their intelligibility as they internalize and channel the voices of speakers they have selected as models.

There are two broad approaches to the research and teaching of second language (L2) pronunciation, so-called ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’, which roughly align with structural and communicative approaches to language research and teaching. A bottom-up approach, explicitly focusing on de-contextualised linguistic forms, is structuralist and describes speech as a series of rules that students from any and all language backgrounds are encouraged to explicitly compare—perhaps first to rules in their own language(s)/dialect(s)—and internalize. Pronunciation textbooks that take this approach (cf. Gilbert, 2012; Grant, 2017) begin with an analysis of the smallest linguistics units, i.e. phonemes, and build to larger linguistic units such as discursive speech patterns. With the exception of including broad and oftentimes ill-defined categories of situational formality or informality, these materials often neglect to include essential social factors of L2 pronunciation such as context, interlocutor, empathy, and nonverbal elements on the meaningful use of L2 forms. Whereas these textbooks are designed to be universal or “one-size-fits-all,” their exclusion of such social factors may thereby not address or support the specific pronunciation needs and academic and/or professional goals of individual students. In consideration of research published since 1979 showing the powerful impact of sociolinguistic context on L2 pronunciation, as well as recent second-language acquisition theoretical frameworks emphasising the role of social and contextual factors in shaping interlanguage (IL) systems (e.g., Douglas Fir Group, 2016), this volume argues that a top-down approach that begins with social context is preferred in both research and teaching of L2 pronunciation. The authors present both previously published and new unpublished findings in interlanguage phonology and variationist sociolinguistic approaches to SLA, including Bakhtinian sociocultural theory, to show how L2 learners who internalize the “voices” (complexes of linguistic and non- linguistic features that embody particular speakers’ emotion, social stance, and group identification) of proficient speakers of the L2 can dramatically (and unconsciously) shift their pronunciation patterns as they enact these voices for their own purposes in unplanned speech. Such studies support the view that the construct of voice and the influence of social contextual factors in SLA are critical in shaping interlanguage systems and raise a number of important pedagogical implications for addressing learning outcomes in L2 pronunciation and intelligibility. The authors then describe in detail top-down approaches to teaching pronunciation, including those engaging language play, role play, and drama techniques. The book ends with a discussion of the Mirroring Project to teaching pronunciation, including the instructional activities that have been used in a variety of teaching and learning settings in the U.S., as an effective top-down pedagogical approach for L2 pronunciation instruction. It documents the way this approach can help L2 Learners modify their L2 pronunciation patterns and improve their intelligibility as they internalize and channel the voices of speakers they have selected as models.

There are two broad approaches to the research and teaching of second language (L2) pronunciation, so-called ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’, which roughly align with structural and communicative approaches to language research and teaching. A bottom-up approach, explicitly focusing on de-contextualised linguistic forms, is structuralist and describes speech as a series of rules that students from any and all language backgrounds are encouraged to explicitly compare—perhaps first to rules in their own language(s)/dialect(s)—and internalize. Pronunciation textbooks that take this approach (cf. Gilbert, 2012; Grant, 2017) begin with an analysis of the smallest linguistics units, i.e. phonemes, and build to larger linguistic units such as discursive speech patterns. With the exception of including broad and oftentimes ill-defined categories of situational formality or informality, these materials often neglect to include essential social factors of L2 pronunciation such as context, interlocutor, empathy, and nonverbal elements on the meaningful use of L2 forms. Whereas these textbooks are designed to be universal or “one-size-fits-all,” their exclusion of such social factors may thereby not address or support the specific pronunciation needs and academic and/or professional goals of individual students. In consideration of research published since 1979 showing the powerful impact of sociolinguistic context on L2 pronunciation, as well as recent second-language acquisition theoretical frameworks emphasising the role of social and contextual factors in shaping interlanguage (IL) systems (e.g., Douglas Fir Group, 2016), this volume argues that a top-down approach that begins with social context is preferred in both research and teaching of L2 pronunciation. The authors present both previously published and new unpublished findings in interlanguage phonology and variationist sociolinguistic approaches to SLA, including Bakhtinian sociocultural theory, to show how L2 learners who internalize the “voices” (complexes of linguistic and non- linguistic features that embody particular speakers’ emotion, social stance, and group identification) of proficient speakers of the L2 can dramatically (and unconsciously) shift their pronunciation patterns as they enact these voices for their own purposes in unplanned speech. Such studies support the view that the construct of voice and the influence of social contextual factors in SLA are critical in shaping interlanguage systems and raise a number of important pedagogical implications for addressing learning outcomes in L2 pronunciation and intelligibility. The authors then describe in detail top-down approaches to teaching pronunciation, including those engaging language play, role play, and drama techniques. The book ends with a discussion of the Mirroring Project to teaching pronunciation, including the instructional activities that have been used in a variety of teaching and learning settings in the U.S., as an effective top-down pedagogical approach for L2 pronunciation instruction. It documents the way this approach can help L2 Learners modify their L2 pronunciation patterns and improve their intelligibility as they internalize and channel the voices of speakers they have selected as models.

There are two broad approaches to the research and teaching of second language (L2) pronunciation, so-called ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’, which roughly align with structural and communicative approaches to language research and teaching. A bottom-up approach, explicitly focusing on de-contextualised linguistic forms, is structuralist and describes speech as a series of rules that students from any and all language backgrounds are encouraged to explicitly compare—perhaps first to rules in their own language(s)/dialect(s)—and internalize. Pronunciation textbooks that take this approach (cf. Gilbert, 2012; Grant, 2017) begin with an analysis of the smallest linguistics units, i.e. phonemes, and build to larger linguistic units such as discursive speech patterns. With the exception of including broad and oftentimes ill-defined categories of situational formality or informality, these materials often neglect to include essential social factors of L2 pronunciation such as context, interlocutor, empathy, and nonverbal elements on the meaningful use of L2 forms. Whereas these textbooks are designed to be universal or “one-size-fits-all,” their exclusion of such social factors may thereby not address or support the specific pronunciation needs and academic and/or professional goals of individual students. In consideration of research published since 1979 showing the powerful impact of sociolinguistic context on L2 pronunciation, as well as recent second-language acquisition theoretical frameworks emphasising the role of social and contextual factors in shaping interlanguage (IL) systems (e.g., Douglas Fir Group, 2016), this volume argues that a top-down approach that begins with social context is preferred in both research and teaching of L2 pronunciation. The authors present both previously published and new unpublished findings in interlanguage phonology and variationist sociolinguistic approaches to SLA, including Bakhtinian sociocultural theory, to show how L2 learners who internalize the “voices” (complexes of linguistic and non- linguistic features that embody particular speakers’ emotion, social stance, and group identification) of proficient speakers of the L2 can dramatically (and unconsciously) shift their pronunciation patterns as they enact these voices for their own purposes in unplanned speech. Such studies support the view that the construct of voice and the influence of social contextual factors in SLA are critical in shaping interlanguage systems and raise a number of important pedagogical implications for addressing learning outcomes in L2 pronunciation and intelligibility. The authors then describe in detail top-down approaches to teaching pronunciation, including those engaging language play, role play, and drama techniques. The book ends with a discussion of the Mirroring Project to teaching pronunciation, including the instructional activities that have been used in a variety of teaching and learning settings in the U.S., as an effective top-down pedagogical approach for L2 pronunciation instruction. It documents the way this approach can help L2 Learners modify their L2 pronunciation patterns and improve their intelligibility as they internalize and channel the voices of speakers they have selected as models.

There are two broad approaches to the research and teaching of second language (L2) pronunciation, so-called ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’, which roughly align with structural and communicative approaches to language research and teaching. A bottom-up approach, explicitly focusing on de-contextualised linguistic forms, is structuralist and describes speech as a series of rules that students from any and all language backgrounds are encouraged to explicitly compare—perhaps first to rules in their own language(s)/dialect(s)—and internalize. Pronunciation textbooks that take this approach (cf. Gilbert, 2012; Grant, 2017) begin with an analysis of the smallest linguistics units, i.e. phonemes, and build to larger linguistic units such as discursive speech patterns. With the exception of including broad and oftentimes ill-defined categories of situational formality or informality, these materials often neglect to include essential social factors of L2 pronunciation such as context, interlocutor, empathy, and nonverbal elements on the meaningful use of L2 forms. Whereas these textbooks are designed to be universal or “one-size-fits-all,” their exclusion of such social factors may thereby not address or support the specific pronunciation needs and academic and/or professional goals of individual students. In consideration of research published since 1979 showing the powerful impact of sociolinguistic context on L2 pronunciation, as well as recent second-language acquisition theoretical frameworks emphasising the role of social and contextual factors in shaping interlanguage (IL) systems (e.g., Douglas Fir Group, 2016), this volume argues that a top-down approach that begins with social context is preferred in both research and teaching of L2 pronunciation. The authors present both previously published and new unpublished findings in interlanguage phonology and variationist sociolinguistic approaches to SLA, including Bakhtinian sociocultural theory, to show how L2 learners who internalize the “voices” (complexes of linguistic and non- linguistic features that embody particular speakers’ emotion, social stance, and group identification) of proficient speakers of the L2 can dramatically (and unconsciously) shift their pronunciation patterns as they enact these voices for their own purposes in unplanned speech. Such studies support the view that the construct of voice and the influence of social contextual factors in SLA are critical in shaping interlanguage systems and raise a number of important pedagogical implications for addressing learning outcomes in L2 pronunciation and intelligibility. The authors then describe in detail top-down approaches to teaching pronunciation, including those engaging language play, role play, and drama techniques. The book ends with a discussion of the Mirroring Project to teaching pronunciation, including the instructional activities that have been used in a variety of teaching and learning settings in the U.S., as an effective top-down pedagogical approach for L2 pronunciation instruction. It documents the way this approach can help L2 Learners modify their L2 pronunciation patterns and improve their intelligibility as they internalize and channel the voices of speakers they have selected as models.

There are two broad approaches to the research and teaching of second language (L2) pronunciation, so-called ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’, which roughly align with structural and communicative approaches to language research and teaching. A bottom-up approach, explicitly focusing on de-contextualised linguistic forms, is structuralist and describes speech as a series of rules that students from any and all language backgrounds are encouraged to explicitly compare—perhaps first to rules in their own language(s)/dialect(s)—and internalize. Pronunciation textbooks that take this approach (cf. Gilbert, 2012; Grant, 2017) begin with an analysis of the smallest linguistics units, i.e. phonemes, and build to larger linguistic units such as discursive speech patterns. With the exception of including broad and oftentimes ill-defined categories of situational formality or informality, these materials often neglect to include essential social factors of L2 pronunciation such as context, interlocutor, empathy, and nonverbal elements on the meaningful use of L2 forms. Whereas these textbooks are designed to be universal or “one-size-fits-all,” their exclusion of such social factors may thereby not address or support the specific pronunciation needs and academic and/or professional goals of individual students. In consideration of research published since 1979 showing the powerful impact of sociolinguistic context on L2 pronunciation, as well as recent second-language acquisition theoretical frameworks emphasising the role of social and contextual factors in shaping interlanguage (IL) systems (e.g., Douglas Fir Group, 2016), this volume argues that a top-down approach that begins with social context is preferred in both research and teaching of L2 pronunciation. The authors present both previously published and new unpublished findings in interlanguage phonology and variationist sociolinguistic approaches to SLA, including Bakhtinian sociocultural theory, to show how L2 learners who internalize the “voices” (complexes of linguistic and non- linguistic features that embody particular speakers’ emotion, social stance, and group identification) of proficient speakers of the L2 can dramatically (and unconsciously) shift their pronunciation patterns as they enact these voices for their own purposes in unplanned speech. Such studies support the view that the construct of voice and the influence of social contextual factors in SLA are critical in shaping interlanguage systems and raise a number of important pedagogical implications for addressing learning outcomes in L2 pronunciation and intelligibility. The authors then describe in detail top-down approaches to teaching pronunciation, including those engaging language play, role play, and drama techniques. The book ends with a discussion of the Mirroring Project to teaching pronunciation, including the instructional activities that have been used in a variety of teaching and learning settings in the U.S., as an effective top-down pedagogical approach for L2 pronunciation instruction. It documents the way this approach can help L2 Learners modify their L2 pronunciation patterns and improve their intelligibility as they internalize and channel the voices of speakers they have selected as models.

There are two broad approaches to the research and teaching of second language (L2) pronunciation, so-called ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’, which roughly align with structural and communicative approaches to language research and teaching. A bottom-up approach, explicitly focusing on de-contextualised linguistic forms, is structuralist and describes speech as a series of rules that students from any and all language backgrounds are encouraged to explicitly compare—perhaps first to rules in their own language(s)/dialect(s)—and internalize. Pronunciation textbooks that take this approach (cf. Gilbert, 2012; Grant, 2017) begin with an analysis of the smallest linguistics units, i.e. phonemes, and build to larger linguistic units such as discursive speech patterns. With the exception of including broad and oftentimes ill-defined categories of situational formality or informality, these materials often neglect to include essential social factors of L2 pronunciation such as context, interlocutor, empathy, and nonverbal elements on the meaningful use of L2 forms. Whereas these textbooks are designed to be universal or “one-size-fits-all,” their exclusion of such social factors may thereby not address or support the specific pronunciation needs and academic and/or professional goals of individual students. In consideration of research published since 1979 showing the powerful impact of sociolinguistic context on L2 pronunciation, as well as recent second-language acquisition theoretical frameworks emphasising the role of social and contextual factors in shaping interlanguage (IL) systems (e.g., Douglas Fir Group, 2016), this volume argues that a top-down approach that begins with social context is preferred in both research and teaching of L2 pronunciation. The authors present both previously published and new unpublished findings in interlanguage phonology and variationist sociolinguistic approaches to SLA, including Bakhtinian sociocultural theory, to show how L2 learners who internalize the “voices” (complexes of linguistic and non- linguistic features that embody particular speakers’ emotion, social stance, and group identification) of proficient speakers of the L2 can dramatically (and unconsciously) shift their pronunciation patterns as they enact these voices for their own purposes in unplanned speech. Such studies support the view that the construct of voice and the influence of social contextual factors in SLA are critical in shaping interlanguage systems and raise a number of important pedagogical implications for addressing learning outcomes in L2 pronunciation and intelligibility. The authors then describe in detail top-down approaches to teaching pronunciation, including those engaging language play, role play, and drama techniques. The book ends with a discussion of the Mirroring Project to teaching pronunciation, including the instructional activities that have been used in a variety of teaching and learning settings in the U.S., as an effective top-down pedagogical approach for L2 pronunciation instruction. It documents the way this approach can help L2 Learners modify their L2 pronunciation patterns and improve their intelligibility as they internalize and channel the voices of speakers they have selected as models.