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From http://www.eltresearchbites.com/

Anthony Schmidt summarizes Kazuya Saito's 2012 research synthesis of studies investigating the effectiveness of pronunciation instruction. His takeaway: "First, this research synthesis demonstrates that pronunciation instruction, given adequate time, can have a positive effect on the comprehensibility of language learners. ... The authors assert that an ideal time for instruction would be about 1 semester (typically 16 weeks in the US). They also recommend that both segmentals and suprasegmentals can be focused on to the degree that they are important and relevant for the students’ L1, proficiency level, and target language context. In addition, the authors suggest a focus on form in communicative context (FonF) because these studies showed the greatest improvement, especially in free response, came with FonF, and this improvement was often maintained after the study. In general, this means that pronunciation instruction must be pre-planned and embedded in communicative tasks."

Read the full summary at http://www.eltresearchbites.com/201712-pronunciation-instruction-waste-of-time-or-worth-the-effort/