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Wang 2020 Segmental Versus Suprasegmental Which One Is More Important To Teach
Wang 2020 Segmental Versus Suprasegmental Which One Is More Important To Teach
research-article2020
REL0010.1177/0033688220925926RELC JournalWang
Thematic Review
RELC Journal
Segmental versus
2022, Vol. 53(1) 194–202
© The Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/0033688220925926
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to Teach?
Xue Wang
The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Abstract
This article considers the continuing debate in pronunciation instruction (PI) about whether
segmental or suprasegmental features are more important in teaching English to speakers of
other languages. While evidence has accumulated on both sides of the debate, the emergence of
the notion of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) further complicates the issue. This article provides
a review of current research supporting the different views in the segmental/suprasegmental
debate. The review highlights research evidence that examines either the impact of segmental
and suprasegmental features on intelligibility or the effectiveness of teaching these features to
improve intelligibility. A review of this line of research underlines the context-specific nature of
the debate and a third view that blurs the boundary between segmentals and suprasegmentals.
Keywords
Segmental/suprasegmental features, pronunciation instruction, English as a Lingua Franca
Introduction
Against the backdrop of the paradigm shift from a form-based to a communicative
approach in teaching English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL), pronunciation
instruction (PI) has been increasingly integrated into the communicative approach,
where the aim of PI mainly focusses on the intelligibility of the learners’ utterance. The
identification of pronunciation features that influence a speaker’s intelligibility has
become a focus in an emerging body of research into PI in ESL and EFL contexts. Such
features are mainly categorized as either segmental (individual sounds, e.g. vowels, con-
sonants) or suprasegmental (extending over syllables, words, or phrases, e.g. stress,
rhythm, intonation).
Corresponding author:
Xue Wang, The Education University of Hong Kong, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong.
Email: wangxue@eduhk.hk
Wang 195
A longstanding debate has been about whether it is more important to teach segmental
or suprasegmental features as a priority in PI. Two opposing views emerge from this
debate: some purport that suprasegmentals should be given priority in PI as they have a
greater impact on intelligibility (e.g. Tanner and Landon, 2009), whereas some claim the
opposite (e.g. Jenkins, 2002). Zielinski (2015), however, approaches this debate differ-
ently by challenging the assumption that segmental and suprasegmental features are
independent entities. She argues that the two features are both important and should not
always be viewed separately. This review attempts to discuss the three views. First, it
synthesizes the arguments and evidence supporting either segmentals or suprasegmen-
tals as being more important than the other. It then focusses on Zielinski’s (2015: 409)
claim that ‘the segmental/suprasegmental debate is based on a false dichotomy’.
Pedagogical and future research implications are discussed.
Darcy (2016), who reported that only the group instructed in suprasegmentals showed
improvement in intelligibility. This may be because, as the researchers noted, supraseg-
mental-based PI involved communicative contexts, while segmental-based PI only
focussed on the lexical level. That said, the researchers still suggest that suprasegmental
instruction may be more effective in short-term PI interventions. Such studies, however,
are relatively rare in the existing literature. Many studies only support the effectiveness
of suprasegmental-based PI without suggesting its relative effectiveness compared with
segmental-based PI (e.g. Derwing et al., 1997; Derwing et al., 2014; Saito and Saito,
2017; Tanner and Landon, 2009).
categorized into five groups, among which four were segmentals and only one had to do
with suprasegmentals (i.e. the appropriate use of nuclear stress). Noteworthy is that
suprasegmental features such as word stress and intonation that are regarded as substan-
tially important to intelligibility in previous studies (e.g. Hahn, 2004) were categorized
into non-core features by Jenkins (2002).
Discussion
The debate over segmentals and suprasegmentals appears to end in a stalemate among
the different voices and seemingly contradictory evidence, but a look at the literature
198 RELC Journal 53(1)
shows marked heterogeneity in research design among this line of research. The stud-
ies reviewed in this article vary substantially in the scale of study (n=1–75), learners’
L1 background (Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, French being the most common
ones) and research methods such as intervention duration (4 hours to 12 weeks) and
target forms (see Table 1), all of which could affect the results and conclusions of the
study.
The variations emerging from previous findings may be attributable to the diverse L1
backgrounds of participants – learners from different L1s face different opportunities
and challenges stemming from language transfer. For example, as Mandarin has contras-
tive stress at the word-level that is absent in Korean, Mandarin speakers can have an
advantage over Korean speakers in stress processing of English words (Lin et al., 2014).
Different intervention durations and target forms of the instruction may also lead to dif-
ferent results. Therefore, the interpretation of conclusions drawn from previous findings
warrants caution.
The discussion would not be complete or fair without mention of the learning con-
text. Learning context matters in ESL/EFL learning in that it shapes, or at least influ-
ences, learners’ beliefs and decision-making in their English learning trajectory.
Notwithstanding the merits of Jenkins’s (2002) Lingua Franca Core in modifying pro-
nunciation standards for ELF communication, there are foreseeable challenges in the
promotion of the Lingua Franca Core in contexts where the exonormative NS model
prevails. One of these contexts is mainland China, where English is being taught as a
foreign language following an exonormative NS model. The Lingua Franca Core is
proposed to facilitate ELF interactions among speakers of different L1s, whereas
English classrooms in mainland China usually consist of learners with the same L1 who
barely have the opportunity to experience ELF communication. Regarding language
attitudes, Chinese EFL learners generally still prefer the exonormative NS model (e.g.
Fang and Ren, 2018; Kung and Wang, 2019). While it is important for English language
teaching (ELT) practitioners to inform students of the growing trend of ELF, teachers
should support those who aspire to follow the exonormative NS model and inhibit non-
target-like pronunciation features. In this sense, there seems to be no standard answer to
whether it is more important to teach segmentals or suprasegmentals.
Challenging the segmental/suprasegmental dichotomy, Zielinski’s (2015) stand on
this debate opens a new avenue for discussion. Segmentals and suprasegmentals are not
implacable foes but constant companions. They are both an integral part of the pronun-
ciation system that can possibly and positively interact with and build on each other.
Notwithstanding the potential benefits of categorizing learners’ pronunciation features,
the non-target-like pronunciation features can be categorized differently depending on
the perspective from which the analysis is made. The PI process would be unnecessarily
complicated if every non-target-like feature is to be categorized as either segmental or
suprasegmental. There can be a fine line between segmental and suprasegmental issues
for ESL and EFL learners with different L1 pronunciation systems ingrained or imprinted
since birth or even since before birth (i.e. in the womb, where the maternal voice becomes
familiar to the fetus). Instead of viewing the acquisition of segmentals and suprasegmen-
tals as a fundamentally different process, it would be more productive to take a holistic
perspective.
Wang
Notes: n/aa = Participants’ L1s are not reported in the study; n/ab = Intervention duration does not apply because the study only identified pronunciation features
that influence intelligibility with no PI intervention provided.
199
200 RELC Journal 53(1)
Conclusion
The segmental/suprasegmental debate has been a topic of conversation for decades. This
review suggests the debate may not be valid when taken out of context, since learners of
different L1s and learning contexts may have different needs. Putting the segmental/
suprasegmental dichotomy aside, no evidence appears to dispute that both features are
important and that addressing one may also improve aspects of intelligibility related to
the other. While advantages of both segmental- or suprasegmental-based PI are gaining
momentum, the emergence of ELF brings a new dimension to the discussion. The exist-
ing research has almost exclusively had NSs as listeners to judge the intelligibility of
Wang 201
NNSs’ speech, which, however, does not reflect the rapidly growing trend of ELF.
Considerations of ELT call for more research conducted with NNSs as listeners to
accommodate the knowledge base of PI to the changing demographics of English users
in today’s world.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.
ORCID iD
Xue Wang https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0854-6393
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