Ron Thomson, Tracey Derwing and Michael Karas with Juli Cebrian, Dustin Crowther, Jonás Fouz-González, Amanda Huensch, Solene Inceoglu, Johnathan Jones, Okim Kang, John Levis, Ines Martin, Joan Mora, Charlie Nagle, Takumi Uchihara, Lynda Yates and Beth Zielinski: Blue sky thinking about the future of pronunciation!
My Session Status
What:
Keynote
When:
3:30 PM, Friday 17 Oct 2025
(30 minutes)
Where:
Concordia University John Molson Building
- MB 1.210
with live captions in French
This PSLLT conference hosted a unique event in which accomplished pronunciation scholars from around the world were invited to offer their views on the best directions forward for both pronunciation teaching and research for the next decade. A day-long session was held in which the participants blue-skied their thoughts on the future (blue sky thinking is a brainstorming approach that encourages exploring ideas without immediate limitations or practical constraints). Their recommendations included the most pressing research going forward, the best paths for both explicit teaching and autonomous pronunciation practice, and ways to enhance learning opportunities for language teachers still unable to access the training they know they need. Participants responded to the following questions sent in advance: What do you see as the most important accomplishments so far in second language pronunciation research? What do you see as the most important accomplishments so far in pronunciation teaching? In an ideal world, with all the money needed available, all the time you need, and access to participants, what pronunciation research project would you like to do? What role can AI play in pronunciation teaching and research? How can pronunciation instruction be made more engaging? Please contact a teacher who includes pronunciation in their classes. Ask them what they would like to know from researchers. What are the primary obstacles for teachers in terms of integrating pronunciation into the classroom? How can these obstacles be addressed?
Each individual or pairs of individuals were also assigned topics in their own areas of research upon which to focus (e.g., assessment; technology; classroom-based instruction) which they summarized for the other participants. The results of this event will be summarized in a single document to be submitted to an applied linguistics journal. Representatives of the group will present the outcomes of the Blue Sky event to the attendees of the PSLLT conference.
This PSLLT conference hosted a unique event in which accomplished pronunciation scholars from around the world were invited to offer their views on the best directions forward for both pronunciation teaching and research for the next decade. A day-long session was held in which the participants blue-skied their thoughts on the future (blue sky thinking is a brainstorming approach that encourages exploring ideas without immediate limitations or practical constraints). Their recommendations included the most pressing research going forward, the best paths for both explicit teaching and autonomous pronunciation practice, and ways to enhance learning opportunities for language teachers still unable to access the training they know they need. Participants responded to the following questions sent in advance: What do you see as the most important accomplishments so far in second language pronunciation research? What do you see as the most important accomplishments so far in pronunciation teaching? In an ideal world, with all the money needed available, all the time you need, and access to participants, what pronunciation research project would you like to do? What role can AI play in pronunciation teaching and research? How can pronunciation instruction be made more engaging? Please contact a teacher who includes pronunciation in their classes. Ask them what they would like to know from researchers. What are the primary obstacles for teachers in terms of integrating pronunciation into the classroom? How can these obstacles be addressed?
Each individual or pairs of individuals were also assigned topics in their own areas of research upon which to focus (e.g., assessment; technology; classroom-based instruction) which they summarized for the other participants. The results of this event will be summarized in a single document to be submitted to an applied linguistics journal. Representatives of the group will present the outcomes of the Blue Sky event to the attendees of the PSLLT conference.
