Innovation in Language Learning

In the context of second language (L2) teaching and learning, native speakerism has long influenced both student and teacher perceptions of effective instruction [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. This study focuses on the voices of prospective non-native teachers of English as a foreign language to learn their preferences, opinions, and knowledge of L2 pronunciation in relation to their teaching identity. Through the lens of sociocultural theory, it uses a mixed methods explanatory design, where pretest and postest surveys will be administered to undergraduate students majoring in Primary Education and English at several universities of Southern Spain, to examine the extend to which L2 phonological awareness contributes to the development of new personal and social identities. It further examines whether individuals with a strong emotional and cultural affect to their first language (L1) are less likely to undergo such identity changes. This research will resource to R software to carry out the statistical analysis of survey data in search of possible correlations and patterns worth further exploring in semi-structured interviews which, by means of thematic content analysis, will help us deepen our understanding of the participants’ responses and attitudes towards L2 pronunciation teaching. Positive results will confirm a strong correlation between phonological awareness and L2 identity expansion, fortifying an increasing body of literature that fosters conversations of identity in L2 pronunciation teacher training and development. Admittedly, such outcome would inform better pedagogical decision making for teachers to find a fine target between the desire of intelligibility and individuality [7].

Keywords: Language Teacher Identity, LTI, L2 Pronunciation, Sociocultural theory, phonological awareness, non-native teachers, intelligibility.

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