A Sound Approach to Language Matters: In Honor of Ocke-Schwen Bohn

The contributions in this Festschrift were written by Ocke’s current and former PhD-students, colleagues and research collaborators. The Festschrift is divided into six sections, moving from the smallest building blocks of language, through gradually expanding objects of linguistic inquiry to the highest levels of description - all of which have formed a part of Ocke’s career, in connection with his teaching and/or his academic productions: “Segments”, “Perception of Accent”, “Between Sounds and Graphemes”, “Prosody”, “Morphology and Syntax” and “Second Language Acquisition”. Each one of these illustrates a sound approach to language matters

Task-based pronunciation teaching and learning of L2 vowels in EFL learners: task complexity effects

[eng] Second language (L2) pronunciation learning in foreign language instructional contexts is particularly challenging due to insufficient quantity and quality of L2 input. Decades of L2 speech acquisition research have demonstrated that L1 phonology exerts a strong influence in L2 phonological learning (Best & Tyler, 2007; Flege & Bohn, 2021). One way to mitigate the effects of L1 phonological interference may be to raise learners’ awareness of the relevant L2 pronunciation targets through tasks that encourage attention to pronunciation within meaning-based interaction. Although form-focused communicative approaches have been gaining interest in pronunciation teaching research (Darcy & Rocca, 2023), few investigations have applied task-based language teaching (TBLT) principles, which involve real-world processes of language use, to L2 pronunciation learning (Gurzynski-Weiss et al., 2017a). So far, none have assessed gains in L2 vowel perception, lexical encoding and production for the same participants after a pedagogical intervention. Furthermore, studies investigating whether the predictions of the Cognition Hypothesis (Robinson, 2011b) can extend to L2 phonology are relatively scarce. This doctoral dissertation seeks to contribute to task-based pronunciation teaching (TBPT) research by (1) examining the effectiveness of task design manipulation and (2) exploring the effects of increased task complexity on the pronunciation of two difficult English vowel contrasts (/iː-ɪ/, /æ-ʌ/); (3) assessing to what extent individual differences may mediate L2 vowel performance and gains; and (4) obtaining learners’ perceptions of TBPT and L2 vowel learning. A total of 92 bilingual Catalan/Spanish learners of English were divided into two experimental groups and a control group. Sixty-three experimental learners carried out 20 dyadic problem-solving tasks over 7 weeks. Participants were assigned to either simple (N=31) or complex (N=32) cognitive task complexity groups depending on the number of reasoning demands along resource-directing dimensions the tasks involved. Task completion required the distinction of the target minimal pairs (e.g., bean-bin, cat-cut), which learners were exposed to during the pre-task and consolidated in the post-task. Improvement in L2 vowel perception and lexical encoding was gauged through ABX discrimination and forced lexical choice and lexical decision tasks (accuracy and reaction time) respectively, and in production though delayed word and sentence repetition tasks (Mahalanobis distances between contrastive vowels and between non-native and native speakers’ productions). Additionally, we calculated the occurrence of pronunciation- focused language related episodes (P-LRE) and assessed learners’ individual differences in L2 experience, L2 proficiency, working memory and auditory selective attention. Results showed that the TBPT intervention enhanced the discrimination and lexical encoding of L2 vowel contrasts, and resulted in significantly more distinct and accurate vowel productions when they were elicited in words in isolation and sentences. Gains in vowel discrimination and vowel quality generalized to untaught lexical contexts and were retained 11 weeks after the intervention. Although simple and complex task groups improved L2 pronunciation after the TBPT intervention, performing cognitively demanding tasks led to greater long-term gains in the discrimination, lexical encoding and production of L2 vowels than performing simple tasks. However, increased task complexity did not have a significant impact on the frequency and duration of P-LRE. As for individual differences, working memory and selective attention explained larger inter- individual variation in L2 vowel performance than English experience, but learner factors were only weakly associated to L2 vowel gains. Last, learners expressed a general sense of enjoyment and learning after the TBPT intervention, but self-perceived L2 pronunciation improvement was especially evident in the complex group. Globally, the present study suggests that orienting learners’ attention to phonological form during oral communication is beneficial for L2 pronunciation development, and paves the way for further research in task design and manipulation so as to promote pedagogical practices for pronunciation learning in foreign language classrooms.[cat] L’objectiu principal de la tesi doctoral és examinar l'efectivitat de manipular el disseny de tasques i els efectes de l'increment de la complexitat de les tasques en la pronunciació de dos contrastos vocàlics difícils de l'anglès (/iː-ɪ/, /æ-ʌ/) com a segona llengua (L2). També pretén investigar en quina mesura les diferències individuals poden interferir en la percepció/producció i en els guanys de les vocals de la L2, i obtenir les percepcions dels aprenents sobre l'aprenentatge de la pronunciació a través de tasques comunicatives (TBPT). Noranta-dos aprenents d’anglès bilingües català/castellà es van dividir en dos grups experimentals i un grup de control. Seixanta-tres aprenents experimentals van completar 20 tasques en parelles durant 7 setmanes i es van assignar a grups de complexitat cognitiva simple (N=31) o complexa (N=32). Millores en la percepció de les vocals de la L2 i la codificació lèxica es van mesurar mitjançant tasques de discriminació ABX i de decisió lèxica, respectivament, i millores en producció a través de tasques de repetició de paraules i frases amb demora. També es van avaluar les diferències individuals dels aprenents en relació a l’experiència en L2 i factors cognitius. Els resultats van mostrar que la intervenció TBPT va millorar la discriminació i la codificació lèxica dels contrastos vocàlics en L2, i va generar produccions vocàliques significativament més dissemblants i precises tant en paraules aïllades com en frases. Aquest aprenentatge es va generalitzar a nous contextos lèxics i es va mantenir 11 setmanes després de la intervenció. A més, realitzar tasques cognitivament exigents va produir més guanys a llarg termini en la discriminació, codificació lèxica i producció de les vocals de la L2 que realitzar tasques simples. Els factors cognitius van explicar una major variabilitat interindividual en la percepció/producció de les vocals de la L2 que l’experiència en anglès, però no van estar associats als guanys obtinguts a partir de la intervenció. Finalment, els estudiants van manifestar la seva percepció d'haver gaudit i après amb la intervenció TBPT. L’estudi conclou amb suggeriments per a futures investigacions i recomanacions pedagògiques per a l’ensenyament de la pronunciació a les aules de llengua estrangera

Task-based pronunciation teaching and learning of L2 vowels in EFL learners: task complexity effects

Programa de Doctorat en Ciència Cognitiva i Llenguatge[eng] Second language (L2) pronunciation learning in foreign language instructional contexts is particularly challenging due to insufficient quantity and quality of L2 input. Decades of L2 speech acquisition research have demonstrated that L1 phonology exerts a strong influence in L2 phonological learning (Best & Tyler, 2007; Flege & Bohn, 2021). One way to mitigate the effects of L1 phonological interference may be to raise learners’ awareness of the relevant L2 pronunciation targets through tasks that encourage attention to pronunciation within meaning-based interaction. Although form-focused communicative approaches have been gaining interest in pronunciation teaching research (Darcy & Rocca, 2023), few investigations have applied task-based language teaching (TBLT) principles, which involve real-world processes of language use, to L2 pronunciation learning (Gurzynski-Weiss et al., 2017a). So far, none have assessed gains in L2 vowel perception, lexical encoding and production for the same participants after a pedagogical intervention. Furthermore, studies investigating whether the predictions of the Cognition Hypothesis (Robinson, 2011b) can extend to L2 phonology are relatively scarce. This doctoral dissertation seeks to contribute to task-based pronunciation teaching (TBPT) research by (1) examining the effectiveness of task design manipulation and (2) exploring the effects of increased task complexity on the pronunciation of two difficult English vowel contrasts (/iː-ɪ/, /æ-ʌ/); (3) assessing to what extent individual differences may mediate L2 vowel performance and gains; and (4) obtaining learners’ perceptions of TBPT and L2 vowel learning. A total of 92 bilingual Catalan/Spanish learners of English were divided into two experimental groups and a control group. Sixty-three experimental learners carried out 20 dyadic problem-solving tasks over 7 weeks. Participants were assigned to either simple (N=31) or complex (N=32) cognitive task complexity groups depending on the number of reasoning demands along resource-directing dimensions the tasks involved. Task completion required the distinction of the target minimal pairs (e.g., bean-bin, cat-cut), which learners were exposed to during the pre-task and consolidated in the post-task. Improvement in L2 vowel perception and lexical encoding was gauged through ABX discrimination and forced lexical choice and lexical decision tasks (accuracy and reaction time) respectively, and in production though delayed word and sentence repetition tasks (Mahalanobis distances between contrastive vowels and between non-native and native speakers’ productions). Additionally, we calculated the occurrence of pronunciation- focused language related episodes (P-LRE) and assessed learners’ individual differences in L2 experience, L2 proficiency, working memory and auditory selective attention. Results showed that the TBPT intervention enhanced the discrimination and lexical encoding of L2 vowel contrasts, and resulted in significantly more distinct and accurate vowel productions when they were elicited in words in isolation and sentences. Gains in vowel discrimination and vowel quality generalized to untaught lexical contexts and were retained 11 weeks after the intervention. Although simple and complex task groups improved L2 pronunciation after the TBPT intervention, performing cognitively demanding tasks led to greater long-term gains in the discrimination, lexical encoding and production of L2 vowels than performing simple tasks. However, increased task complexity did not have a significant impact on the frequency and duration of P-LRE. As for individual differences, working memory and selective attention explained larger inter- individual variation in L2 vowel performance than English experience, but learner factors were only weakly associated to L2 vowel gains. Last, learners expressed a general sense of enjoyment and learning after the TBPT intervention, but self-perceived L2 pronunciation improvement was especially evident in the complex group. Globally, the present study suggests that orienting learners’ attention to phonological form during oral communication is beneficial for L2 pronunciation development, and paves the way for further research in task design and manipulation so as to promote pedagogical practices for pronunciation learning in foreign language classrooms.[cat] L’objectiu principal de la tesi doctoral és examinar l'efectivitat de manipular el disseny de tasques i els efectes de l'increment de la complexitat de les tasques en la pronunciació de dos contrastos vocàlics difícils de l'anglès (/iː-ɪ/, /æ-ʌ/) com a segona llengua (L2). També pretén investigar en quina mesura les diferències individuals poden interferir en la percepció/producció i en els guanys de les vocals de la L2, i obtenir les percepcions dels aprenents sobre l'aprenentatge de la pronunciació a través de tasques comunicatives (TBPT). Noranta-dos aprenents d’anglès bilingües català/castellà es van dividir en dos grups experimentals i un grup de control. Seixanta-tres aprenents experimentals van completar 20 tasques en parelles durant 7 setmanes i es van assignar a grups de complexitat cognitiva simple (N=31) o complexa (N=32). Millores en la percepció de les vocals de la L2 i la codificació lèxica es van mesurar mitjançant tasques de discriminació ABX i de decisió lèxica, respectivament, i millores en producció a través de tasques de repetició de paraules i frases amb demora. També es van avaluar les diferències individuals dels aprenents en relació a l’experiència en L2 i factors cognitius. Els resultats van mostrar que la intervenció TBPT va millorar la discriminació i la codificació lèxica dels contrastos vocàlics en L2, i va generar produccions vocàliques significativament més dissemblants i precises tant en paraules aïllades com en frases. Aquest aprenentatge es va generalitzar a nous contextos lèxics i es va mantenir 11 setmanes després de la intervenció. A més, realitzar tasques cognitivament exigents va produir més guanys a llarg termini en la discriminació, codificació lèxica i producció de les vocals de la L2 que realitzar tasques simples. Els factors cognitius van explicar una major variabilitat interindividual en la percepció/producció de les vocals de la L2 que l’experiència en anglès, però no van estar associats als guanys obtinguts a partir de la intervenció. Finalment, els estudiants van manifestar la seva percepció d'haver gaudit i après amb la intervenció TBPT. L’estudi conclou amb suggeriments per a futures investigacions i recomanacions pedagògiques per a l’ensenyament de la pronunciació a les aules de llengua estrangera

Proceedings of the 7th International Conference English Pronunciation: Issues and Practices (EPIP 7): [on line]

This is the online, compiled proceedings from the 7th International Conference English Pronunciation: Issues and Practices (EPIP 7) which was held May 18–20, 2022 at Université Grenoble-Alpes, France. It includes 23 double-blind, peer-reviewed chapters written by authors from several countries, an introduction and a thematic index, and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. (To view a copy of the license, please go to: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field