Vance Schaefer
Associate Professor of Modern Languages
Phone Number:
Email: schaefer@olemiss.edu
http://modernlanguages.olemiss.edu/vance-schaefer/

Key Words: Second language phonology, pronunciation pedagogy, teaching language variation, World Englishes

Research Description: I research the influence of lexically-contrastive pitch in the first language (L1) on the naïve and second language (L2) perception of non-native lexically-contrastive pitch. I extend this research to the teaching of pronunciation (pedagogical phonology) to English as a Second Language (ESL) and Japanese as a Foreign Language (JFL) students by focusing on the influence of their L1 on their perception and production of suprasegmentals such as English word stress or Japanese pitch accent. I am also interested in the variety of accents in English and Japanese examined within the framework of L2 phonology theory (cf., "second dialect"). I have begun to widen the scope of my interest in L2 phonology to the possible role of accent exposure in boosting learners' awareness of L2 pronunciation and in aiding learners in creating an L2 identity. More recently, I have been working on the teaching of language variation to L2 learners and the teaching of less commonly taught languages (LCTLs).

Honors Theses:

Douglas, Chandler (2021) The Effect of Dialect on Lexical Recall (full text)

Crosby, Caleb (2020) Adding Production to High Variability Phonetic Training (full text)