The CATESOL Journal

Individual differences (IDs) refer to the cognitive, affective, and experiential factors which determine variability in language learning.  While ID research has had a strong appearance in second language acquisition, its presence in L2 pronunciation research has been sporadic.  This study investigated a range of IDs, including cognitive (phonological short-term memory), affective (motivation and anxiety) and experiential (age, length of residence and English use) on pronunciation production.  Speech data were collected from twenty ESL learners, and their patterns of segmental and suprasegmental performance were measured.  Results of linear mixed effect modeling demonstrated an overall negative effect of age, an overall positive effect of motivation and L2 English use, and a dynamic and complex effect of phonological short-term memory, anxiety, and length of residence.  Implications are discussed with respect to how IDs can be considered in pronunciation teaching and learning.