ABSTRACT
Phonological awareness in the target language is intrinsically tied to 'goodness of second language (L2) pronunciation' in that it entails "implicit knowledge about the phonological system of the target language and its structural properties at the segmental, suprasegmental and phonotactic levels". The phonological inventories of language learners' first and second language have a profound impact on the ease or difficulty of successful oral communication. The degree of individual variation was remarkable and is indicative of a wide range of phonological awareness in a group of otherwise relatively homogenous language learners. Several learner factors influence phonological awareness, including age, aptitude, and motivation. Degree and quality of L2 exposure also affect the extent to which adult L2 speakers master the phonological inventories of their L2s. The transparency of the L2 orthographic system can affect learners' phonological awareness and pronunciation. Unless explicit instruction regarding the spelling system is offered in fairly non-transparent languages, learners may be unaware that they are mispronouncing words.
