John M Levis

Biographic Data

ID230465
NAMEJohn M Levis
GIVEN NAMESJohn M
FAMILY NAMELevis
SIGNATURELEVIS J M
AFFILIATIONSIowa State University
ORCID0000-0001-7405-5969
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS26
TOTAL CITATIONS113
AUTHOR COUNT26
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR1999
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2026
H-INDEX4

  • English—Issues in Applied Phonology, Phonetics, and Pronunciation

    Open AccessJohn M LevisCHAPTEREncyclopedia of Applied Linguistics2026

    This entry describes key issues in English applied phonology, phonetics, and pronunciation. After a description of the role of English in the world, it describes the sounds and prosody of English, followed by an overview of common challenges in pronunciation for language learners, focusing on segmentals (i.e., consonants and vowels) and suprasegmentals (e.g., intonation, rhythm, and word‐ and sentence‐stress). Next, the most important issues in p…

  • Applied Phonology, Phonetics, and Pronunciation

    Open AccessAmanda Huensch, Christopher L Nagle et al.CHAPTEREncyclopedia of Applied Linguistics2026

    This entry provides an overview of the applied phonetics and phonology section of the Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics . Applied Phonetics, Phonology, and Pronunciation (APPP) is a vibrant field of research and practice devoted to the learning and teaching of second language pronunciation. Since the publication of the first edition of the Encyclopedia in 2013, APP has emerged as a prominent stream within applied linguistics thanks to its own h…

  • Automatic speech recognition and pronunciation learning

    Open AccessShannon McCrocklin, John M LevisARTICLELanguage Teaching2025References: 12

  • The impact of functional load and cumulative errors on listeners' judgments of comprehensibility and accentedness

    Open AccessMutleb Alnafisah, Erik Goodale et al.ARTICLESystem2022Cited by: 1References: 7

  • Vowel Quality and Direction of Stress Shift in a Predictive Model Explaining the Varying Impact of Misplaced Word Stress: Evidence From English

    Open AccessMonica Ghosh, John M LevisARTICLEFrontiers in Communication2021

    The use of suprasegmental cues to word stress occurs across many languages. Nevertheless, L1 English listeners' pay little attention to suprasegmental word stress cues and evidence shows that segmental cues are more important to L1 English listeners in how words are identified in speech. L1 English listeners assume strong syllables with full vowels mark the beginning of a new word, attempting alternative resegmentations only when this heuristic f…

  • The Southwestern Mandarin /n/-/l/ Merger: Effects on Production in Standard Mandarin and English

    Open AccessWei Zhang, John M LevisARTICLEFrontiers in Communication2021

    Southwestern Mandarin is one of the most important modern Chinese dialects, with over 270 million speakers. One of its most noticeable phonological features is an inconsistent distinction between the pronunciation of (n) and (l), a feature shared with Cantonese. However, while /n/-/l/ in Cantonese has been studied extensively, especially in its effect upon English pronunciation, the /l/-/n/ distinction has not been widely studied for Southwestern…

  • Automatic Speech Recognition

    Open AccessJohn M Levis, Ruslan SuvorovCHAPTEREncyclopedia of Applied Linguistics2020

    Recent advances in technology and computing have made a profound impact on automatic speech recognition (ASR). With the advent of deep learning and a proliferation of digital devices, interactive ASR‐based systems such as Siri, Cortana, and Alexa have become an integral component of many people's daily lives. The application of ASR technology in applied linguistics has been demonstrated to provide unique affordances for the development of second …

  • Prosody in Second Language Teaching: Methodologies and effectiveness

    Dorothy M Chun, John M Levis et al.CHAPTEROxford Handbook of Language Prosody2020

    Teaching and learning second language (L2) prosody attracted attention from early theorists before becoming disconnected from linguistic theory. Now, theoretical and pedagogical attention are both seen as aspects of L2 teaching, especially in regard to how prosody affects how listeners understand the speech of L2 learners. This chapter discusses how prosody affects the comprehensibility and intelligibility of L2 speech. It suggests ways in which …

  • Research into practice: How research appears in pronunciation teaching materials

    Open AccessJohn M LevisARTICLELanguage Teaching2016Cited by: 2References: 53

    Research into pronunciation has often disregarded its potential to inform pedagogy. This is due partly to the historical development of pronunciation teaching and research, but its effect is that there is often a mismatch between research and teaching. This paper looks at four areas in which the (mis)match is imperfect but in which a greater recognition of research can lead to better teaching materials (high variability phonetic training, intonat…

  • Native and Nonnative Teachers of L2 Pronunciation: Effects on Learner Performance

    Open AccessJohn M Levis, Sinem Sonsaat et al.ARTICLETESOL Quarterly2016Cited by: 15References: 58

    Both native and nonnative language teachers often find pronunciation a difficult skill to teach because of inadequate training or uncertainty about the effectiveness of instruction. But nonnative language teachers may also see themselves as inadequate models for pronunciation, leading to increased uncertainty about whether they should teach pronunciation (Golombek & Jordan, 2005). Although studies have regularly shown that instruction is effectiv…

  • Pronunciation for English as an international language: From research to practice

    John M LevisARTICLEAsian Englishes2015

  • Native speakers and native users: Loss and gain

    John M LevisARTICLEJournal of Multilingual and…2015

    In this collection of new and previously published work – focusing largely on English – Alan Davies explores what it means to be a native speaker, and how highly proficient non-native speakers (nat

  • Using Language Journals to Discover American Speech

    John M LevisARTICLEAmerican Speech2013References: 7

    Review Article| May 01 2013 Using Language Journals to Discover American Speech John M. Levis John M. Levis Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google American Speech (2013) 88 (2): 235–246. https://doi.org/10.1215/00031283-2346807 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation John M. Levis; Using Language Journals to Discover American Speech. American Speech 1 May 2013; 88 (2): 2…

  • Automatic Speech Recognition

    Open AccessJohn M Levis, JOHN LEVIS et al.CHAPTEREncyclopedia of Applied Linguistics2012

    Automatic speech recognition (ASR) is an independent, machine‐based process of decoding and transcribing oral speech. A typical ASR system receives acoustic input from a speaker through a microphone, analyzes it using some pattern, model, or algorithm, and produces an output, usually in the form of a text (Lai, Karat, & Yankelovich, 2008).

  • Suprasegmentals: Intonation

    Open AccessJohn M Levis, JOHN LEVISCHAPTEREncyclopedia of Applied Linguistics2012

    Intonation refers to a combination of acoustic parameters, including duration, intensity, and pitch used to communicate discourse meaning.

  • Phonetics and Phonology: Overview

    Open AccessJohn M Levis, JOHN LEVIS et al.CHAPTEREncyclopedia of Applied Linguistics2012

    Although phonetics and phonology both concern the study of speech, linguists have traditionally considered these as different areas of study.

  • Topics, Aims, and Constraints in English Teacher Research: A Chinese Case Study

    Open AccessAli Shehadeh, John M Levis et al.ARTICLETESOL Quarterly2009Cited by: 4References: 14

    AM - Accepted Manuscript

  • Diagnosing the Support Needs of Second Language Writers: Does the Time Allowance Matter

    Open AccessAli Shehadeh, John M Levis et al.ARTICLETESOL Quarterly2009References: 10

  • Phonological Awareness and Speech Comprehensibility: An Exploratory Study

    H S Venkatagiri, John M LevisARTICLELanguage Awareness2007

    This study examined whether differences in phonological awareness were related to differences in speech comprehensibility. Seventeen adults who learned English as a foreign language (EFL) in academic settings completed 14 tests of phonological awareness that measured their explicit knowledge of English phonological structures, and three tests of phonological short term memory. The same participants also read aloud a passage and narrated picture s…

  • Failing the Practicum: Narrowing the Gap Between Expectations and Reality With Reflective Practice

    Open AccessJohn M Levis, JOHN LEVIS et al.ARTICLETESOL Quarterly2007Cited by: 1References: 4

  • Changing Contexts and Shifting Paradigms in Pronunciation Teaching

    John M LevisARTICLETESOL Quarterly2005Cited by: 76References: 14

    ■ Pronunciation is perhaps the linguistic feature most open to judgment.As a surface structure phenomenon that is most noticeable, one's accent easily evokes people's biases.For the same reason, pronunciation has been the most prescriptively taught aspect of language instruction.Pedagogies for accent reduction have bordered on the pathological.The articles in this special topic issue bring a much needed research focus on social and communicative …

  • Teaching intonation in discourse using speech visualization technology

    Open AccessJohn M Levis, JOHN LEVIS et al.ARTICLESystem2004Cited by: 8References: 2

  • Intonation and Discourse: Three Approaches

    John M Levis, JOHN LEVIS et al.ARTICLETESOL Quarterly2004

  • The Phonology of English as an International Language

    Judy B Gilbert, John M LevisREVIEWTESOL Quarterly2001Cited by: 2

  • The intonation and meaning of normal yes/no questions

    Open AccessJohn M LevisARTICLEWorld Englishes1999Cited by: 2References: 1

    The typical intonation of yes/no questions in American English is usually thought to be high‐rising. Accounts of yes/no questions also assume that the intonation of these questions is different from that of standard British English, which is thought to use a low‐rising intonation. This article challenges this belief and reports on a study that shows that American speakers of English do not distinguish between the high‐rising and low‐rising intona…