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Faculty of Arts and HumanitiesPhonetics (Department of Linguistics)

Dr. Florence Baills

Institut für Linguistik - Phonetik
Herbert-Lewin-Str. 6
D-50931 Köln

E-Mail: fbaills@uni-koeln.de

Research interets

  • Audiovisual prosody and multimodal prominence in L2 speech
  • Acquisition of L2 prosody
  • Multimodal learning and embodied cognition
  • Music and phonological learning
  • Individual differences in L2 learners

 

I am currently working with Prof. Dr. Stefan Baumann (project A07) on the use of head movements and pitch accents to mark information structure in L1 and L2 French, and on the contribution of head movement types and amplitude and pitch accent types to prominence in (multimodal) speech in this language. With this project, our main goal is to integrate gestures and pitch accents in the study of prominence – so far, they have been looked at separately – and to try to determine how prominence is conveyed through head movements. In addition, our findings will inform on prominence and information structure marking in French, a non-West-Germanic language which is supposed to rely less on prosody and more on syntax to structure information. Importantly for me, as SLA researcher and French language instructor with a specialization on pronunciation, this research will help me develop new strategies related to pronunciation and the teaching of pragmatic skills that can be tested in the future.

Publications

In preparation

  • Baills, F., & Esteve-Gibert, N. (in preparation). Developing pragmatics in the L2: Teaching pronunciation through multimodal cues. In Pérez-Bernabeu, A., Galindo-Merino, M.M., & Bárkányi, Z. (Eds.), La integración de la pronunciación en el aula de ELE. John Benjamins.

  • Li, P., XI, X., Baills, F., & Prieto, P. (in preparation). Gesture shape and gesture-speech alignment are important during embodied L2 pronunciation training.

Under review

  • Baills, F. & Baumann, S. (under review). Multimodal marking of information structure in the L2: the case of Catalan learners of French. Language and Cognition.
  • Li, P., Zhang, Y., Baills. F., & Prieto, P. (under review). Musical perception skills predict speech imitation skills: Differences between speakers of tone and intonation languages. Language and Cognition
  • Xi, X., Li, P., Baills, F., & Prieto, P. (under review). Appropriate gesture performance helps the pronunciation of nonnative segmental features more than gesture observation. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching.
  • Zhang, Y., Baills, F., & Prieto, P. (under review). Embodied music training improves pronunciation skills. Language Teaching.
  • Zhang, Y., Baills, F., & Prieto, P. (under review). Singing songs facilitated L2 pronunciation and vocabulary for Chinese adolescents ESL learners. Languages.

To appear

  • Baills, F., Baumann, S. & Rohrer, P.L., (2023). The relation between pitch accent types, head movements and perceived prosodic prominence in L2 French. Proceedings of the 20th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. Prague, Czech Republic.

2022

2021

  • Baills, F. & Prieto, P. (2021). Embodying rhythmic properties of a foreign language through hand-clapping helps children to better pronounce words. Language Teaching Research, first online. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820986716
  • Baills, F., Cheng, Y., Bu, Y., Zhang, Y., & Prieto, P. (2021). Listening to songs and singing benefitted initial stages of L2 pronunciation but not recall of word meaning. Language Learning, 71 (2), 369-413. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12442
  • Li, P., Xi, X., Baills, F. & Prieto, P. (2021). Training non-native aspirated plosives with hand gestures: Learners' gesture performance matters. Language Cognition and Neuroscience, 36 (10), 1313-1328.
  • https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2021.1937663

2020

  • Li, P., Baills, F., Prieto, P. (2020). Observing and producing durational hand gestures facilitates the pronunciation of novel vowel length contrasts. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 42 (5), 1015-1039. http://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263120000054
  • Zhang, Y., Baills, F., & Prieto, P. (2020). Handclapping to the rhythm of newly learned words improves L2 pronunciation: Evidence from training Chinese adolescents with French words. Language Teaching Research, 24 (5), 666-689.
  • http://doi.org/10.1177/1362168818806531

2019

  • Baills, F., Suárez-González, N., González-Fuente, S., & Prieto, P. (2019). Observing and producing pitch gestures facilitate the learning of Mandarin Chinese tones and words. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41 (1), 33-58. http://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263118000074
  • Yuan, C., González-Fuente, S., Baills, F., & Prieto, P. (2019). Observing pitch gestures favors the learning of Spanish intonation by Mandarin speakers. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41 (1), 5-32. http://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263117000316

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