I am Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Pittsburgh. I teach courses in second language acquisition, pronunciation pedagogy, and language learning and technology. I am currently Associate Editor for Open Science of Applied Psycholinguistics.
My research examines second language speech development in and outside of the classroom, including the relationship between speech perception and production, pronunciation attitudes of classroom foreign language learners, and fluency development during study abroad. I have investigated foreign language instructors’ beliefs and classroom practices related to pronunciation. I am currently exploring the relationship among intelligibility, accentedness, and comprehensibility in L2 Spanish.
My most recent work has been published in Language Learning, Language Teaching Research, Foreign Language Annals, and the Modern Language Journal. I received my PhD in Linguistics and Second Language Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Education & Training
- PhD in Linguistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- MA in Linguistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- MA in Linguistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- BA in Spanish, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Representative Publications
Huensch, A. (FirstView). Effects of speaking task and proficiency on the mid-clause pausing characteristics of L1 and L2 speech from the same speakers. Studies in Second Language Acquisition. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263123000323
Nagle, C., Huensch, A., & Zárate-Sández, G. (2023). Exploring phonetic predictors of intelligibility, comprehensibility, and foreign accent in L2 Spanish speech. Modern Language Journal, 107, 202-221. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12827
Huensch, A., & Nagle, C. (2023). Revisiting the moderating effect of speaker proficiency on the relationships among intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness in L2 Spanish. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 45, 571-585. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263122000213
Chau, T., Huensch, A., Hoang, Y. K., & Chau, H. T. (2022). The effects of L2 pronunciation instruction on EFL learners’ intelligibility and fluency in spontaneous speech. TESOL-EJ, 25(4).
Liu, M., Chong, S. W., Marsden, E., McManus, K., Morgan-Short, K., Al-Hoorie, A. H., Plonsky, L., Bolibaugh, C., Hiver, P., Winke, P., Huensch, A., & Hui, B. (2022). Open scholarship in applied linguistics: What, why, and how. Language Teaching, 1-6, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444822000349
Huensch, A., & Nagle, C. (2021). The effect of speaker proficiency on intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness in L2 Spanish: A conceptual replication. Language Learning. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12451
Nagle, C. L., & Huensch, A. (2020). Expanding the scope of L2 intelligibility research: Intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness in L2 Spanish. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 6, 329-351. https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.20009.nag
Mitchell, R., Tracy-Ventura, N., & Huensch, A. (2020). After study abroad: The maintenance of multilingual identity among anglophone languages graduates. Modern Language Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12636
Huensch, A. (2019). The pronunciation teaching practices of university-level graduate teaching assistants of French and Spanish introductory language courses. Foreign Language Annals, 52, 13-31. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12372
Huensch, A., Tracy-Ventura, N., Bridges, J., & Cuesta-Medina, J. (2019). Variables affecting the maintenance of L2 proficiency and fluency four years post-study abroad. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education, 4, 96-125.
Huensch, A. (2019). Pronunciation in foreign language classrooms: Instructors’ training, classroom practices, and beliefs. Language Teaching Research, 23, 745-764. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168818767182
Tracy-Ventura, N., & Huensch, A. (2018). The potential of publicly shared longitudinal learner corpora in SLA research. In A. Gudmestad & A. Edmonds (Eds.), Critical Reflections on data in second language acquisition (pp. 149–170). Philadelphia/Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Huensch, A., & Thompson, A. S. (2017). Contextualizing attitudes toward pronunciation: Foreign language learners in the US. Foreign Language Annals, 50, 410-432.
Huensch, A., & Tracy-Ventura, N. (2017). L2 utterance fluency development before, during, and after residence abroad: A multidimensional investigation. Modern Language Journal, 101, 275-293.
Huensch, A., & Tracy-Ventura, N. (2017). Understanding L2 fluency behavior: The effects of individual differences in L1 fluency, cross-linguistic differences, and proficiency over time. Applied Psycholinguistics, 38, 755-785.
Huensch, A. (2016). Perceptual phonetic training improves production in larger discourse contexts. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 2, 183-207.
Huensch, A., & Tremblay, A. (2015). Effects of perceptual phonetic training on the perception and production of second language syllable structure. Journal of Phonetics, 52, 105-120.
Research Interest Summary
Research Interests
My research investigates the acquisition and development of second language speech and includes three major areas: second language phonology (sound systems), second language pronunciation pedagogy, and second language oral fluency. Second language phonology deals with how language learners acquire all aspects of a new pronunciation system. Second language pronunciation pedagogy examines best teaching practices to help classroom learners acquire pronunciation features of a new language. Second language oral fluency deals with the fluidity and/or ease with which one can communicate an oral message and examines aspects such as breakdowns in speech (e.g., the use of filled pauses like uh and um, repeating or correcting speech) in an attempt to explain how these features change as proficiency level increases. The overarching question that guides my core research is: When acquiring a second language, how does learning and development occur in spoken language, both regarding general speaking and sound system acquisition?