Turn-Taking in Second Language Acquisition: The role of prosody in turn-end prediction

This volume investigates to what extent second language learners of English anticipate the end of a speaker’s turn during turn-taking and what role prosodic cues play in this process. Drawing on two reaction-time experiments that partially replicate earlier turn-taking studies, it compares native speakers with learners of English at different PT-defined developmental stages. In particular, it examines whether beginning and advanced learners rely on prosodic cues in ways comparable to native speakers across different English question types. The findings show that prosody facilitates turn-end prediction in L2 learners, but that its contribution varies by question type and developmental proficiency. By integrating turn-taking research with Processability Theory, the volume advances current debates on predictive comprehension, prosody, and interaction in SLA. It will be of interest to scholars and graduate students in second language acquisition, psycholinguistics, discourse and interaction, and speech prosody.

• Publication date: 31 July 2026
• Page count: 244
• Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Co
• Format: Hardback
• ISBN-13: 9789027237576