Previous English intonation studies concentrate too much on intonation production though some of them have already investigated intonation from the perception perspective. The relationship between the perception and production of English intonation is still not clear and there are conflicting views. The present study follows PRISMA protocol and identifies collectively 19 studies from WOS, Scopus and Proquest to include as many papers as possible in the research pool. Through generating themes and codes, this review has compared their methodologies, synthesised their findings from “Tonality, Tonicity and Tone” (chunking, focus and tunes). Mixed-mode designs are the most popular design methods in researching Tonicity and Tone but Tonality has drawn less attention. Participants from tertiary education are frequently chosen while intervention and measurement validity are less mentioned. The perception-production relationship of English intonation is either asymmetric or correlational. Besides, this review has summarised the directions for the future English intonation research concerning the perception-production relationships. Future research should concentrate on various phonetic dimensions, their functions in production-perception relationship of intonation, discrepancy of certain acoustic cues in different sentence types, more diversified language varieties, pedagogical and pragmatic approaches. Most importantly, in the intonation teaching field, future research should explore different L2 speakers, contextual information, retention of intonation acquisition and L1 transfer. It is also of great significance to further clarify the perception-production relationships.

Keywords: Perception; Production; English Intonation; prosody; suprasegmentals

Ahmed, S. K., Mohammed, R. A., Nashwan, A. J., Ibrahim, R. H., Abdalla, A. Q., Ameen, B. M. M., & Khdhir, R. M. (2025). Using thematic analysis in qualitative research. Journal of medicine, surgery, and public health, 6, 100198.

Altmann, H. (2006). The perception and production of second language stress: A cross -linguistic experimental study [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Delaware]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/perception-production-second-language-stress/docview/305322624/se-2

Buzan, T., Name, C., & Sosa, J. (2022). Intonational interference in English-L2 Brazilian speakers: production and perception. Proc. SpeechProsody 2022 (pp. 828-831).

Cao, C., & Li, A. (2022). The Realization and Perception of Narrow Focus in English Sentences by Cantonese EFL learners. 2022 Asia-Pacific Signal and Information Processing Association Annual Summit and Conference (APSIPA ASC) (pp. 560-565). IEEE.

Cho, M. K. (2018). An Investigation of Korean Learners' Difficulties in Using English Intonation to Express Emotion: Perception and Production [Doctoral dissertation, University of Oxford]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/investigation-korean-learners-difficulties-using/docview/2773987439/se-2

Colantoni, L., Klassen, G., Patience, M., Radu, M., & Tararova, O. (2022). Perception and production of sentence types by Inuktitut-English bilinguals. Languages, 7(3), 193.

Colantoni, L., Klassen, G., Patience, M., Radu, M., Tararova, O. (2016). Task-effects in the L2 perception and production of English sentence types by L1 Spanish speakers. Proc. Speech Prosody 2016, 11-15, 10.21437/SpeechProsody.2016-3

Cruttenden, A. (1997). Intonation. 2d ed. Cambridge, Cambridge Univ. Press. 10.1017/CBO9781139166973

Demina, M. A. (2023). Selling English: Advertising as a Phonopragmatic Medium for Teaching Intonation Use. 3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 29(4), 160.

Flege, J. E. (1995). Second language speech learning: Theory, findings, and problems. Speech perception and linguistic experience: Issues in cross-language research, 92(1), 233-277.

Gasser, E., Ahn, B., Napoli, D. J., & Zhou, Z. L. (2019). Production, perception, and communicative goals of American newscaster speech. Language in Society, 48(2), 233-259.

Hori, T., Akatsuka, M., & Toyama, M. (2025). Effects of observing pitch gestures on the perception of English intonation by Japanese learners of English. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 11(1), 26-45.

Hori, T., Toyama, M., & Akatsuka, M. (2020). Perception of English intonation by Japanese learners of English. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Speech Prosody 2020 (pp. 838-842).

Hudson, T., Setter, J., & Mok, P. (2022). English intonation in storytelling: A comparison of the recognition and production of nuclear tones by British and Hong Kong English speakers. English World-Wide, 43(3), 357-381.l

Kang, O., Kermad, A., & Taguchi, N. (2021). The interplay of proficiency and study abroad experience on the prosody of L2 speech acts. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 7(3), 343-369.

Kang, Y. (2024). A study on suprasegmental acquisition of Chinese EFL learners from the perspective of L1 transfer. Addressing Global Challenges-Exploring Socio-Cultural Dynamics and Sustainable Solutions in a Changing World (pp. 265-276). Routledge.

Katsika, A., Jang, J., Krivokapić, J., Goldstein, L., & Saltzman, E. (2023). A hierarchy of prominence: The production and perception of focus in American English. Proceedings of the international congress of phonetic sciences (pp. 1696-1700).

Levis, J. (2012). Suprasegmentals: Intonation. The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, C.A. Chapelle (Ed.). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal1124

Li, S., Wang, Y., Tang, P. T., & Feng, Y. (2024). The Role of Auditory and Visual Modality in Perception of English Statements and Echoic Question by Chinese EFL Learners. Proc. Speech Prosody 2024 (pp. 742-746).

Li, T., & Feng, H. (2024). Cross-linguistic Influence on Intonation Acquisition: A Study on the Production of L2 Mandarin and L3 English Intonations by Uyghur Speakers. Proc. SpeechProsody 2024 (pp. 96-100).

Li, Z. M., Lian, A. P., & Yodkamlue, B. (2020). Learning English intonation through exposure to resynthesized self-produced stimuli. Gema Online Journal of Language Studies, 20(1), 54-76.

Liu, D., & Reed, M. (2021). Exploring the complexity of the L2 intonation system: An acoustic and eye-tracking study. Frontiers in Communication, 6, 627316.

M.J. Page et al. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.03.001

Menjo, S. (2018). The Development of L2 Prosody in Japanese Speakers of English: A Quasi-Longitudinal Study. [Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University-Commerce]. Dissertations & Theses Global. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/development-l2-prosody-japanese-speakers-english/docview/2103180418/se-2

Ortega-Llebaria, M., & Colantoni, L. (2014). L2 English intonation: Relations between form-meaning associations, access to meaning, and L1 transfer. Studies in second language acquisition, 36(2), 331-353.

Puga, K., Fuchs, R., Hudson, T., Setter, J., Mok, P. (2018) The Perception-Production Link in Intonation: Evidence from German Learners of English. Proc. Speech Prosody 2018, 685-689, 10.21437/SpeechProsody.2018-139

Radu, M., Colantoni, L., Klassen, G., Patience, M., Pérez-Leroux, A. T., & Tararova, O. (2020). The perception and interpretation of sentence types by L1 Spanish–L2 English speakers. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 10(4), 499-529.

Riquelme, C., Pereira-Reyes, Y., & Véliz-Campos, M. (2025). Unpacking the Possible Effects of Working Memory and English Proficiency on Nuclear Accent Perception and Production in Chilean Learners of English. Language Teaching Research Quarterly, 49, 41-58.

Sonsaat-Hegelheimer, S., & Levis, J. (2025). Is intonation learnable in the classroom? Evidence from Turkish learners of English. Language Teaching Research, 13621688241312502.

Steppling, M. L., & Montgomery, A. A. (2002). Perception and production of rise-fall intonation in American English. Perception & psychophysics, 64(3), 451-461.

Sundus Muhsin Ali & Mariam Saad Taha (2022). Iraqi EFL College Students’ Recognition and Production of Intonation. Res Militaris，12（2）6085-6092. https://resmilitaris.net/issue-content/iraqi-efl-college-students-recognition-and-production-of-intonation-529

Swerts, M., & Zerbian, S. (2010). Intonational differences between L1 and L2 English in South Africa. Phonetica, 67(3), 127-146.

Tian, Q., Yap, N. T., & Ng, C. F. (2024). The Effect of English Proficiency on the Production of English Intonation by Chinese EFL Learners. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 32(3).

Ulbrich, C. (2010). Belfast Intonation in L2 speech. Proceedings of Speech Prosody (Vol. 2010).

Vaissière, J. (2005). Perception of intonation. The handbook of speech perception, 236-263.

Van, P. T. T., Lien, L. K., & Khang, N. D. (2024). Effects of Video-Based Shadowing on Suprasegmental Features: EFL Learners' Pronunciation Performance and Attitudes. rEFLections, 31(3), 896-924.

Wang, X., Li, A., & Ji, X. (2010). Perception and production of prominence distribution patterns of Chinese EFL Learners. Proc. SpeechProsody 2010 (pp. paper-046).

Wells, J.C. (2006). English Intonation: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press.

Zhao, C., Xiong, Z., & Li, A. (2020). Using multimodal methods in L2 intonation teaching for Chinese EFL learners. 2020 23rd Conference of the Oriental COCOSDA International Committee for the Co-ordination and Standardisation of Speech Databases and Assessment Techniques (O-COCOSDA) (pp. 100-105). IEEE.

Zhao, C., Xiong, Z., & Li, A. (2022). Production and Perception of Intonation Features by Cantonese EFL Learners. 2022 25th Conference of the Oriental COCOSDA International Committee for the Co-ordination and Standardisation of Speech Databases and Assessment Techniques (O-COCOSDA) (pp. 1-5). IEEE.

Zhi, N., Li, A., & Zhao, C. (2024). The effect of visual displays on the mastery of the forms and functions of English intonation by Chinese L2 students. Lingua, 311, 103825.