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PRONUNCIATION WORKSHOP FIRST TERM, depositphotos_59611795-stock-photo…
PRONUNCIATION WORKSHOP
FIRST TERM
LEARNERS
ROLE
The teacher may be highly skilled at noticing mispronunciations and pointing these out, but if learners take no action and do not try to monitor their own efforts, then the prospects of change or improvement are minimal.
GOALS
Some time ago it might have been said that the goal should always be native-like pronunciation, most people now think that this is an inappropriate goal for most learners.
The great majority of learners will have a very practical purpose for learning English and will derive no particular benefit from acquiring a native-like pronunciation.
FACTORS THAT
AFFECT
PRONUNCIATION
ENGLISH
The native language.
Because of the role that native language plays, there has been a great deal of research in which the sound systems of English and other languages are compared and the problems and difficulties of learners predicted.
The Age Factor
We normally assume that if someone pronounces a second language as natives, they probably started learning it when they were kids. On the contrary, if a person does not begin to learn a second language until adulthood, never have a native accent.
Studies are still being carried out on the subject
INTELLIGIBILITY
Intelligibility is being understood by a listener at a given time in a given situation'. So, it's the same as 'understandability.
The more words a listener is able to identify accurately when said by a particular speaker, the more intelligible that speaker is.
Sources of Intenlligiability problems
In coping with a new set of sounds, learners use a variety of strategies. Perhaps the most basic of these is a strategy which might be stated as: 'I can use the sounds of my own language to speak English.' Other strategies might involve trying to avoid certain sounds.
Sound sustitutions
If a speaker substitutes one sound for another, this may cause difficulties for the listener. Some sound substitutions are not very serious and the chances that the word will be correctly identified by the listener are good, because the substituted sound is 'close enough' to count as 'the same' to the listener.
Sound deletions
Another set of problems might be given the cover term 'deletion', where the speaker leaves out a sound.
Sound Insertions
Non-native speakers may add sounds.
Links between words
If learners use very different ways of linking words, then it can be very difficult for English listeners to identify the phrases in an utterance the words that belong together.
The use of stress
If the learner doesn't stress one syllable more than another, or stresses the wrong syllable, it may be very difficult for the listener to identify the word.
The use of rhythm
There must be an alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables, with the stressed syllables occurring on a regular beat, and the unstressed syllables must have a less-than-full vowel.
The use of intonation
Listeners get certain information from the pitch of the voice and speakers send information using pitch variation. Intonation is important for intelligibility.
Assessing Intelligibility
The easiest way to assess the intelligibility of particular speakers is simply to ask someone to listen to them speak and say how difficult or easy they are to understand.
Factors affecting Intelligibility
Interestingly, it has been found that highly hesitant speakers also tend to have a lot of pronunciation problems. There may well be a link between lack of confidence in pronunciation and pauses and hesitations, which in turn make it difficult to understand the person.
Intenlligibility and communication
Foreign speakers need to be intelligible so that they can communicate. Communication involves more than simply sending a set of well-produced sounds into the air at your listener.
