Pronunciation

Why to include pronunciation into the curriculum

In the 80s and 90s, pronunciation was not prioritized compared to other areas of lanaugage

Early approaches focused on mechanical drills and practicing sounds in isolation, neither of which transfer well to accurate production in real-life communication

Today, jobs and educational opportunities require strong communication

IDEALLY: ESL professionals both educate their learners to be able to communicate effectively in real world settings that allow for opportunity, while also educating employers, landlords, and other speakers of English that interact with learners

Case law communication demands:

a. the frequency and complexity of oral communication demanded by the job

b. the relative gravity of an episode of miscommunication

c. whether speaking is done under high stress circumstances where time is of the essence

d. whether communicative encounters typically exist with one-time listeners or, in contrast, listeners who will have further contact with the employee so as to adjust to listening and comprehension patterns

Factors affective pronunciation:

First language - how phonetically different are the first and second language?

Age - (conflicting results) the younger you are, the more likely you are to acquire a second language without an accent

Motivation: positive correlation between clear professional goals and attainment of intelligible pronunciation

Expectations - how does one want to sound in a second language? (expectations can sometimes be unrealistic)

Exposure to English - teachers responsibility to provide sufficient exposure to spoken English in ESL classes

Attitude & Identity: Accent has an impact on identity - learners may want to sound like their peers and can lead to a resistance to to pronunciation

Innate Phonetic Ability: some learners are quicker than others at noticing the differences in sounds and in mimicking sounds

What should teachers teach?

Goal is NOT to be accent-free (not necessary & unrealistic)

Production - referes to the understanding of discrete sounds as well as stress, intonation, and rhythm patterns (traditional view)

Performance - more relevant to overall communication; the ability to make oneself understood. Aligns well with communicative approach to teaching

Examples of mistakes learners can make:

Deletion of sounds

Insertion of sounds

Features that affect intelligiblity:

Word stress

Setence stress

Intonation

Use of semantically related groups of words that are produced as chunks

Approaches to teaching pronunciation (a progression)

  1. Descriptive and Analysis/Discrimination: raise learners' awareness through the use of visual charts, drawings, hand gestures
  1. Controlled practice: Instruction includes activities that provide opportunities to say the target sounds reportedly in a meaningful context

Examples: Picture stories, semi-scripted skits, chain activities, word searches, Reader's Theater

  1. Guided to Communicative practice

Examples: Word association, discussions or problem-solving activities,

Make it a routine!