Teaching pronunciation

Topic #7: Teaching Pronunciation

Teaching pronunciation changed dramatically over the last half of the twentieth century.
In the 1970 language teaching profession began to experience arevolution of sorts.
Our goal as teachers of English pronunciation should therefore be more realistic focused on clear, comprehensible pronunciation
There has been some controversy over the roleof pronunciation work in a communicative interactive course of study .Because the overwhelming majority of adult learners will never acquire an accent –free command a foreign language.

Factorsthat affect pronunciation and how can you deal with each of them

1. Native language: Is the most influential factor affecting learner’s pronunciation. Many L1-L2 carryovers can be overcome througha focused awareness and effort on the learner’s part.
2. Age: Generally speaking, children under the age of puberty stand an excellent chance of “sounding like native” if they have continuedexposure in authentic context. Beyond the age of puberty while adults will most surely maintain a “foreign accent” there is no a particular advantage attributed to age. Remind your students; especially ifyour students are older, than the younger, the better is a myth.
3. Exposure: It is difficult to define exposure. One can actually live in a foreign language country for some time but not takeadvantage of being “with the people” .Research seems to support the notion that the quality and intensity of exposure are more important than mere length of time. If class time spent focusing onpronunciation demands the full attention and interest of your students, then they stand a good chance of reaching their goals.
4. Innate phonetic ability: Referred to a having an “ear” for language, somepeople manifests a phonetic coding ability that others do not. In many cases if a person has had exposure to a foreign language as a child this “knack” is present whether the early language is...