20090321 teaching pronunciation

TEACHING PRONUNCIATION

TEACHING PRONUNCIATIONBowler B. & Parminter S. (1992) Headway pre-intermediate pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (p. 47)Adriana Rivera and Vctor Lugo

Jenkins (2002) suggests the importance of the fact that Non-Native Speakers (NNS) of English outnumber Native Speakers (NS), as the key factor to teach pronunciation to guarantee intelligibility in communication.

WHY SHOULD WE TEACH PRONUNCIATION?

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TEACHING PRONUNCIATION: METHODOLOGICAL VARIATION Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D.M., and Goodwin, J.M. (1996).METHODFOCUSTOLERANCE OF PRONUNCIATION ERRORSMETHOD USEDSUMMARY

Grammar-Translation(late 19th early 20th century)N/ARelatively tolerantTeacher correction via lecture/explanationLittle or no attention is paid to pronunciation

Direct Method(early 1900s)AccuracyRelatively intolerantTeacher correction and repetitionStudents learn to prononunce by listening to and repeating the teachers model of a word or phrase.

Audiolingual(1940s 1950s)AccuracyRelatively intolerantTeacher correction Repetition drill and practice in the language labMinimal pair drillPronunciation is emphasised and taught from the beginning.

TEACHING PRONUNCIATION: METHODOLOGICAL VARIATION Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D.M., and Goodwin, J.M. (1996).Silent Way(1960s)Accuracy first, then fluencyNot tolerantTeacher correction cued by sound/color charts and Fidel charts; use of gesture and facial expressionThere is a strong emphasis on accuracy of production; words and phrases are repeated until they are near nativelike.

METHODFOCUSTOLERANCE OF PRONUNCIATION ERRORSMETHOD USEDSUMMARY

Sound-Colour ChartGattegno C. English Fidel. Educational(1978) Solutions, Inc

The First English Word ChartGattegno C. (n.d.) The First English Word Chart. Retrieved on March 20, 2009 from http://pagesperso-orange.fr/une.education.pour.demain/materiels_pedago/sw/swengcharts/swword1.htm

TEACHING PRONUNCIATION: METHODOLOGICAL VARIATION Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D.M., and Goodwin, J.M. (1996).Community Language Learning(1970)Fluency, then accuracySomewhat tolerantTeacher correction via repetitionLearners decide what degree of accuracy in pronunciation to aim for.


Total Physical Response and Natural Approach(1970)N/AVery tolerantNative-speaker inputProduction is delayed until learners are ready to speak, which gives them time to internalise the sounds of the new language; thus good pronunciation is assumed to come naturally.

TEACHING PRONUNCIATION: METHODOLOGICAL VARIATION Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D.M., and Goodwin, J.M. (1996).Communicative Approach(1980s)Fluency obligatory, accuracy optionalRelatively tolerantLearner engagement in authentic listening and speaking tasks.Communicatively adequate pronunciation is generally assumed to be a by-product of appropriate practice over a suffiicient period of time.


Suggestopedia(Developed in the 1970s)FluencyRelatively tolerantPeripheral learning; dialogue dramatisationMusic, visualisation, a comfortable setting, low lights and a new names/identities are used to reduce learner inhibition. Lengthy dialogues are read aloud by the teacher who matches his/her voice to the rhythm and pitch of the music; these are subsequently performed by the learners.

The IPA was the result of the Reform Movement in language teaching. Henry Sweet, Wilhelm Vitor and Paul Passy formed the International Phonetic Association inTHE IMPORTANCE OF THE IPA1886

The International Phonetic Alphabet

The IPA Phonetic Alphabet for English

Traditionally, teaching pronunciation has focused on these aspects:SoundsRhythm and stressFlow of speech (word linking, coarticulation, intonation)Accent (RP or GA)Three concepts by Smith & Nelson (1985)Intelligibility.Comprehensibility.Interpretability

WHAT DO WE HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT TO TEACH PRONUNCIATION?

1. The consonant inventory with some provisos.2. Additional phonetic requirements.For the sake of intelligibility, Jenkins (2002) proposed focusing on the following issues, because it is likely to be more effective than attending to every detail in which a NNSs pronunciation differs from that (standard) pronunciation of an NS. (p. 96)3. Consonant clusters.4. Vowel sounds.5. Production and placement of core (tonic) stress.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONSTake into account your learners needs and background to teach pronunciation.

Consider intelligibility and ELF to make decisions about this issue.

Train yourself in the use of IPA.

Improve your own pronunciation.

Bowler B. & Parminter S. (1992) Headway pre-intermediate pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D.M., and Goodwin, J.M. (1996).Teaching pronunciation: A reference for teachers of English to speakers of other languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, UK.Colorado State University. (n.d.). Teaching pronunciation. Retrieved on March 18, 2009 from http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/teaching/esl/pronunciation.cfm. Jenkins, J. (2006) Current perspectives on teaching World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca. TESOL Quarterly, 40, (1), 157-181. Retrieved on March 16, 2009 from http://www2.hawaii.edu/~cmhiggin/PDFs/Jenkins%20TQ%202006.pdf. Jenkins, J. (2002) A sociolinguistically based, empirically researched pronunciation syllabus for English as an international language. Applied Linguistics; Mar 1, 2002; 23, 1; ProQuest Humanities Module pg. 83.Pickering, L. (2006). Current research on intelligibility in English as a Lingua franca. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics. 26, 219-233. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.The full IPA alphabet was retrieved on March 20, 2009 from http://quiben.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/ipa_chart_c2005_1.png Ur, P. (2007) A Course in language Teaching.: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.REFERENCES