Teaching pronunciation
Page 41-112
Part 2: the sound system of North American English: an overview
The Teaching Context and Pronunciation Varieties
For non-native people English serves as a lingua franca (a language to be able to
communicate with people who have different mother tongues). We do not be to be native
but to be intelligible principle (we need to be understood, not to be experts). Therefore, we
need to provide a highly intelligible global variety of pronunciation.
Overview of Part 2:
When you read these chapters, you will notice that it presents in terms of the following two
aspects:
- Teachers need to know about the sound system in order to teach it.
- How a given pronunciation is presented to learners in a given lesson.
The first one is about the knowledge that is required to teach effectively; the second is
about the planning and decisions in pronunciation lessons.
Pronunciation is a motor activity and sensory and physiological challenges are required.
The Teacher’s Knowledge Base
Teachers need a thorough command of the English sound system and possessed a principled
methodology for teaching it effectively.
Second, the teacher’s knowledge base must also include an awareness of issues that negatively
affect students’ intelligibility. You need to know how to plan and to prioritize areas for improvement.
Finally, the teacher has to be well prepared: determine what has to be done first and the right
sequence of learning the (varied) pronunciation of the English language.
What the teacher needs
to know
Knowledge of the Awareness of potential Pedagogical priorities (e.g.
pronunciation features student problems (e.g. which features should be
(e.g. articulation rules, stemmings from the taught and when)
occurrences in discourse) student’s L1 or diagnostic
work)
A Communicative Framework for Teaching Pronunciation
1) Language is best learned within a larger framework of communication: the goal is to use
the target language effectively for communicative purposes.
2) Materials and tasks reflect needs/interests of the learners and desires them to
communicate in the target language.
3) They learn when active so encourage them to ask questions, to work individually/in a
group where they have to make decisions and negotiate ideas.
4) The language syllabus focuses on enabling learners to express ideas in a variety of social
, communications.
5) Errors are viewed as a natural part of the communicative process. They are encouraged
to take linguistic risks.
Communicative Framework for Teaching Pronunciation
1) Description and analysis: Oral and written illustrations how it is produced and
when.
2) Listening discrimination: Learners have to be able to discriminate features.
3) Controlled practice: Orals readings of minimal pairs, short dialogues in order to
pay attention to the feature so it will raise their consciousness.
4) Guided practice: Structured communication exercises so they can monitor the
specific feature.
5) Communicative practice: Information is given which they have to use in their
communication.
Learning isn’t always a linear process and teaching may opt to revisit certain of the phases
above during the learning process. Ultimately, the recognition of this framework is that
practice must extend beyond repetition or oral reading. Instead when they have controlled
a feature, give them the newly acquired feature in more creative or communicative
exchanges.
Description and analysis
For second-language acquisition is the need for learners to consciously attend or notice the
feature because awareness is essential to let acquisition to take place. We give learners new
pronunciation features to call their attention. Use diagrams/charts and gadgets like
balloons, magnets to show how to pronounce.
Listening discrimination
At the beginning it isn’t easy for them to distinguish sounds which do not exist in their L1
and will be frustrated to produce it. This phase’s goal is to minimize the frustration, to train
their ears to the sound and raising their awareness about its importance.
Controlled practice
Drawing learners’ attention to specific language features and having them consciously
monitor their output improves their performance. Learning in general begins with
controlled practicing in their short-term memory. Then with repeated rehearsal, does the
newly learned feature become more automatic.
When the learners have reached a comfort level with the target feature, you can introduce
the next phase of controlled practice. These activities are those where language production
is typically limited to certain sound features and to let them focus on accuracy and on form.
Controlled practices are those like tong twisters, short poems and children’ rhymes.
Guided practice
Focused tasks push learners to increase their accuracy but metaphonological awareness is a
positive factor in their acquisition of phonological features.
Guided practice is semi-controled since the context and language is mostly provided but
Page 41-112
Part 2: the sound system of North American English: an overview
The Teaching Context and Pronunciation Varieties
For non-native people English serves as a lingua franca (a language to be able to
communicate with people who have different mother tongues). We do not be to be native
but to be intelligible principle (we need to be understood, not to be experts). Therefore, we
need to provide a highly intelligible global variety of pronunciation.
Overview of Part 2:
When you read these chapters, you will notice that it presents in terms of the following two
aspects:
- Teachers need to know about the sound system in order to teach it.
- How a given pronunciation is presented to learners in a given lesson.
The first one is about the knowledge that is required to teach effectively; the second is
about the planning and decisions in pronunciation lessons.
Pronunciation is a motor activity and sensory and physiological challenges are required.
The Teacher’s Knowledge Base
Teachers need a thorough command of the English sound system and possessed a principled
methodology for teaching it effectively.
Second, the teacher’s knowledge base must also include an awareness of issues that negatively
affect students’ intelligibility. You need to know how to plan and to prioritize areas for improvement.
Finally, the teacher has to be well prepared: determine what has to be done first and the right
sequence of learning the (varied) pronunciation of the English language.
What the teacher needs
to know
Knowledge of the Awareness of potential Pedagogical priorities (e.g.
pronunciation features student problems (e.g. which features should be
(e.g. articulation rules, stemmings from the taught and when)
occurrences in discourse) student’s L1 or diagnostic
work)
A Communicative Framework for Teaching Pronunciation
1) Language is best learned within a larger framework of communication: the goal is to use
the target language effectively for communicative purposes.
2) Materials and tasks reflect needs/interests of the learners and desires them to
communicate in the target language.
3) They learn when active so encourage them to ask questions, to work individually/in a
group where they have to make decisions and negotiate ideas.
4) The language syllabus focuses on enabling learners to express ideas in a variety of social
, communications.
5) Errors are viewed as a natural part of the communicative process. They are encouraged
to take linguistic risks.
Communicative Framework for Teaching Pronunciation
1) Description and analysis: Oral and written illustrations how it is produced and
when.
2) Listening discrimination: Learners have to be able to discriminate features.
3) Controlled practice: Orals readings of minimal pairs, short dialogues in order to
pay attention to the feature so it will raise their consciousness.
4) Guided practice: Structured communication exercises so they can monitor the
specific feature.
5) Communicative practice: Information is given which they have to use in their
communication.
Learning isn’t always a linear process and teaching may opt to revisit certain of the phases
above during the learning process. Ultimately, the recognition of this framework is that
practice must extend beyond repetition or oral reading. Instead when they have controlled
a feature, give them the newly acquired feature in more creative or communicative
exchanges.
Description and analysis
For second-language acquisition is the need for learners to consciously attend or notice the
feature because awareness is essential to let acquisition to take place. We give learners new
pronunciation features to call their attention. Use diagrams/charts and gadgets like
balloons, magnets to show how to pronounce.
Listening discrimination
At the beginning it isn’t easy for them to distinguish sounds which do not exist in their L1
and will be frustrated to produce it. This phase’s goal is to minimize the frustration, to train
their ears to the sound and raising their awareness about its importance.
Controlled practice
Drawing learners’ attention to specific language features and having them consciously
monitor their output improves their performance. Learning in general begins with
controlled practicing in their short-term memory. Then with repeated rehearsal, does the
newly learned feature become more automatic.
When the learners have reached a comfort level with the target feature, you can introduce
the next phase of controlled practice. These activities are those where language production
is typically limited to certain sound features and to let them focus on accuracy and on form.
Controlled practices are those like tong twisters, short poems and children’ rhymes.
Guided practice
Focused tasks push learners to increase their accuracy but metaphonological awareness is a
positive factor in their acquisition of phonological features.
Guided practice is semi-controled since the context and language is mostly provided but
