Teaching pronunciation

Teaching pronunciation

There are many ways of teaching pronunciation, and many different opinions as to which
ways are the best or most effective. However there has been to date relatively little
serious comparative research on what really works in helping learners of a second
language with pronunciation. This is an area which needs considerable improvement
.
Nevertheless, there are a few things which are becoming well
established as key factors in effective pronunciation tuition.


It is important to emphasise that pronunciation teaching is currently undergoing a revival
after several decades of neglect. There are many questions requiring detailed research
and empirical investigation. The account presented here represents a current ‘best
guess’ for which there is considerable evidence but which is most certainly not the last
word on the subject.

Here are some of the factors that have been shown to be most relevant in creating good
outcomes in pronunciation teaching (see references under Pronunciation Research in
Appendix). The first three are becoming more widely known and accepted. The last,
though, is less well understood.

􀂙 Pronunciation teaching works better if the focus is on larger chunks
of speech, such as words, phrases and sentences, than if the focus
is on individual sounds and syllables. This does not mean that
individual sounds and syllables should never be referred to; it simply
means that the general focus should be on the larger units.

􀂙 Pronunciation lessons work best if they involve the students in
actually speaking, rather than in just learning facts or rules of
pronunciation. Many students of course feel more comfortable
learning the rules of the language, because it is less threatening than
actually speaking. However, the transfer of explicit knowledge of
rules into pronunciation practice is very limited.