Resource centre - Theory and issues > Pronunciation
Do you avoid teaching pronunciation in your classroom? In this article, Shelley Vernon suggests going right back to the level of the phoneme to build learners' confidence.
Many English teachers avoid teaching pronunciation, not because it is not
necessary, but because they have little or no information on the subject. Proper
pronunciation is essential when learning English as a second or foreign language
however; the main goal is to be understood, after all, and if ship comes out as
sheep, this purpose may be quickly defeated.
Common pitfalls encountered when teaching pronunciation
Many teachers begin pronunciation practice as they introduce vocabulary. This is
the way many textbooks advise to teach pronunciation. Unfortunately, for
students with a mother tongue that bears no resemblance to English, this
actually makes comprehension more difficult.
Drilling pronunciation is another less than desirable form of instruction. A
step up involves combining the teaching of pronunciation with that of spelling,
another important skill, but the real starting point is on the level of the
phoneme.
What is a phoneme, and why are they important?
A phoneme is defined as 'the smallest unit of sound in a language system'. This
could be illustrated by the sounds of /p/, /b/, /d/, and /t/ in the English
words pad, pat, bad, and bat. For a student to consistently produce these
sounds, they must train themselves to hear them. So the path to proper
pronunciation starts with listening and identifying, NOT speaking! Once they can
accurately differentiate between phonemes, and pick out matching ones from tapes
and videos, they can progress to forming the sounds themselves.
Think of this type of learning as an accelerated version of an infant's language
learning experience! Babies start by imitating distinct sounds, then moving up
to sound combinations, and finally distinct words. Different languages use the
tongue, mouth and cheeks differently, so diagrams of how to hold these facial
muscles to properly produce the desired sound are extremely helpful. Videos can
also be instructive, as the students can mimic the speakers on the screen and
improve their vocabulary and pronunciation.
The step from pronouncing phonemes to full length words is a short one, and from
there it is a much larger leap to being able to communicate in a natural
conversation. A whole new set of obstacles appears, but there are easy ways to
overcome each one.
The final three walls between your students and pronunciation
We have taken noises and made them significant to our students. We have started
to teach articulation. Now we must deal with complex emotional, psychological
and cultural motivations that require a unique type of re-education.
A strong psychological barrier exists in the form of 'learned helplessness'.
This is simply the reaction of most people to 'shut down after several failed
attempts at something new. This may be hard to spot, but once recognized it is
simple to overcome. Praise the student for each small step, each successive
victory. Record their progress by taping them reading the same passage
repeatedly over the course of the year. They will be encouraged to see how far
they've come!
Anxiety is a more easily recognized problem. Students are often acutely
self-aware and are reluctant to experiment with sounds for fear of getting them
'wrong', and have a general lack of fluency. The best remedy for anxiety? Games!
Try reader's theatre, dialogue practice from textbooks (plays are good practice,
as they encourage role playing) and handclap rhymes to build confidence. The
entire classroom will benefit from the more relaxed atmosphere games engender!
The final wall is that of cultural identity. In this case, we do not wish to
breach the fortification, but merely to create a path for the flow of
information. Many people do not want to eradicate their accent; it is a strong
indicator of their culture and heritage. As a matter of fact, an accent is not
truly a barrier to proper pronunciation. The main goal here is the ability to be
readily understood. New Yorkers and Londoners have distinctly different accents,
but can usually communicate quite freely.
Role playing and impersonating native English speakers is a perfect way to
improve your students' pronunciation as well as their enunciation skills. They
will be amazed to see that mimicking famous actors such as John Wayne or Nicolas
Cage can actually improve their English pronunciation. After a few rounds of
this game, ask one student to speak their own tongue with an English or American
accent, or better yet, have them teach you a phrase or two. This will probably
lead to great hilarity as they are able to hear the reverse of their own
attempts, and can prove highly instructive as well!
Teaching pronunciation in the ESL classroom does not have to be difficult. By
using games and a creative approach, you can ensure your students are equipped
for the English speaking world with all the tools they need to make themselves
understood!
ESL resources
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Grammar teaching ideas
What do you think of this article? Add a comment »
I think that this kind of
information is really important and I agree with the writer, so good luck and I
hope to see more information like this, I would also like to see some
interactives games.
A truly excellent and
well-written article. Timely and much appreciated information. Thank you so
much!
I really liked this
article! Sometimes it is difficult to teach pronunciation, especially to older
students, maybe teaching the phoneme first would help!
This a great summary of the
issue of phonemes and how to deal with them in a pronunciation class. Thank you
for pointing it out so succinctly!
I work as a teacher in
Brazil and learned English in the US studying at Mass Bay Community College and
some High School adult programs. After 8 years living abroad, coming back to my
country was not just frightening but also challenging as I started teaching. No
one had ever corrected my pronunciation although I lived and worked with
Americans. They understood me and that was enough, and I try to pass that onto
my students (I tell them to try their best but to communicate because the person
listening to them is not their teacher).
Anyway, teaching pronunciation for me became a beautiful and significant
practice in my classes, especially after working with the Oxford English File
series (no intention to be an advertising girl for them because I don't use it
directly).
But unfortunately for schools that use a 'formated' or their own way of
teaching, it is a sacrilege, and I was graded as an IRREGULAR TEACHER because I
used 5 minutes of my class to explain the two different "th" sounds during an
examination class. My self-esteem dropped and I started my own school after
that.
Thank you for sending this information. I really appreciate it.
I enjoyed this article
because you've made me realize why teachers avoid teaching pronunciation. I am a
teacher and this article is going to help me in teaching pronunciations using
appropriate phonemes. Bravo! Keep it up.
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