Филология

3. Теоретические и методологические

проблемы исследования языка

Ryabukha T.V.

Bohdan Khelnytsky Melitopol State Pedagogical University

TEACHING PRONUNCIATION IN CURRENT TEFL PRACTICES

The role of pronunciation in the different schools of language teaching varied widely from having virtually no role in the grammar-translation method to being the main focus in the audio-lingual method where emphasis was on the accurate articulation of isolated sounds or words and the classroom techniques included the use of a phonetic alphabet (transcription), transcription practice, recognition tasks, tongue twisters, games, etc.

When the Communicative Approach to language teaching began to take over in the late 1960s and the 1970s, teaching pronunciation until then was viewed as “meaningless non-communicative drill-and-exercise gambits” [Morley 1991: 485-6]. Most of the above-mentioned techniques and materials for teaching pronunciation at the segmental level were rejected on the grounds that “little relationship exists between teaching pronunciation in the classroom and attained proficiency in pronunciation” [Purcell and Suter 1980: 271-87]. The efforts were directed to teaching suprasegmental features of the language – rhythm, stress and intonation, because they “have the greatest impact on the comprehensibility of the learner’s English” [Celce-Murcia 1996: 10].

Today teaching pronunciation is moving away from the segmental/suprasegmental debate and toward a more balanced view [Morley 1994]. This view recognizes that both an inability to distinguish sounds that carry a high functional load, e.g. spot – sport, and an inability to distinguish suprasegmental features (such as intonation and stress differences) can have a negative impact on the oral communication of non-native speakers of English.

Celce-Murcia points out that “a threshold level of pronunciation in English is such that if a non-native speaker's pronunciation falls below this level, he or she will not be able to communicate orally no matter how good his or her control of English grammar and vocabulary might be” [Celce-Murcia 1987: 5].

Likewise, Gilbert believes that the skills of listening comprehension and pronunciation are interdependent and contends: “If they (learners) cannot hear English well, they are cut off from the language. If they (learners) cannot be understood easily, they are cut off from conversation with native speakers” [Gilbert 1984: 1].

Thus, today the question is not whether pronunciation should be taught, but what should be taught in a pronunciation class and how it should be taught. Morley advocates that the goal of pronunciation should be changed from the attainment of ‘perfect’ pronunciation to the more realistic goals of developing functional intelligibility, communicability, increased self-confidence, the development of speech monitoring abilities and speech modification strategies for use beyond the classroom [Morley 1991: 496]. EFL pronunciation teaching should cover the segmentals and the suprasegmentals as well as the training of the speech organs, such as lips, teeth, alveolar ridge, palate, tongue, vocal folds, ears, etc.

There exist two basic approaches to pronunciation teaching: (1) the ‘bottom-up approach’ and (2) ‘top-down approach’. The ‘bottom-up approach’ begins with the articulation of individual sounds or phonemes and works up towards stress, rhythm, tone and intonation. The ‘top-down approach’ starts with patterns of intonation and brings separate sounds or phonemes into sharper focus when required. According to Dalton and Seidlhofer, the former is based on the idea that if the segmentals are taught first, the suprasegmentals will subsequently be acquired without the need of formal instruction whereas the latter rests on the assumption that once the suprasegmentals features are in place, the necessary segmental discriminations will follow accordingly. The bottom-up approach and the top-down approach respectively correspond to the traditional teaching and the research-based teaching. While the traditional teaching is concerned with isolated sounds and native like pronunciation, the research-based approach deals with suprasegmental features and targets at communication [Dalton and Seidlhofer 1994].

According to influential pronunciation researchers (Celce-Murcia, Kelly, Morley, O’Connor), there exist at least ten techniques and activities that appear to be useful for the EFL learners.

1. Comparison of the sounds of the target language with those of the mother tongue.

2. Explanation through directions about what to do with the vocal organs in order to produce the sounds correctly.

3. Communication activities, such as dialogues or mini-conversations to practise particular sounds, especially those that are not available in the mother tongue, for example: /, ð, ŋ/.

4. Written versions (transcription) of oral presentations that help the learners to detect, identify and correct errors or mistakes committed in their oral presentations.

5. Individual correction that helps the learner to stop repeating previous errors or mistakes.

6. Incorporation of novel elements (such as sounds, stress placement, tones) to the old ones that helps the learners to get their EFL pronunciation further improved.

7. Tutorial sessions and self-study individualized programmes for each learner.

8. Self-monitoring (the conscious listening to one’s own speech in order to find out errors and mistakes) and self-correction (repeating the word or phrase correctly) that make the pronunciation more personal, more meaningful and more effective.

9. Computer-assisted language learning that helps the learners to see both segmental and suprasegmental graphic representations of the speech.

10. Reading aloud that helps the teacher to identify the errors and mistakes made by the learner, and then give feedback which will help the learner improve his/her EFL pronunciation.

Finally, these classroom techniques/activities for teaching EFL pronunciation are in no way exhaustive, but substantially useful when they are used on the basis of feasibility and suitability in a particular environment having particular learners. Moreover, the teacher can perform the role of a ‘speech coach’ or ‘pronunciation coach’ who, rather than just correcting the learner’s errors and mistakes, supplies information, gives models, offers cues, suggestions and constructive feedback about the performance, sets high standards, provides a wide variety of practice opportunities, and overall supports and encourages the learner [Morley 1991: 507].

EFL pronunciation should be viewed in the same light as the other facets and skills of the English language, such as vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, and so on, since it is a crucial part of communication, especially through listening and speaking. Therefore, pronunciation components have to be incorporated in the materials, classroom activities and testing tools; and the teachers have to be trained in EFL pronunciation as well as EFL pronunciation teaching.

References:

1. Celce-Murcia M., Brinton D., Goodwin J. Teaching Pronunciation: A Reference for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

2. Celce-Muria M. Teaching pronunciation as communication / Current Perspectives on Pronunciation. – Washington, D. C.: TESOL, 1987.

3. Dalton,C., Seidlhofer B. Pronunciation. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.

4. Gilbert J. Clear Speech: Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension in American English: Teacher’s manual and answer key. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.

5. Kelly G. How to Teach Pronunciation. – Harlow: Longman, 2001.

6. Morley J. (Ed.) Pronunciation Pedagogy and Theory: New views, new dimensions. – Alexandria, VA: TESOL, 1994.

7. Morley J. The pronunciation component in teaching English to speakers of other languages //TESOL Quarterly, 1991. – Vol. 25. – №3.

8. O’Connor J. D. Better English Pronunciation. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

9. Purcell E., Suter R. Predictors of Pronunciation Accuracy: a reexamination // Language Learning, 1980. – Vol. 30. – №2.