Good day, dear colleagues
Based on the reading The Significance of Pronunciation in English Language Teaching, post your comments and support your arguments in favor or against with valid information. Also, comment to at least 3 of your partners and reply to their questions and comments.
It caught my eye how on p.98 the author states that often times our perception of those with a strong or heavy accent can be indeed a negative view. I agree with this point in the sense that people do look down on those who may have a strong accent when speaking. We may perceive those in this situation as people who may be dumb or of a low education background. People with an accent that is "not pleasant to listen to" may often be viewed as not being able to understand what is being requested from them. I can say from my own personal experience at times my accent in my L2 language Spanish has caused others to think that maybe a don't understand what they are saying. At times people would disregard what I was saying because I had a hard time expressing myself. However it is one thing to have a hard time expression oneself and it is something different to not know or not understand. I can state based on my experience coming from New York that at times native speakers are impatient of those with a non-native accent. Prior to working as a teacher I had worked at a call center and remember often times my co-workers would be escalated or the caller would request to speak to a native speaker. People instantly have this perception of those with an accent "you can't help me. get me someone who can" And I believe it is even true in our line of work. When a student has problems with pronunciation sometimes we may think... oh I wish he would practice more! He should review! Why doesn't he listen to shows, videos, etc. Because as the other stated we have a negative view of those with an accent. I have a student who has problems in pronunciation but he is one of the hardest working students I have. So even though he has problems it does not necessary mean that the student is lazy, has a poor education background or other negative ideas that may float into peoples heads. I once had a student who had a beautiful pronunciation however she had poor dominion over grammar. She could not internalize or monitor her grammar prior to speaking. However, when my colleagues heard her speak they would say "She speaks great" "She is so fluent" However, I pointed out her flaws in grammar and once they listened carefully they realized that it was true. She had great pronunciation and that is what attracted people. When reading this article I had a flashback to that student with great pronunciation and not so great grammar...and the impact that her pronunciation had on others.
ResponderEliminarI agree with your opinion. We already know that pronunciation and accent are very important!!
EliminarIn my case, when I took a airplane for coming here, I came by way of China. But their pronunciation and accent ware terrible.
I couldn't understand what they were talking about.
It was terrible. So in my conception, pronunciation and accent very important for speaking and listening. Especially listening!!
Improper pronunciation causes a breakdown in communication.
I agree Jenny! Poor pronunciation can cause a breakdown in communication to the point where you may not want to talk to that person anymore. In other words, poor pronunciation creates barriers in language.
EliminarI agree with the idea that the pronunciation is the mother of any language skills in order to have excellent communication with others. If we do not understand the conversation that is this holding, more than say other abilities in practice, such as listenining, the message of the lost conversation, giving as a result, almost no conversation, no comments or interest.
EliminarIt is an everyday situation, when we see people from call centers struggling about getting a good pronunciation. Interestingly, if you ask them the reason, they would certainly tell you that they want to improve their pronunciation because they are tired of being humiliated by english speakers who think that they do not know english only because of their accent. But, as read in the article, learners do not need to aim for a particular accent, but they do need to develop their own accent which is close to a standard variety. If you do so, you will communicate successfully.
EliminarIt is something that we can see everyday pronunciation is what helps a person to communicate in any situacion. Eventhough they have good grammar skills, writting skills, etc,then there wouldn't be any message. Pronunciation is the key to achieve communication, if they do not improve in this area they can never move on and neither achieve a word correctly.
EliminarHey Jen,
EliminarHow true what you say. I agree with you and have experienced what you mention. I also think that people mistreat others who speak incorrectly, slow, or with some kind of speech problem. It is sad. Our job then, like you say, should be stronger and more dedicated to those who have problems because they need to overcome their pronunciation problems and their self confidence. If not, they will never be able to succeed.
TO add a little more to this, I believe a good way of helping Ss is to let them know what mistakes are common in their native tongue (for example, Costa Ricans will have a difficult time pronouncing th sounds in THree, because we dont make the sound in our Spanish, or we tend to say TRen, with a strong emphasis in the TR and so when learning English Ss will say TRhree.)Students benefit from this type of explanations. At least my students are thankful and it has helped them improve.
EliminarHi Jennifer,
EliminarI really liked the focus of your comment. I feel identified with it. I actually worked on call centers before with native speakers and often heard negative comments on the phone… I experienced them at the beginning (since I was starting the major and didn’t have the fluency or pronunciation) and then I saw that happened with my coworkers as well. I consider that very hurtful and racist and can definitely discourage people trying to learn L2. I have even seen teachers lose their temper due to “bad pronunciation” of students as if it was intentional. However, I believe two must have qualities for teachers are patience and to be open minded. If you want your students to be good at something then you need to help them achieve their potential by encouraging them in positive ways.
Hi Jennifer, you are right, when learning a second language you have to deal with people mocking at you, humiliations as Melissa mentioned, discimination and frustration too. And tha´s very sad.
EliminarBut like Laura mentioned above thanks God for the ones who stand up for their students and help to be better. Not only you are helping your students to improve their skills but also you are touching lifes.Because you believe in them. I´m talking about responsable, and committed students.
Another aspect in the text that had caught my eye was this quote "need to master "good pronunciation", not perfect accents." I believe to be true. The idea of pronunciation is for the person to provide clear ideas that are understandable to the public. Not to speak as a native speaker. Although as a nice as that would be it is not the objective. The author even provided different levels in which each student can fall into. Level three specifically states that objective of pronunciation is that "People understand the speaker, and the speaker's English is pleasant to listen to." Our goal is not to make clones of native speakers but to have speakers that are a pleasure to hear, they are easy on the ears, and can provide a clear point when discussing.
ResponderEliminarthat is true what is important is to be understood and there is no need to have a perfect accent as long as it can understood and create confidence. as stated on the article the goal of pronuciation is to be accurate when communicating.
EliminarI think, one of the most difficult problems facing non-native speakers of English is pronunciation. It's usually the largest obstacle to overcome when trying to achieve fluency. Many non-native speakers have studied grammar for many years. Like me!!
ResponderEliminarBut they're unable to speak like native speakers.
Many people ,especially those who have not studied a foreign or second language,are easily irritated if they cannot quickly understand what non-native speakers are saying.
This is sad but true. Improper pronunciation causes a breakdown in communication and requires more effort to understand.
So, the teaching of English pronunciation has to aim at intelligible
pronunciation. Teachers can encourage the students' actual pronunciation. And teaching pronunciation leads our students to a better understanding of native speakers.
So, teaching pronunciation is essential and very important!!!
I love the sincerity of comment, the truth that is the reality of us that we have English language as an acquired language over time. It is a reality that both in Korea and in Costa Rica, the situation or the orientation of the programs is similar, that the contents are true to the grammar, without go later to the correct acquisition of the language as it should be.
EliminarHello Jenny
EliminarI Think it has happend to all of us that we as non native speakers have our strong areas in language but tend to struggle more in other areas. In this acse the exam[le is with pronunciation whcih as very wide topic and takes time to learn how to pronunciate and unerstand what others (native speakers) are saying. They get frustrated but with practice, good development and techers that are devoted to teach pronunciation appropiately they will end satisfy without worring if they have the same accent as native speakers but they were understood.
Getting the message across, as I mentioned before, is what anyone and everyone wants to achieve when talking to another person. Without the message there is no communication, if the message is difficult to understand then there will be no communication. Is like going to a foreign country, hailing a cab, telling the cab where you want to go, and ending up someplace else. Its funny because the cab driver doesnt care, or doesnt need to know, if you speak to him in the correct grammar structure. He needs to understand you first, and for that your pronunciation (and the one you are trying to understand) need to be as clear as possible.
EliminarHello Jenny,
EliminarI definitely agree with your point. And as Jason also mentioned, it is not students’ fault if the programs are focusing on grammar and other areas instead of pronunciation. How can we expect for students to master something if they are not being taught on how to? If they are taught on how to understand and use strategies to accomplish intelligible pronunciation, then they are going to be able to improve. As Jenny stated “teaching pronunciation is essential and very important!!!”
that´s why we have to set realistic goals in our classes. think for a while, what do they need, in order to become a better student that in the furure will be a professional, Every student is different they have different needs, interest, abilities etc. Be realistic, guide them, instruct them, and support their self confidence
EliminarToday we were studying reduced such as gonna, kinda, gotta, etc, in my oral communication class, and a girl asked if they could really use those forms. I told her that that was how real English was and that their use would take them closer to native speaker language competence. So a guy in the class asked if that was the goal, for them to sound native. My answer was that the goal was for them to sound as native as possible. Now that I was reading this article, I was thinking about Mitzy's good pronunciation and fluency. Like I told Mitzy once, I wish my students had her language skills, but their pronunciation is poor and it has been really difficult for me to do anything about. I do believe that a person can reach a near native speaker competence even if they learn the language when they are teenagers or young adults. Therefore, I think that we as teachers should never give up on this possibility.
ResponderEliminarI agree with the reading that "the leamers' accents should be close to a standard variety" and that their pronunctiatio should be easy to understand and pleasant to listen to. However, there is no need to stop there if we can achieve even more. The problem with my students is that they didn't receive adequate "correction" from the beginning (maybe because the groups were large). So now it's not easy to change their pronunciation patterns, which often really do sound unpleasant and unintelligible.
As far as the teaching of segmentals and suprasegmental, I believe that both should be included in the program. Eventhough I believe that it is okay to have an accent (actually some accents are considered interesting and even sexy)the closer we can get to the target language the better. This can only be done with the integration of all the aspects of the language: grammar, vocabulary, speaking, listening, reading and pronunciation.
The ability to correct is give examples solutions or alternatives of how to overcome those mistakes. I share the concern of Deianira, where he mentions that despite the level of students, have no fluidity or a proper pronunciation. That concern is all of us, professionals in education we strive that our students advance, but also must investigate where the handicapped are obtaining the information wrong.Depend on us to make the differences between which are taught and what the environment you want to infuse students.
EliminarHello Deyanira, I definitely share the same inquiry with you. It has happened to me as pronunciation teacher that students ask me if at the end of the course, they are going to have a native like accent. So I decided to make an exercise with them at the beginning of the course. I showed them a video in which a girl introduces herself with many different languages and accents. After that, I asked them to tell me about the good points of our native accent. It is interesting that they concluded that althought they try to learn a foreign language, they do not feel ashamed about their native accent.
EliminarHello Guys,
EliminarIsnt interesting that some accents are considered sexy (French) while others have a negative brand attached to them? I like the activity mentioned by Melissa because it helps Ss feel proud of their heritage. I can suggest another activity that helps Ss see their mistakes, tackle them, reinforce their learning, and then track their progress. Several months ago, while teaching pronunciation, we (teachers of ESP UCR) created a pronunciation course and as a project we asked Ss to record their voice reading a text. Then, we gave the course, segmental and supresegmental features, and finally had the students record the same text in order for them to compare their work. It was a motivating project that really helped them become aware of phonemes, how to make them, errors they might encounter, and solutions. With a tool like voicethread, it would be so rewarding for students to work on.
Hello Deyanira,
EliminarFirst of all, thank you very much for your comment! I must say I am extremely flattered specially coming from you (who has not only great pronunciation and fluency but also great knowledge of English). I must admit though I feel I have a lot to learn and lot in which I need to improve. As I told Deyanira, at the beginning of the major it was really difficult for me since I did not have proper preparation in the language; I understand what you meant about the level of commitment of your students and how willing are they to improve. In my case, even though I had no English preparation in school and almost no English preparation in high school; I was able to understand and improve little by little (yet I still have a long way to go). Therefore, I believe no matter your age you can definitely learn a new language and achieve an intelligible pronunciation no matter the accent. As Deyanira mentioned, both segmentals and suprasegmental should be included in the program.
Hi, Deyanira, to sum up in the words determination and commitment.
EliminarThis is like a sport or playing an instrument you wil need lot´s of practice and discipline in order to become better.
But also what about the instructors? are they being realistics? are the focusing in the proper approach?
Hi, Deyanira. Yes, I agree. If we know reduced such as gonna,wanna,gotta etc, we are closer to native speaker.
EliminarI trust that you can teach your students. your students will become fluent speaker and have a good pronunciation.
Because you're a good teacher and your pronunciation is very good!!
After reading the article, there are three points that heavily caught my attention. One of them is What constitutes 'acceptable' English pronunciation? This question is based on accent, sounds of words and understanding of the pronounced. This question leads me to believe if we as a second language teachers are doing the right thing. It is difficult to monitor to 30 students at the same time, more programs are designed so that the teacher in charge covers some content, and not to the student learn and advance in the acquisition of a new language.
ResponderEliminarMy second point is addressed to this sentence: "intelligible pronunciation is an essential component of communication competence." You may notice that if it is true that the pronunciation is an essential part of the language, the communication is a method of survival that can be safely ignored. It is the responsibility of non-native check if your previously acquired knowledge is really correct, putting in practice other skills such as listening and reading.
My third point, but not the last, it is the responsibility of the teacher to teach the area of pronunciation. Certainly is one of the skills more difficult to acquire in the English language, but if with enough practice and dedication can be have excellent pronunciation. The professions in education should seek to motivate students to achieve a good pronunciation, making changes in their curricula, in their class in their daily work plans, putting in first place the good communication and understanding using the correct production.
Hello Jason, there is a need for no changes in the curricula. What we need is to change our teaching techniques. I mean, not to teach pronunciation in isolation but to make a link between communication and pronunciation. I think those changes are going to work in pro of our students.
EliminarHello Jason,
EliminarI believe that we can add a few "pronunciation tips" at the beginning of each day. There are many activities that are short and quick to do with large classes. FOr example, while calling roll, teach short vowel sounds that are similar to the short e in egg. Esteban, Emanuel, Efrain, Estrella...write them on the board and then write a couple of words in English for Ss to compare... :)
I do agree with your Jason. I think that there are problems with group size and syllabus. At least in my case, where my students are going to be English teachers, there is a need for more time and more specific courses. As a matter of fact, I feel the need for courses that are aimed only at pronunciation, in which the teacher has time to correct each student's production and review the sounds with different exercises.
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ResponderEliminarAlthough the article is from this year, all the theorists mentioned are from more than 10 years ago. Therefore I have many discrepancies with some of the points stated.
ResponderEliminar1. Firth (1992) stated that learner's achievement of a near perfect standard may individually vary to the degree in motivation. Contrarily, I think that learner's pronunciation is tightly link to the teacher's level of masterhood.
2.Suter (1976) concluded that pronunciation practice had little effect on the learner's pronunciation skills. On the contrary, other theories state that learners need a lot of practice and drilling when learning pronunciation.
3. Purcell (1980) stated that the attainment of accurate pronunciation in a second language is a matter substantially beyond the control of educators. Personally, I think that much of the responsability of the teaching process relies on the teacher. In the case of pronunciation, teachers are the main source for students so theyre the ones responsible for the process.
On the other hand, newer perspectives make the difference:
1. Rossiter (2001) inadequate teacher training may be a lasting effect of the de-emphasis on pronunciation instruction.
2. Currently existing instructional materials on pronunciation do not fit in terms of providing context-rich activities.
3. Goodwin (1996) explained that learners first language influences the pronunciation of the target language and is a significant factor.
Regarding your comments 1.Firth and 3. Purcell, I agree that the teacher will greatly influence the student's outcome in pronuciation, but don't you also think that even more important is the learner's attitude and motivation. We can see this every day: students who have taken the same program with the same teachers have very dissimilar levels of competence. When we start knowing our students better, we can see that those who are dedicated are the ones who have a higher level of English, and those who are lazy and irresponsible have a lot of trouble with the language.
Eliminarafter reading the article, i think that pronunciation is on of the most difficult areas in a foreign langauge in which learners have deal with more difficulties and overcome a lots of obstacles. They have in their minds that they must sound as native speaker which it wouldn't be a bad thing which as one of our classmates said the closer we get to the target language the better.
ResponderEliminarBut the article also stated that we should master pronunciation instead of focusing on having a perfect accent which can cause a lack of credibility or create judgement; It is good that the accent sound as closely as can get but that is no the essence in pronunciation what matters is that there can be good comunication.
As Celce-Murcia and Good wing stated if the speaker has any other knowled in any other area but the pronunciation is not good he would not be able to communicate.
Teacher must create a nicee environment and a positive motivation during their lessons involve more the communication so they can increase the their pronunciation.
The idea that is emphasized in the paper, that pronunciation is the key to gaining full communicative competence, is one that is the most appealing to me. Recently , I worked with several groups specifically on the learning of segmental and supra segmental elements of pronunciation,and as an instructor, I felt motivated to teach many new concepts to the class. Students, in addition, felt they were gaining new aspects of the language that they hadn't received before in such a detailed way. I must emphasize that what made the difference in these classes was the teaching of these elements in context, and through communicative activities which helped the students identify the need to use the pronunciation elements studied in class in a way that helped them feel more confident when using the language.
ResponderEliminarThe way the history of the teaching of pronunciation is described in the article helped me see a timeline that is pretty much, and without surprise, tied to the teaching approaches common at the time. The audio lingual method, the grammar translation method, and a more communicative approach, created mainly because of the need the world had to communicate as it became smaller.
Nowadays, we still need to communicate with one another. The need to be more correct and to use language communicatively so that one can truly get the message across is noticeable. If the channel of communication breaks down, and communication also breaks down. For sometime, pronunciation instruction wasn't part of the main goals of language teaching. Nowadays, correct pronunciation is truly necessary in the communication process to take place.
Another point that is interesting to me is how the lack of good pronunciation affects how a person is seen to others. I consider this to be a reason why some people that have to improve their pronunciation might feel anxious when learning a language, making it hard for them to pronounce correctly.
Finally, I believe teachers should work on this skill as much as they can for the students and for their own improvement. We are the role models, the ones that can bring the language into the class. We need to be prepared to teach vocabulary, grammar, culture, and pronunciation, and to be the best models we can be. When we are able to teach students the difference between accents and word pronunciations, connected speech, intonation, and the way sounds are made , we are teaching the students to communicate more effectively.
Hello guys,
ResponderEliminarI must say I enjoyed the reading. For me one of the most fascinating elements of a language is its pronunciation. There are a lot of sounds that do not even exist in non native speakers-languages and still we are expected to learn them and apply them. Here, I must say I believe is completely possible. I have heard friends talking on the phone with native speakers and the native speakers believing they are talking to a native speaker and even acting surprise when they realize they don’t. However, I disagree with the fact that you must have a native speaker accent or pronunciation to be considered knowledgeable or to be understood by others but as Deyanira said, you should aim for better. Yet, the real importance is to have an intelligible pronunciation, to communicate successfully to have a pleasant accent to hear to avoid any communication breakdown. In order to accomplish intelligible pronunciation we should start by applying and teaching proper strategies of self- monitoring and self –correction; in this way students will become self -sufficient in their learning process. Last but least, I consider of high importance for the immediate collaboration of teachers, pedagogues, researchers, and designers of materials. With true collaborative work of these people; teachers and mainly students will benefit from materials accurate to their context and nowadays´reality.
Hello Mitzy!! Yes, you're right. I totally agree with your opinion. You caught point exactly. Improper pronunciation causes a breakdown in communication. SO when speaker has a poor pronunciation, we'll have a problem in communication.
EliminarYou said, It's not a students' problem. Teacher will encourage them and teach proper strategies for native pronunciation.
It's a teachers' duty. Students learn from teachers!!
Hi guys, I really enjoyed this reading, I want to share a phrase that for me summarizes the reading, it was stated by Fraser( 1999) ”pronunciation is not just a cognitive “Knowing –that”, it is also a physical “knowing-how”, similar to playing a sport or a musical instrument. Learners need motivation and time to really practice pronunciation”.
ResponderEliminarThat´s why since preschool we are struggling and looking for techniques to help our students with their pronunciation. Some consonants and vowels are similar to our native language but others don’t , or for example “th in thick” we blow a candle for showing them the correct pronunciation. In other cases some kids need to improve for example the correct pronunciation of /Y/ they say (jes, jellow, jak) maybe their mom or dad pronounced like that. Like the reading mentioned, It’s something that requires lot´s of practice, pronunciation instruction and correction . We have to take into account that we a talking about 5 years old kids. That´s a plus , getting involved with a foreign language since childhood. Also nowadays we have lot´s resources that help the student improve their pronunciation, like internet what a best example like our final project the voicethread, tv shows, internet, globalization that plays an important part in this whole process. Also the opportunity to give a bilingual education to a child, for me is a blessing. But what about the others that didn´t have the chance to be exposed since their childhood? That´s why I do agree with Deyanira,when she mentioned above, that many aspects you have to take into consideration, 1, a good teacher who cares about his/her students, finding the strategies to help the students overcome their communication skills, 2, discipline,3, feedback in a positive way 4 , determination and 5 awareness. Teachers must set realist goals, plan strategies and activities to improve communication skills, understanding communication skills, as an integrated skill, increasing self- confidence and developing monitoring skills.
And why focusing on pronunciation instruction because language is the basis of the communication; and the massage or the idea has to be understood for everybody. Also because “knowing how” helps the speaker to have a strong self- confidence . Proper pronunciation and awareness help develop good listening skills.
I believe your "knowing how" and "awareness" concepts are extremely important. Many times students are not evern aware that they are mispronouncing a word or a sound and it becomes fossilized. Last quarter, I mentioned to a group of students that their diction was very poor, because they hardly opened their mouth when they spoke. Therefore it was difficult to hear them and even more to understand what they were saying. Two very dedicated students started to make an effort to improve their diction, and I spotted it instantly and told them I could hear the difference. At the end of the course, they had made noticiable improvement in how they sounded.
Eliminar