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TESOL Matters Vol. 10 No. 2     (June/July 2000)

From the column of the TESOL Speech/Pronunciation Interest Section
by Sue Miller

More and more teachers recognize the importance of teaching pronunciation both in dedicated pronunciation classes and within oral skills or other ESL classes. We as teachers may be disappointed, however, if we expect to hear global changes in the everyday speech of our students at the end of the course. What factors affect progress? What kind of improvement can we expect? Progress depends in part upon the setting of realistic goals, the design and scope of the class, and factors related to the individual student. It also depends upon how progress is defined and identified.

Realistic Goals

The primary goals of pronunciation training are intelligible speech and effective communication -- not nativelike pronunciation. Few adults with noticeable nonnative accents can ever sound exactly like native speakers in any new language. Pronunciation training is not meant to hide all signs of a student's original language and culture; nor is it likely to eliminate the student's accent.

Design of the Class

Although pronunciation courses vary in their duration, focus, and scope, most classes build awareness, an essential component of any habit change. People need to know what they want to change before they can change it. Unfortunately, awareness about clear pronunciation is not a natural outgrowth of learning to read and write English. The features of English pronunciation have to be taught directly and practiced in communicative activities progressing from controlled to independent.

Currently, excellent sources of information are available about what features of pronunciation to teach and how to get the best results. Pronunciation teaching should include suprasegmentals (i.e., stress, rhythm, and intonation) because of their impact on speech intelligibility (see Wennerstrom, 1999).

Learning a new way of speaking is a bit like learning to play the piano or acquiring an athletic skill; it involves training new muscle patterns. It starts by improving listening skills. Students, accustomed to concentrating on what the words mean, need an awareness of how the words and sentences sound. In addition to providing a lot of listening and repeating, most pronunciation experts also recommend the use of body movement, such as tapping and clapping, to help students internalize the rhythm patterns English.

It takes time, practice, and a plan of action that goes beyond what happens in class before students complete the process of transferring new pronunciation to everyday speech. Some students may start the work of transfer while taking a pronunciation class and continue the process long after the class ends. The progress teachers see depends in part on when the student was first introduced to pronunciation, how long the course is, and how much it focuses on transfer.

Individual Factors

The reasons for changing -- and not changing -- speech patterns are complicated by motivational, educational, and other personal and cultural issues beyond the teacher's control. Students whose native language differs greatly from English may have a particularly challenging task. Speech is closely tied to feelings of identity; therefore, students are often uncomfortable trying out new speech rhythm and melody patterns, much less adopting them. Change is affected by how much responsibility the student takes, how much the student practices outside of class, and how ready the student is.

Definition of Progress

Progress in pronunciation happens in stages and does not proceed linearly. Some of the early changes, such as improved listening or increased pronunciation awareness, may not be immediately evident in speech, but they prepare students for future pronunciation changes. Errors are a natural part of the process, and being able to recognize and correct one's own errors is a major advance.

Changes in conversational speech are inconsistent and vary with the circumstances. Speech intelligibility improves gradually. As Grant (1999/2000) pointed out, "Learners may only partially integrate new features into spontaneous speech; however, even partial integration has a positive impact on overall intelligibility" (p. 18).

Teachers should motivate students as they move toward their goals and brainstorm with the students about the progress they have made by highlighting important areas of improvement. The definition of progress should include

• gaining pronunciation awareness -- learning the significant features, rules, and guidelines for pronouncing English
• improving listening skills -- being able to identify features taught in class when they hear them
• identifying personal targets -- knowing the specific intonation patterns or sounds that will make the biggest difference in the student's own speech
• improving the ability to self-monitor for specific targets
• discovering and correcting their own errors
• improved understanding of speech on television and radio, in movies, on the telephone, and in face-to-face conversation
• using corrected pronunciation patterns more frequently -- during practice in class and on their own, or during conversation
• utilizing tools for clearing up misunderstandings in the middle of a conversation
• gaining confidence and comfort speaking English
• taking responsibility for their own speech changes

Conclusion

As teachers assess their students' pronunciation skills, they need to look at the components of the students' progress rather than limit judgment of pronunciation to an absolute speech standard. Teachers can help students feel a sense of accomplishment and realize that they are on track by acknowledging their tangible steps toward improved everyday speech.

References

Grant, L. (1999/2000, December/January). From to meaning: Bridges in pronunciation teaching. TESOL Matters, p. 18.

Wennerstrom, A. (1999, October/November). Why suprasegmentals? TESOL Matters, p. 20.

Sue Miller, a licensed speech pathologist, coaches pronunciation privately and teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles Extension, in the United States.