As the discussion as to the choice and contents of the reference variety for the teaching of English speech develops, we have asked students of English Department and Economy Department in the University of Łódź about their preferences and aims in learning English speech. The main objective is to compare the level of variety awareness, natural language input and the aims in the case of the two investigated groups in an attempt to specify the target in EFL speech in each case. The university student data are supplemented by the answers from a group of young professionals. The discussion is based on the questionnaire results in the context of the current debate on the pronunciation teaching target; we will also refer to earlier questionnaire studies conducted among students of English (Sobkowiak, 2002; Waniek-Klimczak, 2002) and among employers in the Łódź area (Klimczak, in press). The main aim is to discuss the target model variety for advanced users of English in Poland from the perspective of their language experience and either present or future needs. Apart from the questionnaire results, some issues concerning the methods of data collection for the study of pronunciation target in the case of non-English specialists are also briefly discussed.

 

References:

 

Klimczak, Karol. (in press). ‘Języki obce w przedsiębiorstwie: oczekiwania wobec pracowników oraz nauczycieli języków obcych.’

 

Sobkowiak, Włodzimierz (2002). ‘English speech in Polish eyes: what university students think about English pronunciation teaching and learning’. In Waniek-Klimczak, E. and J.P. Melia (Eds.) Accents and Speech in Teaching English Phonetics and Phonology: EFL perspective. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, pp. 177-196  

 

Waniek-Klimczak, Ewa (2002).‘Context for teaching English phonetics and phonology’. In Waniek-Klimczak, E. and J.P. Melia (Eds.) Accents and Speech in Teaching English Phonetics and Phonology: EFL perspective. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, pp. 139-152