Goals in teaching English pronunciation
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J.C. Wells (University
College London) |
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Jennifer Jenkins’s book The Phonology of
English as an International Language has stimulated a welcome discussion of
our goals in teaching English pronunciation. But her proposed Lingua Franca
Core (LFC) is, to say the least, controversial.
The easy way out would be to regard
pronunciation teaching as unimportant. We could treat EIL as a written code,
and allow learners to stick with their L1 pronunciation habits. Furthermore, we
might allow English to be pronounced as it is spelled. There are plenty of EIL
users who indeed treat it more or less in this way. And yet – in grammar, would
we be happy for learners to ignore everything that is difficult ( the definite
article, number, aspect, phrasal verbs)? In vocabulary, should we allow
confusion of come and go, bring and take, or ignore the problem of such false
friends as actual and eventual? If not, then our pronunciation model, too, must
be based on that of native speakers.
The Jenkins LFC permits deviations from
existing standard practice – e.g. the substitution of [t] or [s] for [θ],
or inappropriate word stress – that evoke the worst negative stereotypes. (Like
spelling mistakes, they are seen as uneducated.) But on the other hand it
insists on many pronunciation features that constitute a real difficulty for
one group or another of L2 learners. These include the consonant oppositions
/b-v, r-l, p-f, s-ʃ, s-z, tʃ-dʒ, j-dʒ/ and the vowel opposition /i:-ɪ/.
Confusion of /e-æ, æ-ʌ, ʌ-ɒ/ is implicitly condoned, but substitutions for /ɜː/ are not allowed. (Why should Poles be favoured over Africans in this
way?) Consonant clusters are still required, although if they cannot be
achieved epenthesis is preferred over omission.
In intonation, Jenkins’s insistence on the
importance of nucleus placement (tonicity) is welcome. Nevertheless, there are
many speakers of EIL who ignore it entirely.
As pronunciation teachers we must concentrate on those matters which most impede comprehension and intelligibility. We must inculcate fluency and confidence.
We should exploit the findings of contrastive analysis
And we should not neglect the need to
interact with native speakers.