Whose pronunciation should we teach?
There have been articles or discussions concerning teaching English language pronunciation on TeachingEnglish website and elsewhere. I still feel that many teachers face dilemma concerning which pronunciations (I am equating it with accent) to teach. With the expansion of English and growing varieties of English in the world, teaching pronunciation has become a bone of contention. The usual escape from this deadlock in ELT is a term ‘intelligibility’ However, to whom should an ESL or EFL learner or speaker be intelligible?
What ever the argument may be, I think the onerous is on the ‘non-native speaker’ to learn to be intelligible to the native speaker (whoever this is and wherever they may live). I may be politically incorrect saying this, but pragmatically that is how a non-native speaker survives, especially if he/she happens to be amongst the native speakers. Isn’t this then compelling the teachers to teach and students to learn the standard varieties of the native speaker Englishes?
It is only one common variety that can help English speakers from different continents or countries (a British, an Ethiopian, an Indian, a Chinese, an American, an Arab, or a Nigerian) to communicate to each other. And it is not humanly possible for an ESL/EFL learner to learn English varieties with the accents from the countries I mentioned above.
In certain contexts, the society considers only a few varieties, such as standard North American and British pronunciation, as valid. Any deviation from these (even with local accent) is frowned upon. Sometimes, the academic discourses and national language policies implicitly favor just these standard accents as proper. Language learning is influenced by so many forces outside the control of the teacher. The individual teacher can hardly decide what pronunciation his/her students should learn.
So I think we should expose our ESL/EFL learners to as many varieties as we can. However, the learners can only master one of these accents. I believe the choice should be left to the individual learner to pick the accent they like, that suits their personality, natural voice, etc.
Is teaching pronunciation an issue in your context? How do you deal with it?
Nigussie
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Dear mr Nigussie,
Since i raised the topic the phonology of English, i would like to respond to your blog. No native speaker learns the other accent. the britisher speaks his/her native accent and the american his/hers and so on.
For the non-native speaker there are two problems. He/she should make himself/herself undesrstandable or intelligible to the native speakers and he/she should understand the particular accent. The non-native speakers should speak with an intelligible accent which is possible by exposing themselves to various accents. They can understand any native accent if they are constantly exposed to it. Though i am an indian i was able to understand the british accent and the american accent. Both the americans and the britishers were able to understand my accent because my accent is intelligible to them. Intelligibility is a fact, not a myth. If anyone wants to learn a particular accent,he/she may learn it. Only a mimic tries to learn and imitate different accents.
Yours sincerely,
JVL NARASIMHA RAO
I think you're right; it's a good idea to expose students of English - once they are beyond the basics - to a variety of accents. We are, after all, in the business of intelligibility. We want to understand the English spoken by as many people as possible.
We also want to be understood by as many English speakers as possible. In order to do this, I look to international movie makers. Pronunciation found in movies that are universally popular and understood throughout the English speaking world is, I believe, what we should be aiming for.
I disagree with your point about leaving the choice of pronunciation to the individual. If the pronunciation is likely to cause a problem, we should deal with it and assist the student to speak in such a way that the widest number of people will comfortably understand what is being said. I say this, not only from the perspective of someone working in education, but from a purely practical perspective. Several times this year I've dealt with call centres in Singapore and, despite my best efforts, I've been unable to understand the people I've been talking to. Dealing with same people by email has been easy - their written English has been excellent. If I were the employer in this instance, I'd be working hard with my staff on pronunciation in order to ensure that their spoken English was readily understood by an international audience.
Dear ThomsonJJ
Thanks for enriching the discussion on pronunciation dilemma. You have also made a very practical suggestion as to how we could expose our ESL and EFL students to varieties of English in the world. Yes, films involving multinationals would enable our students to be in touch with the variety of Englishes in the world. I would like to add that it’s also the native speakers’ communicative responsibility to be sensitive to these varieties and we can use the films to teach them too.
However, I am afraid you haven’t got my point concerning the ESL/EFL learner’s freedom to choose from the accents (without compromising us, teachers helping them to develop intelligible pronunciation). Where I am living, people go through the same education system but seem to develop different accents, mainly the standard North American or the Standard English accents. I don’t force them to sound like an American or an English, but there is a natural tendency for people to prefer one accent to another. So as long us it is internationally intelligible, they should be allowed to learn what they like to learn.
Nigussie
Dear Mr JVL NARASIMHA RAO
Thanks for your contribution again.
I agree with the points you have made. But let me just add one clarification. When I said 'the onerous is on the non-native speaker to learn to be intelligible', I don't mean the native speaker accents are always intelligible. Not really. I have met many people who speak native British or American accents, but are even more difficult than non-native speaker accents to understand. Some of these people travel internationally and apply to work in the non-native speaker contexts. However, their accents are too difficult for a person with the experience of an international travel, let alone the local people or the students who even have difficulty understanding the standard varieties. However, they are not conscious of their uninteligibility beyond their local community. If communication breaks down, they think it is not their responsibilty. So I think the native speakers of English from which ever country or context they are, should be trained to be sensitive to the Englishes in the world and communicate responsibly (I mean intelligibly).
Nigussie
Most learners of English language came into the business because they would like to speak like the British or the American. Is this possible? I have always let my learners to know that they like everybody including native speakers need to be on the way to speak English as an International Language (EIL).
The term Intelligibility - this limits the learners' ability for acquisition - psychologically he/she feels the inferiority complex of merely being intelligible - language is beyond that. I would not elaborate on this but I strongly believe that the accent of the learner - bad,good,excellent,whatever, is the responsibility of the teacher. Merely exposing the learners to varieties of accent is not enough - the teacher's presentation and performance in these accents highly motivates and encourages the learner and drives him/her to greater success. Are there not learners who today speak impressively great than native speakers?
The teacher should not take the learner lightly. I have one of learners who is presently studying in the UK.He will never cease to thank me, I let him know that anything less than a native speaker fluency in the language does not worth it. He took me serious he is excellent today. I personally drill my learners in pronunciation and most often help them to choose a better way of getting the standard.
Interesting topic we have here.
I think ones accent is determined by one's exposure to the target language. For instance, apart from TV and radio English channels to which I was exposed quite 'late' in my English learning, my non-native English teachers are the ones from whom I learned English pronunciation. I did not have much choice but to learn and assume that that's how English should be spoken.
I wish to suggest that teachers should consider their students' history and the purpose for which they (the students) learn English when choosing which pronunciation to teach. In certain instances English is associated with bad experience (e.g. colonization), so making students learn certain accents might be seen inappropriate. Whenever it's possible, individuals should choose who they want to sound like. For instance, some might like to sound Jamaican or Nigerian, even though they may be South African, and not British or Californian because in their accent dwells one's identity, which cannot be separated from the reasons why they learned English. Intelligibility is sufficient for one to get by in the international community.
Vukile
Dear Suresh
Thanks for your contribution.
Yes I do try minimal pairs in class to help students recognise the sound differences (especially the ones they don't have in their mother tongue). I have also used translation of some sounds and demonstration. So drilling is also helpful.
Apart from the teacher input, a continuous exposure through audio and video (films) would be wonderful. However, if there is no resource, the teacher has to be the model for good pronunciation and the main resource if not the only one). I think reading aloud exercise can be very useful (see my biography how that motivated me to learn English language pronunciation and speaking).
Nigussie
Dear Vukie,
I can't agree more.
Yes we should be senstive to the feelings and attitudes of the students. As you have indicated, teachers can influence students positively and negatively. I think we can help our students to see beyond the past, concerning language use. Their choice of identity is their natural right, but then can we senstise them how their choice can help or hinder what they can achieve in the society?
Nigussie
Nigussie is making a valuable point - teachers can help students see beyond the past. And, to respond to his question; teachers can sensitise students of the implications of their choices. I wish he could elaborate more as to why he posed the question because I could not link one's choice of identity with hindrances they might encounter due to their choice.
I like Mr Bob's observation. I'd like him to explain how intelligibility limits one's acquisitions, however. In my opinion, one's pronunciation is and will always be intelligible to folks he acquired the language with/from. The problem might arise when one is in an place where they have never been exposed to the someone speaking (or can I say "sounding") differently than them. In this case, I'd like to agree with Nigussie's observation that it is incumbent on both native and non-native speaker to learn to be as intelligible as possible to someone who might speak differently.
It is a wise idea to expose student to various pronunciations. For instance, that other non-native speaker say 's'ank you - instead of 'th'ank you (and 's'ink -for 'th'ink) could help native speakers understand that English has become so internationalised that there are so many accents with which it is spoken. In the same vain, non-native speakers should be aware of the accurate pronunciation, even though it might be hard (depending on one's age and the level of exposure) to make certain English sounds. Ultimately, it rest with an individual, and not the teacher, to decide who one wants to sound like.