scholarly journals The English Pronunciation Teaching in Europe Survey: Selected Results

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Henderson ◽  
Dan Frost ◽  
Elina Tergujeff ◽  
Alexander Kautzsch ◽  
Deirdre Murphy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Survey Research ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
On Line ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Line Survey

This paper provides an overview of the main findings from a European-wide on-line survey of English pronunciation teaching practices. Both quantitative and qualitative data from seven countries (Finland, France, Germany, Macedonia, Poland, Spain and Switzerland) are presented, focusing on teachers' comments about: ● their own pronunciation, ● their training, ● their learners’ goals, skills, motivation and aspirations, ● their preferences for certain varieties (and their perception of their students' preferences). The results of EPTiES reveal interesting phenomena across Europe, despite shortcomings in terms of construction and distribution. For example, most respondents are non-native speakers of English and the majority of them rate their own mastery of English pronunciation favourably. However, most feel they had little or no training in how to teach pronunciation, which begs the question of how teachers are coping with this key aspect of language teaching. In relation to target models, RP remains the variety of English which teachers claim to use, whilst recognizing that General American might be preferred by some students. Differences between countries are explored, especially via replies to open-ended questions, allowing a more nuanced picture to emerge for each country. Other survey research is also referred to, in order to contextualise the analyses and implications for teaching English and for training English teachers.

scholarly journals THE SIGNIFICANT FEATURES OF PRONUNCIATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

2020 ◽  
pp. 189-196
Author(s):  
Rano MARDONOVA
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Correct Pronunciation

This article deals with the issue of the features of pronunciation in teaching English specifically on the pronunciation difficulties of Uzbek learners. An important aspect in learning a particular language is pronunciation. Based on the explanatory Dictionary of Contemporary English Longman, pronunciation is a particular person’s way of pronouncing a word or words. In English language, there are not one-to-one correspondence between the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they represent. It is the aptness in pronunciation that makes our language comprehensible to others. Therefore, apart from grammar and spelling, one has to concentrate on pronunciation as well. There are some problems for foreign learners like age and perception as well. Very often students mispronounce the words, distort the pronunciation because they are not involved into the conscious approach of practicing sounds, words and sentences, instead, they are simply made to parrot out sounds and words without realizing what they are doing. In fact, training English pronunciation is necessary from the very beginning of learning a foreign language. Otherwise, it will be quite difficult to correct and make up for the fixed errors. Everyone faced the problem of pronunciation in the initial stages of language learning. It is important from the beginning of training to master sound speech, to learn how to pronounce sounds like native speakers do. In addition, the article considers the problem of interference and notes the most typical mistakes made by Uzbek learners when pronouncing English vowels and consonants. The goal of this article is mainly aimed at teaching and mastering the simplest and easiest ways of correct pronunciation of the studied language.

scholarly journals English Pronunciation Instruction: Views and Recommendations

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbas Pourhossein Gilakjani
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Language Teaching Methods

Despite decades of advocacy for greater attention, research into pronunciation instruction in English language teaching continues to be restricted. This article provides a comprehensive review of some important issues of English pronunciation instruction. The purposes of this review are (a) to explain different views of pronunciation instruction, (b) to elaborate the role of pronunciation in language teaching methods, (c) to discuss native-like pronunciation, and (d) to mention some recommendations for the better teaching of English pronunciation. The review of the literature of this paper indicated that the objective of pronunciation instruction is not to gain native-like pronunciation and speak exactly like native speakers of English. Instead understandable pronunciation should be the ultimate aim of oral communication.

scholarly journals The Speech Act of Complimenting as Part of the Ukrainian, Russian and English-Speaking Communities: Ukraine and the USA

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anzhelika Solodka ◽  
Luis Perea
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Personal Appearance ◽  
The Usa ◽  
On Line ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Language Context

Compliments as speech acts have the reflection and expression of cultural values. Many of the values reflected through compliments are personal appearance, new acquisitions, possessions, talents and skills. It is especially important in linguistic interaction between people. This research aims to analyze the speech acts of complimenting in Ukrainian and American cultures in order to use them for teaching pragmatics second language (L2) students. Defining the ways of complimenting in Ukrainian, Russian and American English help to avoid misunderstandings and pragmatic failures. This study uses a method of ethnomethodology. Speach acts are studied in their natural contexts. To carry out this research native speakers of English in the United States and native speakers of Russian and Ukrainian from all over Ukraine were interviewed on-line. The analysis was made on the data that included: 445 Russian, 231 Ukrainian and 245 English compliments. Results of this study show how native speakers tend to compliment people: syntactical structure of expressions, cultural lexicon, attributes praised and language context. It has implications for teaching English to Ukrainians and for teaching Russian and Ukrainian to speakers of English. Knowing how to use speech acts allows the speaker to have pragmatic competence. Upon completion of the data analysis on the current study, further information on deeper analysis in terms of semantics and metaphorical language can be provided.

scholarly journals Teaching English in India —The Use of Technologically Enhanced Realia in the Classroom

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Priya K. Nair
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Job Market ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Listening And Speaking ◽  
Speaking Skills

In India acquisition of English language is imperative if one wants to sell oneself in the increasingly competitive job market. With a booming population the nation is filled with educated, technologically literate youth. English is not merely a foreign language in India. As India is separated by a plethora of languages knowledge of English is imperative. As the teachers in India are not native speakers of English the language they teach is not free from errors. The articulation is quite problematic as the mother tongue influence is quite pronounced. Technology helps to reduce these errors. Movies as a tool can enhance the listening and speaking skills of our students. It is quite boring to work with disembodied voices and the recorded conversations available in language labs do not sustain the learner’s interest. However learners are often forced to listen to recorded conversations of people they never see, the conversation is often stilted and contemporary idiom is hardly used. However, a completely new dimension to aural practice can be added in the classroom by using movies. <br /><p><strong> </strong></p>

The Baby in the Bathwater

2014 ◽  
pp. 371-389
Author(s):  
Patrick Healy
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Compulsory Education ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Art And Science ◽  
Educational Levels ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Different Levels

This chapter is informed by the author's experiences of teaching English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) before moving on to teach English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Accordingly, it is shaped by the laments of ESOL practitioners at their perceived Cinderella status and an understanding that EAP teaching is regarded by much of the academic community as support work. Qualifications in EAP per se are not awarded, but rather, like scaffolding, language teaching sits alongside a student's principal course of study. Most EAP teachers have provided scaffolding to the educational edifice at a range of levels spanning compulsory and post-compulsory education. This affords a unique perspective on what teaching looks like at different levels. Founded on a familiarity with pedagogy at other levels then, the chapter draws on personal insights into teaching practices at universities and posits that certain characteristics of teaching younger learners might be equally effective in EAP and throughout the post-compulsory context. After all, pedagogy, the term used to describe teaching throughout educational levels, derives from the Greek “paid,” meaning child, and “agogus,” meaning leader. Thus, pedagogy literally means “the art and science of teaching children” (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2012).

scholarly journals Cultural Diversity in Native and Non-Native Speakers of English Communication

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (43) ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Iman Khalaf Jasim ◽  
◽  
Sabah S. Mustafa
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Grammatical Competence ◽  
Cross Cultural Communication ◽  
Pragmatic Failure ◽  
On Line ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Communication Breakdowns

With the advancement of technology ,the study of cross-cultural communication via on line has become an important and researchable topic in linguistic theory and its applications.The aims of this study are two- fold (a) exploring the influence of cultural diversity on on-line interaction between American native speakers (NSs) and Iraqi non-native speakers (NNSs) of English which, together with other factors might potentially lead to what Thomas(1983) calls "pragmatic failure" (PF), a main cause of communication breakdowns and (b) specifying which type of PF occurs more frequently between the two groups along with the reasons behind such failures. To achieve these objectives , a number of online chats conducted between (10) American speakers of English and (8) Iraqi graduate students of English were collected and analyzed on the basis of Thomas' (1983) division of PF in an attempt to verify the assumption that pragmatic failure is a result of cultural diversity between the two groups of participants.Results revealed that the cultural differences between the two groups could be a major cause of misunderstanding ie. PF., a finding which can be of value to textbook designers and teachers of English as a foreign language (FL)who are required to improve students' pragmatic ability in classroom by focusing not only on their grammatical competence but also on their pragmatic competence.

scholarly journals Adding more fuel to the fire: An eye-tracking study of idiom processing by native and non-native speakers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Siyanova ◽  
K Conklin ◽  
N Schmitt
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Figurative Meaning ◽  
Point Analysis ◽  
On Line ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Idiom Processing

Using eye-tracking, we investigate on-line processing of idioms in a biasing story context by native and non-native speakers of English. The stimuli are idioms used figuratively (at the end of the day - 'eventually'), literally (at the end of the day - 'in the evening'), and novel phrases (at the end of the war). Native speaker results indicate a processing advantage for idioms over novel phrases, as evidenced by fewer and shorter fixations. Further, no processing advantage is found for figurative idiom uses over literal ones in a full idiom analysis or in a recognition point analysis. Contrary to native speaker results, non-native findings suggest that L2 speakers process idioms at a similar speed to novel phrases. Further, figurative uses are processed more slowly than literal ones. Importantly, the recognition point analysis allows us to establish where non-natives slow down when processing the figurative meaning. © The Author(s) 2011.

scholarly journals TEACHING PRONUNCIATION: USEFUL PRINCIPLES, STRATEGIES AND TOOLS

InterConf ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 110-117
Author(s):  
Larisa Usatîi ◽  
Eugenia Babîră
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Significant Aspect ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Teaching Pronunciation

The present article touches upon a significant aspect of the language – teaching English pronunciation, which is a measure of success and indicator of communicative competence of the speaker. The article describes useful principles, strategies and tools in acquiring correct and intelligible pronunciation. They ensure further successful mastering of the English language.

The Treatment of Foreground-Background Information in the On-Line Descriptive Discourse of Second Language Learners

1984 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell S. Tomlin
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Discourse Production ◽  
On Line ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

This paper compares the foregrounding strategies of native speakers of English and advanced learners of ESL. Fifteen native speakers and thirty-five advanced learners produced on-line (play-by-play) descriptions of the unfolding action in an animated videotape. A methodology for the quantitative analysis of discourse production is described which permits the explicit identification of foreground-background information and its interaction with both native speaker and interlanguage syntaxes. Results show that: (1) Native speakers and learners exhibit one universal discourse strategy in retreating to a more pragmatic mode of communication under the severe communicative stress of on-line description, as revealed through the systematic loss of the coding relations ordinarily holding between foreground-background information and clause independence/tense-aspect; (2) Learners also exhibit a learner-specific general communication strategy in which significant events are described but nonsignificant events avoided.

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