By Sandra Lee McKayPresented by Heather Dittmore

For LING 510 – Phonetics For Teaching

ESL/EFL Teachers (pre-service and in-service)

ESL/EFL Teacher Trainers

World Englishes perspective – English belongs to all who use it

The goal is intelligibility and communicative competence, not native-speaker speech.

Standard English can be spoken with any accent – variation in pronunciation should not be viewed as “incorrect” if it is intelligible.

Focus on specific core sounds (most consonant sounds); distinguish between long and short vowels, and consonant simplification.

Focus on nuclear stress – this highlights meaning.

Focus on articulatory settings. Expose students to a variety of accents.

Native speaker speech should be viewed as model rather than norm.

Native speaker speech is point of reference to keep the pronunciation of different speakers of English closer together.

Important consideration for any future or current ESL/EFL teacher or trainer.

Exercises and lessons could be crafted with this perspective in mind.

More theory than clear lessons and activities for tutoring or teaching.

Beyond pronunciation, good reference book for teaching ESL/EFL with global consideration.

Dalton, C. and B. Seidlhofer. (1994). Pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Jenkins, J. (1998). “Which pronunciation norms and models for English as an international language?” ELT Journal 52/2: 119-26.

Jenkins, J. (2000). The Phonology of English as an International Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

McKay, S.L. (2002). Teaching English as an international language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.