Teaching of English Pronunciation - Literature review Example

Literature Review on Course materials Name: Lecturer: Course: Date: This paper seeks to present a review of various course resources in order to examine their usefulness in the teaching of English pronunciation to leaners in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ashby (2005) presents a comprehensive book that can advance the knowledge of English language teachers in phonology. The book evaluates the theory and practice of phonetics as a study of speech. It moves away from the phonetics of making measurement of the actions of speakers or the making machine measurement of speech sounds to the phonetics of listening analytically to speech through attending closely to our own activities as speakers. Foremost, Ashby (2005, p 1) begins by examining the difference between written and spoken language. According to (2005, p 1) the written and spoken word sometimes display huge differences. For instance, two words written in a different way can be pronounced in the same way. A case in point is when pronouncing the word peace when compared to the pronunciation of the word written as piece. What is evident is that the words are written differently and have different meanings, nevertheless, they are pronounced in the same way. Such knowledge concerning the differences in written and spoken word is significant for me as an English teacher. This is because understanding such words also referred to as homophones assists in effective written communication. By understanding that there are certain words in the English language that are different when written down, and are pronounced in a similar way, I will effectively write the words to the learners without missing out on their spelling. This will enable the learners take note of the exiting differences and articulate or pronounce the words effectively despite the existing differences. For instance, when writing down the following words; Fool – full Which – Witch Led – Lead It can be noted that the words display a difference when written down essentially it terms of their spelling and their meaning. Thus, as a Saudi Arabia English teacher, by correctly writing down the homophones, the learners will be able to pronounce the words as required. Chapter two of Ashby (2005) book on phonetic transcription is also very significant in the teaching and learning of the English language. Ashby (2005, p 8) discloses that the reading of phonetic transcriptions offers an effective foundation for the understanding of symbols that are used to represent sound speech. This is because most of the English sounds were derived from other languages for instance Greek words, such as; [sed] in Greek when spoken in English represents the word {said}. [frend] in Greek represents {Friend}. The knowledge of phonetic transcription essentially when teaching English to learners from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is very significant. This is because by pronouncing foreign sounds, the leaners can also easily pronounce words in the English language. When a word is transcribed, it is given a direct description of its pronunciation. As a teacher, if I mainly depended on the spelling of a word in order to get the actual pronunciation of the word, then it would be difficult for the leaners to get the real or actual pronouncing. As a result, the use of phonetic transcription is very significant for teaching pronunciation to leaners in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Couper (2006, p46) in his study on‘’ The short and long- term effects of pronunciation instruction‘’ explores the effectiveness of pronunciation instruction. The subject of the study involved immigrants from New Zealand mostly of Asian origin who were attending an English class. The target group was subjected to a series of instructions that involved short input and practice sessions that were combined with regular teachings for a period of two weeks. The findings of the study disclosed that students who did not get instructions attained no competence on the area of pronunciation, while those subjected to effective instructions gained competence. The study therefore proposed that instruction that is appropriately structured could result to changes in the leaners phonological capability. Couper (2006, p59) also proposes that teachers should understand the processes that leaners go through and why they make the pronunciation mistakes they do. A teacher should therefore assist the learner to find useful rules and patterns of language, assist them in getting the right metalanguage and helping the learners to identify the difference between what they say and what the native speakers say. The findings of the study by Couper (2006) are definitely important in providing information concerning the teaching of English pronunciation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study supports the fact that the teaching of pronunciation does work. This can be done using the right instructions. As a teacher, the use of the right instructions as propagated by Couper (2006) can assist leaners to pronounce effectively. A good number of leaners from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are usually not aware that they have pronunciation problems. As a result, making this clear to the learners is significant in solving such problems. In addition, many leaners are not aware of the differences between their pronunciation and that of the target language. The leaners need to hear how the native speakers speak in order for them to differentiate the variations in pronunciation. I will therefore ensure that I use the right instructions that can assist the leaners to identify their pronunciation problems and improve the identified areas in order to gain competency. Halliday (1985) also explores the dynamics of written and spoken language. According to Halliday (1985: 87), spoken language is highly organized as opposed to written language. In addition, spoken language is more dynamic as compared to written language. Hence, Halliday characterizes spoken language to a small degree of complexity that arises from syntactic intricacy. The assertion by Halliday (1985) is useful for me as an English teacher based on the fact that it provides knowledge on teaching pronunciation. The notion that spoken language is not complex is a useful factor to consider when teaching English. As a result, I will ensure that the leaner identify with the fact that pronunciation is actually not difficult despite the dynamic changes that take place in spoken language. Also, as stated by Halliday (1985) there is degree of complexity in the spoken word that arises from syntactic intricacy. This factor is true because syntactic probabilities usually affect the pronunciation variation. As a teacher, in order to evade such complexity when teaching, I will ensure that I take note of the probabilities that exist in syntactic structures and educate the leaners on pronunciation variations. Jenkins (2002, p83) examines the concept of a pronunciation syllabus for English as an international language. Jenkins (2002, p82) takes note of the paradigm shift in pronunciation goals in the 21st Century whereby English is now spoken by more none native speakers (NNSs) as opposed to the Native Speakers (NS). In the context of phonology, the decision concerning what to include in the pronunciation syllabus is still based on the Native Speakers (NS) (Jenkins, 2002, p84). However, Jenkins, (2002, p91), proposes that in order for leaners to effectively acquire pronunciation skills there is need to develop their accommodation skills, where learners practice English as an international Language(EIL). The arguments proposed by Jenkins (2002) are mainly geared towards promoting the regional appropriateness and intelligibility EIL. In my opinion, the study Jenkins (2002) brings about a controversial perspective of teaching pronunciation. In deed as Jenkins (2002) argues, English in the contemporary society is more of a language for the NNS while the use of English among native speakers is on the decline. This preposition does not however mean that English should be taught using the EIL perspective, which accommodates regional appropriateness. I believe that in order for the English learners from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to effectively learn pronunciation, the use of the Native speakers Syllabus is more appropriate. This is because pronunciation of the native speakers in untampered with and is original which can promote effective pronunciation among leaners undertaking English as a Second language. Tench (1996, p 2) offers an explanation of English intonation that puts into consideration the functions and characteristics of intonation in spoken language. The book enlightens readers concerning the manner in which intonation as the use of pitch linguistically in utterances assists native and non - native English learners to interpret the spoken language, which further leads to effective pronunciation. For instance; Tench (1996, p84) explains that the falling- rising of tone takes place before the falling of tone. For instance; in the sentence below; the falling- rising of sound is depicted in the words of the sentence. He / lives in / Liverpool. Tench (1996) ideas are effective in the teaching of pronunciation. This is because intonation cannot be eliminated from the study of pronunciation. As a result, when teaching pronunciation I will put into consideration intonation in order to demonstrate the concept of pitch in the English language. In conclusion, it can be stated the various resources discussed above are significant in the teaching of English pronunciation. References Ashby, P, 2005, Speech sounds , Routledge, London Couper, G 2006, The short and long-term effects of pronunciation instruction’, Prospect, 21(1). , pp. 46-66. Jenkins, J 2002, ‘A sociolinguistically based, empirically researched pronunciation syllabus for English as an International Language’, Applied Linguistics, 23( 1), pp. 83-103. Halliday, M. A. K, 1985, Spoken and written language, Deakin University Press, Geelong, VIC. Tench, P, 1996, The intonation systems of English, Cassell, London. Read More