Teaching English Pronunciation to ESL Students

Despite the importance of pronunciation, it is often neglected in teaching English.

This article looks at ways to redress the balance.

Written by Shelley Vernon for TEFL.net
Many English teachers avoid teaching pronunciation, not because it is not
necessary, but because they have little or no information on the subject. Proper
pronunciation is essential when learning English as a second or foreign language
however; the main goal is to be understood, after all, and if ship comes out as
sheep (or worse!), this purpose may be quickly defeated.

Common pitfalls encountered when teaching pronunciation

Many teachers begin English pronunciation practice as they introduce vocabulary.
This is the way many textbooks advise to teach pronunciation. Unfortunately, for
students with a mother tongue that bears no resemblance to English, this actually
makes comprehension more difficult.

Drilling pronunciation is another less than desirable form of instruction. A step up
involves combining the teaching of pronunciation with that of spelling, another
important skill, but the real starting point is on the level of the phoneme.

What is a phoneme, and why are they important?

A phoneme is defined as the smallest unit of sound in a language system. This
could be illustrated by the sounds of /p/, /b/, /d/, and /t/ in the English words pad,
pat, bad, and bat. For a student to consistently produce these sounds, they must
train themselves to hear them. So the path to proper English pronunciation starts
with listening and identifying, NOT speaking! Once they can accurately differentiate
between phonemes, and pick out matching ones from tapes and videos, they can
progress to forming the sounds themselves.

Think of this type of learning as a accelerated version of an infants language
learning experience! Babies start by imitating distinct sounds, then moving up to
sound combinations, and finally distinct words. Different languages use the tongue,
mouth and cheeks differently, so diagrams of how to hold these facial muscles to
properly produce the desired sound are extremely helpful. Videos can also be
instructive, as the students can mimic the speakers on the screen and improve
their vocabulary and English pronunciation.

The step from pronouncing phonemes to full length words is a short one, and from
there it is much larger leap to being able to communicate in a natural conversation.
A whole new set of obstacles appears, but there are easy ways to overcome each
one.

The final three walls between your ESL students and pronunciation

We have taken noises and made them significant to our students. We have started
to teach articulation. Now we must deal with complex emotional, psychological and
cultural motivations that require a unique type of re-education.

A strong psychological barrier exists in the form of learned helplessness. This is
simply the reaction of most people to shut down after several failed attempts at
something new. This may be hard to spot, but once recognized it is simple to
overcome. Praise the student for each small step, each successive victory. Record
their progress by taping them reading the same passage repeatedly over the
course of the year. They will be encouraged to see how far theyve come!

Anxiety is a more easily recognized problem. Students are often acutely self-aware
and are reluctant to experiment with sounds for fear of getting them wrong, and
have a general lack of fluency. The best remedy for anxiety? Games! Try readers
theatre, dialogue practice from textbooks (plays are good practice, as they
encourage role playing) and handclap rhymes to build confidence. The entire
classroom will benefit from the more relaxed atmosphere games engender!

The final wall is that of cultural identity. In this case, we do not wish to breach the
fortification, but merely to create a path for the flow of information. Many people do
not want to eradicate their accent; it is a strong indicator of their culture and
heritage. As a matter of fact, an accent is not truly a barrier to pronouncing English
correctly. The main goal here is the ability to be readily understood. New Yorkers
and Londoners have distinctly different accents, but can usually communicate quite
freely.

Role playing and impersonating native English speakers is a perfect way to
improve your ESL students pronunciation as well as their enunciation skills. They
will be amazed to see that mimicking famous actors such as John Wayne or
Nicolas Cage can actually improve their English pronunciation. After a few rounds
of this game, ask one student to speak their own tongue with an English or
American accent, or better yet, have them teach you a phrase or two. This will
probably lead to great hilarity as they are able to hear the reverse of their own
attempts, and can prove highly instructive as well!

Teaching pronunciation in the ESL classroom does not have to be difficult. By
using games and a creative approach, you can ensure your students are equipped
for the English speaking world with all the tools they need to make themselves
understood!

See the example of the IPA phonetic alphabet chart in the next page.

Written by Shelley Vernon for TEFL.net
July 2009 | Filed under Pronunciation, Speaking
Passionate about making teaching fun and the importance of teachers in the world,
Shelley Vernon has written five best-selling books of games, stories and plays for
children and adults learning English. Shelley Vernon has inspired thousands of
ESL teachers with her resources. Get her free samples now to make your teaching
fun and improve the effectiveness of your lessons by up to eighty percent.
http://www.teachingenglishgames.com