THE IMPORTANCE AND PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING

PRONUNCIATION TO LEARNERS
Jabbarova Anora
Jizzakh State Pedagogical Institute

There is long tradition of phonetic and phonological studies in England. One

of the first linguists who made a serious study in English phonetics was Henry
Sweet. Phonetics is basic branch of linguistics; neither linguistic theory nor
linguistic practice can do without phonetics. That is why phonetics claims to be
equal importance with grammar and lexicology. It studies the sound matter, its
aspects and functions.
In the second part of the XIX century phonetics began developing in all
European countries due to the names of I. A. Baudouin de Courtenay, L. V.
Scherba, E. Sapir, D. Jones, L. Bloomfield, R. Jackobson. The 1886 International
Phonetic Association (IPA) was founded. IPA started publications of a special
phonetic magazine "Le Mattre Phonetique". It stated phonetic symbols for sounds
of many existing languages as a science1.
Phonetics implies comparing the sound matter of two or more languages at a
certain period of their development. The sound matter of a given language is
studied synchronically it means that the phonetic aspects of this or that language
are studied at a certain period of time and may present interest for Comparative
Phonetics, Descriptive Phonetics, Phonology and Phonostylistics. Phonetics sets
out to discover segmental and super-segmental features that have a differential
value in the language and distinguishes the system of phonemes. It studies various
pronunciation styles and analyses the ways different human beings express
themselves. It stands on the borderline between Phonetics and Stylistics. It says
that phonetics is itself divided into major components: segmental phonetics, which

1
Phonetics and phonology. Reader for First Year English Linguistics Claire-A. Forel , Genoveva PuskásUniversity
of Geneva 2005 - 64 p.
is concerned with individual sounds and suprasegmental phonetics whose domain
is the larger units of connected speech: syllables, words, phrases and texts of
phonetics2.
The significance of phonetics is connected with teaching foreign languages.
Theoretical significance of phonetics is connected with the further development of
the problem or the synchronic study and description of the phonetic system of a
national language, the comparative analysis and description of different languages
and the study of the correspondences between them, the diachronic description of
successive changes in the phonetic system of a language or different languages.
Phonetics studies the sound matter of all existing languages, irrespective of
the differences between them and deals mainly with acoustics, articulation and
physiology of speech and aspects of phonology. Phonetics is the branch of
linguistics, which deals with the sound matter of one particular language. It can be
both synchronical and diachronical.
It is important to note that having some knowledge of the phonology of the
students’ native language can also be very helpful. In this way, teachers will be
able to anticipate problems and understand the source of errors that students could
make. The age of the student is one of the factors that should be taken into account
when teaching pronunciation. The younger the age when the leaner begins to
acquire a language, the better the learner’s pronunciation. In fact, complete
mastery of a foreign language before age 12 generally results in accent-free speech.
The learner’s exposure to the target language also affects the pronunciation
considerably. The more time spent in learning the language and the better speaking
models, the better pronunciation.
At the initial stage it is necessary to teach students English pronunciation
and spelling. As we know teaching phonetics is a productive process, it demands
from the learners’ knowledge of articulation organs, which represents a difficult
methodical problem. At this stage, this information is the most difficult for learners

2
Соколова М. А., Гинтовт К. П., Тихонова И. С., Тихонова Р. М., Теоритическая фонетика английского
языка: Учебник для студентов высших учебню зав. - 3-е изд., стереотип. - М.: Туманит. Изд. Центр
ВЛАДОС, 2003.
and demands the much time expenses and efforts from the teacher. If learners
spend, time and effort on learning pronunciation based on on strictly fulfilled
materials, at the initial stage, it can provide the motivation level and reliable base
for formation of foreign language professional communicative competences.
Teaching and learning materials will continue to play an important part in
the foreign language teaching of the future. However, new materials are required
that take into account the earlier start of foreign language learning and also the new
didactic principles. These materials make individual activity and research on the
part of the learner possible, and allow diverse social interaction.
At the initial stage of training students quickly acquire a new material at
which all mistakes of a pronunciation are visible. Communicative competence will
be developed based on content updating educational - methodical complex, which
aims to provide formation of the given professional quality.
Training to a correct English pronunciation is extremely difficult task for
EFL teachers. Typical pronunciation errors of Uzbek learners is the weak, not
strained pronunciation at which the articulating organs does not give strong
muscular intensity under the influence of native language. Here I want to mention,
more pronunciation that is vigorous is distinctive feature of English language
phonetic system. Nevertheless, the problems in learning good speaking skills
persist as new generations of learners arrive at university. Learners must be taught
fluency and accuracy during classroom activities.
In light of this background, and given the bilingual nature of Uzbek society
and the lack of exposure to the target language outside the classroom, a task based
strategy with a blend of approaches and emphasis on communicative learning, may
well be one of the most suitable types of syllabus design on offer for language
learners in Uzbekistan.
List of references:
1. Gimson, Alfred C. An Introduction to the pronunciation of English, London:
Edward Arnold. 1970
2. Phonetics and phonology. Reader for First Year English Linguistics Claire-A.
Forel , Genoveva PuskásUniversity of Geneva 2005.
3. Соколова М. А., Гинтовт К. П., Тихонова И. С. Теоритическая фонетика
английского языка: Учебник для студентов высших учебню зав. - 3-е изд.,
стереотип. - М.: Туманит. Изд. Центр ВЛАДОС, 2003.