Presentation

Putting It All Together: From Pronunciation Analysis to Pronunciation Pedagogy?

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Abstract

Research on pronunciation has found that intelligibility and comprehensibility can change without a shift in accent (Munro & Derwing, 1995), but do TESOL teacher trainees (TTs) internalize this research, and how do they put this knowledge into practice to devise effective speech analyses and plans for language learners? Eleven TTs analyzed the same speech sample from the George Mason Speech Archives website (Weinberger, 2014), and then wrote hypothetical lesson plans based on their analysis. Before the analysis activity, all TTs were made aware of the research and terms covering intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accent as well as functional load (Munro & Derwing, 1995, 2006). While some of the TTs wrote focused plans to develop greater comprehensibility, comments and features to address pronunciation in the TTs' analyses suggest that TTs are not quite sure what features are tied to accent and what features to focus on to make learners more intelligible & comprehensible. Findings suggest that more rigorous training and discussion of comprehensibility and intelligibility as well as unpacking of these terms need to be conducted for TTs and integrated into training materials.

How to Cite:

Crabtree, J., (2014) “Putting It All Together: From Pronunciation Analysis to Pronunciation Pedagogy?”, Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Proceedings 6(1).