Presentation

A Practitioner’s Guide to English Rhythm: A Return to Confidence

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Abstract

The TESOL version of English rhythm, often called stress-timed rhythm, comes to us in a coherent and persuasive narrative, honed by decades of unquestioned acceptance and use. Appearing in the 1950s, this version enjoyed 30 years of near-universal popularity within the profession. However, during the latter half of this period, linguistic researchers found a uniform lack of empirical support for the core tenets of this model. By the early 1980s, evidence against the model became too great to ignore, launching a period of growing doubt among TESOL professionals about how to describe English rhythm. After more than three decades in this unsettled state, we can now see beyond stress timing to an alternative model of rhythm and to a return to confidence about how English rhythm works. This guide traces the history of our growth and assembles the critical evidence underlying it. The intent is to make it easier for ESL/EFL teachers and teacher educators to describe and to teach English rhythm. It also cautions practitioners about continuing to promote TESOL’s now-discredited model.

How to Cite:

Dickerson, W., (2015) “A Practitioner’s Guide to English Rhythm: A Return to Confidence”, Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Proceedings 7(1).