TESL ONTARIO39 t h Annual Conference, Toronto

RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

“Pronunciation in the ESL Classroom”

DON N A M. BR I N TONSEN I OR LECTU R ER

U N I VER SI TY OF SOU THER N CALI FOR N I ALOS AN GELES, CA

The Ethics of Pronunciation Teaching

Abstract

Is pronunciation teaching ethical? This issue is examined in light of claims regarding the global ownership of English and discussions on the need for a lingua franca core in the teaching of pronunciation. The specific catalyst occasioning this research involved a complaint lodged against a TESOL faculty member who offered an English as a second language (ESL) pronunciation course at the university level. The complaint, filed with the university Ethics Committee by a faculty member from another discipline, alleged that the term “accent” was discriminatory. Although not explicitly stated, the underlying position of the complainant appeared to be that offering ESL pronunciation support courses constituted an unethical practice. The presenter will share a synthesis of the responses to this case from members of an international pronunciation listserv defending the practice of offering English language pronunciation support courses to non-native speakers of English.

Is pronunciation teaching ethical?

Impetus for the study

Initial contact Email from a university faculty member

whose pronunciation course was under investigation by the university Ethics Committee following a complaint lodged by a member of another faculty at the university

Appeal by this faculty member to provide assistance in her case to the Ethics Committee

Original email received

. . . I have been teaching a course in pronunciation support for the ESL department of our university using your book, Teaching Pronunciation, as a guide.  This week, I was asked to appear before our university's ethics chair to defend this course as there was a complaint from another professor, who specializes in multiculturalism, racism, and identity issues.  The complaint is that promoting a course in pronunciation awareness or modification is unethical.  I am asking for your advice on how to respond to this complaint.

Email received, continued

Pronunciation is an integral part of language. I see pronunciation support as a tool for students. I am not asking them to change their identity.  I am helping them be aware of different patterns of stress, rhythm, and intonation as well as show that pronunciation can be seen, felt, and heard. Students set their own goals and the class is an elective, so only those interested in pronunciation issues register. I would really appreciate your advice or any articles that I could use to support my position.

Background on the setting

The case occurred at a community-focused university of about 14,000 students.

Situated in an ethnically diverse region of the country, the university is committed to accessibility, teaching excellence, and lifelong learning.

It enrolls approximately 700 international students each semester from over 70 different countries as well as many local immigrants.– The courses offered by the university’s ESL department were

created to respond to the unique needs of this diverse group.– Many of its courses (including the pronunciation support

course in question here) are electives, so only students interested in improving their language skills register.

The complaint

The complaint, filed with the university Ethics Committee by a faculty member from another discipline, alleged that the term “accent” was discriminatory.

Although not explicitly stated,the underlying position of thecomplainant appeared to be thatoffering ESL pronunciation supportcourses constituted an unethicalpractice.

Response

Action Query to members of an international

pronunciation listserv Request for assistance

“Etcetera”

“Etcetera” is a moderated international listserv. It . . .

is a closed forum (membership is by invitation only)

is informal in nature (“a Kaffeeklatsch”) is comprised of international pronunciation

specialists has a current membership of ~150 specialists addresses a wide range of discussion strands,

e.g.– how to best teach certain features of English

pronuncation– differences in dialects in the English-speaking

world– research into prosodic phenomena– etc.

Issues to consider

Spread of English as an international language (EIL)

Resulting proliferation of “international Englishes”

Goal in pronunciation instruction of the NNS NS interlocutor being replaced by NNSNNS interlocutor model

“Whose English is it anyway?” Jenner’s (1989) notion of the

“common” or lingua franca core (LFC)

Map of the English-speaking world

English as an international language

Crystal as cited in Walker (2009)

Related issues

Is there a trend away fromReceived Pronunciation (RP)or General American (GA)Toward English as a lingua franca (ELF) as a model for pronunciationinstruction?

What pronunciation standards are appropriate given the global spread of English as a lingua franca?

What constitutes intelligibility in English?

Author’s previous research

RP and GA as the standardAnalysis of listserv postings by pronunciation

specialists on aforementioned topicsConsensus among the specialists

RP and GA remain the two major NS target models. In the past, these target norms reflected the reality

that English was used by NNSs predominantly to communicate with NSs.

Although this may no longer be the case, many learners do still aspire to NS models.

Brinton & Goodwin with Celce-Murcia (2006)

Author’s previous research, continued

Consensus among the specialists, continued Learners should be exposed to a variety of

English regional accents. They should be allowed to determine their own

target accent. A clear definition of how much deviation from the

NS norm is acceptable under common core standards is needed.

Brinton & Goodwin with Celce-Murcia (2006)

What constitutes intelligibility?

Definitions citedA “comfortably intelligibile”

pronunciation, in which the listener need not strain to understand (Abercrombie, 1963)

“Minimum general intelligibility,” in which the message can be communicated efficiently to a native listener familiar with both the context and the given speaker’s pronunciation (Gimson, 1980)

Intelligibility/communicability index

Morley’s six-level rating scale for describing speech and evaluating its impact on communication

1

Basically

Unintelligibile

2

LargelyUnintelligibile

3

Reasonably

Intelligibile

4 5

FullyIntelligibile

6

Morley (1984)

Pronunciation’s role in intelligibility

Jenkins (2000)

Etcetera responses summarized…

Students are choosing to take this elective course due to a felt need.

ESL, EFL, and ELF speakers all need a high degree of intelligibility .

It is unethical not to help those struggling with pronunciation issues.

Providing pronunciation instruction helps students become multicultural.

The goal of pronunciation is accent addition, not accent eradication.

Many learners have strong instrumental motivation to modify their accent.

This is not an issue of compromising individuals’ cultural identity.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Quotable quotes

[This issue] has absolutely nothing to do with washing away someone's cultural identity, and everything to do with empowering immigrants to have a fighting chance in this tough economic climate.. .. Speaking clearly and being understood without a struggle from the listener is a major concern of every immigrant student that I come in contact with.

Surely the most successful learners (especially in areas like pronunciation and listening) are those who are integratively motivated to associate themselves with the L2 community. It's simplistic to suggest that this necessarily entails renouncing their L1 culture or allegiances.

I argue that rather than being improper or unethical to teach and correct pronunciation, it is a means of empowerment.

More quotable quotes

English is the most widely used lingua franca in the world. Speakers from all language groups who use ELF need to be able to make communicate with a high degree of intelligibility. This is also true for those NNSs who are using English in an English-medium environment. We have lots of evidence that intelligibility is a major factor in employment and rising up the corporate "ladder" once hired into a corporate (or academic, or other) environment.

I find that those who vehemently argue against pronunciation instruction usually have no idea what it actually entails, and are ignorant of what really happens in the classroom. It has absolutely nothing to do with washing away someone's cultural identity, and everything to do with empowering immigrants to have a fighting chance in this tough economic climate.

Learners' views cannot be ignored; they must be taken into consideration when designing language courses .

Sources of research support

Source Findings

Waniek-Klimczak (1997)

Questionnaire survey of 120 1st-year philology students at the University of Lodz, Poland; virtually all respondents believed pronunciation to be an important aspect of language competence.

Peacock (1999) Study of 202 EFL students in the English Department at the City University of Hong Kong; 52% of the respondents noted the importance of speaking a foreign language with an excellent accent.

Cenoz and Lecumberri (1999)

Study of 86 1st-year English students at the university in Spain investigating the beliefs on the acquisition of the phonetic component; all respondents considered pronunciation to be a very important skill.

Research support, continued

Source Findings

Fraser (2000) Study across a wide range of contexts in Australia; all groups of learners either needed or wished to acquire a good level of pronunciation and regarded the acquisition of pronunciation as a very important element in the English language learning process; however, their teachers and/or programs/ courses failed to meet their needs and desires in this area.

Couper (2000) Literature survey summarizing existing research findings. Rather than being improper or unethical to teach and correct pronunciation, it is a means of empowerment. Consensus in the research literature is that learners view pronunciation as being important and that teachers should teach it.

Research support, continued

Source Findings

Kanellou (2001) Study of EFL teachers' and learners' attitudes to pronunciation in Greece; 80% of respondents believed that pronunciation should be allocated a very important place in the language classroom .

Sobkowiak (2002)

Large-scale study involving 645 informants; 75% said they wished they had more pronunciation practice in their teaching institutions (university or teacher training college).

Derwing (2003) Survey of 100 students from 19 different language backgrounds. 97% of the respondents believed it was important to pronounce English well. 55% felt that pronunciation played a part in their communication difficulties.

Some conclusions

NNESs encounter pronunciation challenges in their daily lives.

They may not be aware of or able to articulate these challenges despite their awareness that they exist.

They strongly desire a level of intelligibility that enables them to function effectively in work, community, and academic settings.

They do not want to struggle to be understood. It’s our responsibility as ELT professionals to respect and

respond to these concerns. “Pronunciation is the primary medium through which

we bring our use of language to the attention of other people” (Stevick, 1978, p. 146).

Conclusions, continued

Students want pronunciation support for a variety of reasons. – Many believe that their interlocutors may feel negative

attitudes toward the way they speak, which in turn makes them feel less confident.

– Yet others feel negative attitudes and aren’t clear of the source. – Some individuals don’t feel confident when speaking English in

professional situations. – Some individuals have had gaps in their learning opportunities

and want to change this. Specifically, they may feel that they need more pronunciation support than they have already had.

– Some individuals pursue pronunciation support purely for the pleasure of learning. 

Donna M. BrintonSenior Lecturer

Rossier School of EducationUniversity of Southern California

Los Angeles, CAdbrinton@usc.edu

Questions or comments?

References

Abercrombie, D. (1963). Problems and principles in language study (2nd ed). London, UK: Longman.

Brinton, D. M., Goodwin, J., with Celce-Murcia, M.. (2006, December). World English, intelligibility, and pronunciation standards: What pronunciation specialists think. Speak Out!, 36, 26-32.

Brown, A. (1989). Some thoughts on intelligibility. The English Teacher, 18. Retrieved from http://www.melta.org.my/ET/1989/main4.html?PHPSESSID=b94b3abfb9cdaf2ce5490d2636d39722

Couper, G. (2000). The role of ESOL courses in migrant settlement: A tracer study to analyse learner needs retrospectively. (Master’s thesis, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia).

Cenoz, J., & Lecumberri, L. G. (1999). The acquisition of English pronunciation: Learners’ views. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 9(1), 3-17.

References

Derwing, T. M. (2003). What do ESL students say about their accents? Canadian Modern Language Review, 59, 545-564.

Fraser, H. (2000) Coordinating improvements in pronunciation teaching for adult learners of English as a second language. Canberra, Australia: Department of Education Training and Youth Affairs.

Gimson, A. C. (1980). An introduction to the pronunciation of English. London, UK: Edward Arnold.

Jacobson, R. (1990). Codeswitching as a worldwide phenomenon. New York, NY: Peter Lang.

Jenner, B. (1989). Teaching pronunciation: The common core. Speak Out! 4, 2-4.

Jenkins, J. (1996). Changing pronunciation priorities for successful communication in international contexts. Speak Out! 17, 15-22.

Jenkins, J. (2000). The phonology of English as an international language. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Kanellou, V. (2001). A survey on the teaching of English to Greek students in Thessaloniki, Greece: Pronunciation status, standards, errors and teaching. (Master’s thesis, Cardiff University, Wales, UK).

Lippi-Green, R. (1997). English with an accent: Standard language ideology and language attitudes--Language, ideology, and discrimination in the United States. New York, NY: Routledge.

McKay, S. (2002). Teaching English as an international language: Rethinking goals and approaches. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Morley, J. (1994). A multi-dimensional curriculum design for speech-pronunciation instruction. In J. Morley (Ed.), Pronunciation pedagogy and theory (pp. 64-91). Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.

Peacock, M. (1999). Beliefs about language learning and their relationship to proficiency. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 9(2), 247-265 .

Stevick, E. (1978). Toward a practical philosophy of pronunciation. TESOL Quarterly, 12, 145-150.

References, continued

Walker, R. (2010). Teaching the pronunciation of English as a lingua franca. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Waniek-Klimczak, E., & Klimczak, K. (2005). Target in speech development: Learners’ views. In K. Dziubalska-Kolaczyk & J. Przedlacka (Eds.), English pronunciation models: A changing scene (pp. 229-250). Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang.

References, continued