Teaching pronunciation: it's not just about accent

I saw an interesting Facebook post from a highly successful teacher from the USA. His post was about teaching pronunciation and which activities work best for accent modification. Since requests for pronunciation improvement make up 50% of my tutoring requests I am always looking for new teaching ideas. Accents are the spice of life. I can tell which part of Britain someone comes from in just a few minutes of dialogue. Accents are cool. The French accent is thought to be the most attractive of all*. So what about my dialogue with the Facebook poster?

“Teaching pronunciation is not just about accent” I said.
“What do you mean?” he said.
“Well… Isn't our goal mutual understanding?”
The poster responded by saying that most of his students wanted to sound American.

After 3 enjoyable years teaching on Verbling I am increasingly sceptical that I can give someone a British accent but accent improvement is certainly possible. If someone is struggling with the non-phonetic way English is written, then I have a job to do. If a student wants to give business presentations in public and know that they will be understood, it’s my job to give them that confidence. There is so much more to teaching pronunciation than just accent improvement.

English is in the enviable position of having more non-native speakers than native speakers*. I speak British English with a standard BBC accent. I am outnumbered by all the other accents in the UK, and the world. It pleases me to hear English spoken in a variety of accents and dialects. I have heard Zimblish, Chinglish and even Scottish when I was working in Africa!

I believe we should be teaching for mutual intelligibility. That means communication. Teaching English as a Lingua France should result in confident speakers who know they will be understood by anglophones around the planet. English no longer belongs to the English. Or the Americans. And if I can understand you then I promise you, your accent is just fine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_as_a_lingua_franca


21 de agosto de 2019
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Hello! I come from Cambridge, England and I teach English to professionals and entrepreneurs. Maybe you work in IT or project management? Do you sometimes struggle to express your ideas in English? Perhaps you have an important job interview or presentation coming up? Maybe you want to prepare for Cambridge exams? Or perhaps you want to speak more confidently with your colleagues. I have many years experience of working in IT projects and large teams. I can help you find the language you need for your work situation. Why not book a trial lesson where you can tell me about your learning goals? I look forward to meeting you soon! -------- Bonjour! Je viens de Cambridge, Angleterre mais j'habite en France. Voulez vous parler anglais courramment? Voulez vous parler sans hésitation et de façon plus assurée? Voulez vous discutez avec vos collègues de travail anglophones? Si oui, je peux vous aider. Peut-être vous aurez un entretien d'embauche ou vous allez faire une présentation...
Flag
Inglés
globe
Reino Unido
time
1.233
Habla:
Inglés
Nativo
,
Francés
B2
Hello! I come from Cambridge, England and I teach English to professionals and entrepreneurs. Maybe you work in IT or project management? Do you sometimes struggle to express your ideas in English? Perhaps you have an important job interview or presentation coming up? Maybe you want to prepare for Cambridge exams? Or perhaps you want to speak more confidently with your colleagues. I have many years experience of working in IT projects and large teams. I can help you find the language you need for your work situation. Why not book a trial lesson where you can tell me about your learning goals? I look forward to meeting you soon! -------- Bonjour! Je viens de Cambridge, Angleterre mais j'habite en France. Voulez vous parler anglais courramment? Voulez vous parler sans hésitation et de façon plus assurée? Voulez vous discutez avec vos collègues de travail anglophones? Si oui, je peux vous aider. Peut-être vous aurez un entretien d'embauche ou vous allez faire une présentation...
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