01

PRONUNCIATION FOR
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION
With English now operating as the dominant language of global
communication, the goals of pronunciation teaching and learning
have shifted. Whereas it was once assumed that learners aspired
to a native-speaker accent, the emphasis is now on helping them
to become intelligible in international communication. Current
approaches reflect the view that although users of English need
to understand the many different accents they will encounter, they
can choose the accent that they wish to aim for.

THE EVOLUTION OF ENGLISH

Recent decades have seen a rapid globalization of commerce, tertiary education,
scientific research, the arts, tourism, and professional sport. As a result, non-native
speakers have increasingly found themselves using English as a shared language
of communication with other non-native speakers, frequently in the absence of
native speakers, and this has given rise to what is often referred to as English as an
international language (EIL). Indeed, by the beginning of the 21st century, experts
had estimated that almost 80 percent of communication in English no longer involved
native speakers.1

Like all living languages, English is constantly evolving to suit the needs of its users.
With globalization, the growing number of non-native speakers, together with native
speakers, are bringing about multiple changes to the English language. These
changes can be found in the grammar of the language but more so in its vocabulary
and most notably in its pronunciation.

By stressing the importance

of pronunciation teaching
and learning, we can sow the
seeds of our learners’ success
in their English studies and in
their future careers.
EE-LING LOW

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Pronunciation for international communication

CHANGING GOALS FOR PRONUNCIATION While comprehensibility and accentedness are strongly
tied to listeners’ personal perceptions, intelligibility can be
TEACHING measured more objectively—for example, by having untrained
listeners transcribe the words that they hear in short phrases
During much of the 20th century, pronunciation teaching for
taken from recordings of natural speech and then checking
learners of English as a foreign language was governed by
which were heard correctly. Accentedness need not be a
the ‘nativeness principle’,2 with the goal assumed to be the
barrier to intelligibility; in one study, a significant number of
attainment of a native-speaker accent—often either British
listeners identified speakers as being heavily accented but
Received Pronunciation (RP) or its US equivalent, General
also successfully transcribed what was said, demonstrating
American (GA). This assumption was challenged by the arrival
that the speakers had been intelligible.6 Nevertheless,
of communicative approaches in the 1980s, which placed the
intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness are not
emphasis on communicative competence and questioned
necessarily unconnected: if listeners perceive speakers as
the need for learners to achieve native-speaker accents.
poorly comprehensible or have a bias against their accent, they
Increasingly, it was felt that a more appropriate goal for learners
may invest less effort in listening to them. This might seem to
was to be comfortably intelligible3 and that teaching should
indicate that speakers wishing to improve their intelligibility
be guided by the ‘intelligibility principle’.4 This has given rise
should work on eliminating their foreign accent. However,
to the current view that an appropriate goal for pronunciation
research shows that such an approach will not necessarily
teaching is international intelligibility, that is, the capacity
improve intelligibility.7 Working on what is damaging to
to make one’s speech understandable to people from a wide
intelligibility is far more productive than trying to eliminate
range of language backgrounds, both native speakers and
accent.
non-native speakers, and thus to participate effectively in
international communication.
THE LINGUA FRANCA CORE
INTELLIGIBILITY, COMPREHENSIBILITY, AND Research into intelligibility in spoken interactions between

ACCENTEDNESS non-native speakers was pioneered by Jennifer Jenkins, who

gathered empirical data in both study and social settings.
Intelligibility refers to how easily a listener can identify the Jenkins analysed breakdowns in communication that could be
individual words or phrases that a speaker produces (‘I can attributed to pronunciation and this allowed her to identify a
understand almost everything’). Related to this are the more small number of aspects of English pronunciation that appeared
subjective concepts of comprehensibility and accentedness.5 to be central to intelligibility between non-native speakers.
Comprehensibility relates to the effort required by the From this, Jenkins created a list of priorities for pronunciation in
listener to understand what the speaker is saying (‘I don’t English, which she called the Lingua Franca Core (LFC).8 The
have to concentrate to understand’). Thus, speakers can be LFC has given rise to a great deal of debate and controversy
intelligible but may be judged to be poorly comprehensible among pronunciation experts, but later research,9 especially
if understanding their speech requires concentrated effort on work done in Europe and South-East Asia, has broadly
the listener’s part. Accentedness is the extent to which listeners confirmed Jenkins’s original proposal. The LFC has important
judge the speaker’s accent to deviate from what they consider implications for teaching, which we explore in Section 3.
neutral or ‘standard’—in other words, how much of an ‘accent’
the speaker has (‘The speaker’s accent is different from mine’).

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Pronunciation for international communication

ACCOMMODATION SKILLS FOR PRONUNCIATION a foreign language (EFL) settings where the implicit goal
of pronunciation teaching was a native-speaker accent or in
Accommodation refers to the way that language users adapt settings where the learners were immigrants trying to settle
to those that they are communicating with, whether through into new lives in English-speaking countries. For learners who
adjusting their use of language, or through changes in their belong to the latter group, trying to identify with their new
body language. Pronunciation accommodation skills involve surroundings while retaining their L1 cultural identity may have
users adjusting their expectations as listeners or modifying complex and sometimes competing effects. This was evidenced
features of their own speech. They are crucial for speakers using by a study of immigrant learners of English in Canada which
English as an international language since they will encounter a revealed how learners ‘may either enhance or suppress one of
wide range of non-native-speaker and native-speaker accents. their two identities by manipulating their language, in particular,
In part, this is because native speakers themselves have a wide their pronunciation of both languages’.13
range of different national and regional accents. In addition,
An intelligibility-based approach to pronunciation teaching
some aspects of English pronunciation—such as the exact
allows learners to retain L1 pronunciation features that do not
quality of individual vowels or the th sounds—are not at all
compromise international intelligibility and thus recognizes
easy to acquire, which leaves non-native speakers with different
learners’ rights to maintain the link between their accent
accents influenced by their first language (L1).
in English and their L1 identity. Recognition of this right
Because of the many accents that they will encounter in EIL is reflected in the 2018 update to the Common European
contexts, learners will need to be able to adjust their listening Framework of Reference (CEFR), according to which idealized
to what they actually hear, as opposed to what they might native-speaker models that ignore the retention of L2-
expect to hear on the basis of the native-speaker accents that influenced accent ‘lack consideration for context, sociolinguistic
they have been exposed to in the classroom. In other words, aspects and learners’ needs’.14
pronunciation teaching needs to train learners in receptive
EIL-oriented pronunciation teaching does not exclude learners
accommodation, the skill of adjusting one’s expectations as a
who wish to attain a particular native-speaker accent. As we
listener in order to understand the many accents encountered
discuss in Section 3, a preferred accent can be developed as
when using English with speakers from a variety of language
an extension of international intelligibility as learners progress
backgrounds.
towards higher levels of competence and are able to fine-tune
Productive accommodation is the ability to adjust one’s their pronunciation.15
output to one’s listener(s), taking into account their needs
and their level of competence in English. Some native
speakers do this naturally in order to make themselves more
easily understood. With guidance from their teachers, non-
native speakers can also do this by identifying and working
Teaching my students
on the aspects of their pronunciation that are most likely to
compromise their intelligibility in EIL settings. For example,
pronunciation is never about
Spanish speakers might enhance their international intelligibility
with work on the distinction between the /b/ and /v/ sounds.
them adopting a different
Bulgarian speakers can enhance their international intelligibility
by paying attention to not devoicing voiced consonants at
accent and losing their own
the end of words, for example mad vs mat. Teachers can also
help learners to deliberately adjust different features of their
identity. My lessons focus
pronunciation to support a less experienced listener. on teaching pronunciation
ACCENT AND IDENTITY so that conversations with
The connection between accent and identity is another key others, whether native or
issue in the area of pronunciation for learners10 and one that
is quite strongly contested. Some experts claim that English non-native speakers, are
language teachers who insist on learners acquiring a native-
speaker accent are depriving them of the opportunity to signal communicated well and
their L1 cultural identity through their second language (L2)
accent. Others argue that it is misguided to deny learners help interpreted accurately.
with intelligibility problems in order to protect their identity.
Both arguments are valid but need careful interpretation.11 Nicholle, Teacher, UK
There are numerous studies in which learners have stated
that they would like to sound like native speakers.12 However,
many of these studies were carried out either in English as

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Pronunciation for international communication

BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF EMPHASIZING

INTERNATIONAL INTELLIGIBILITY SUMMARY
Research suggests that an EIL approach to the teaching of Teaching pronunciation for international
English pronunciation offers a number of benefits, as well as intelligibility provides learners with an
presenting certain challenges.
attainable goal which respects their right
Benefits to show their identity through an L1-
• Achievability influenced accent while still allowing them
Taking an EIL approach allows learners to aim for the realistic to pursue a native-speaker accent if they
and achievable goal of international intelligibility. By placing
non-native-speaker and native-speaker accents on an equal
choose to do so. For teachers, the Lingua
footing, it relieves the pressure learners may feel to sound Franca Core can be used to identify the
like native speakers. most relevant pronunciation features for
• Economy of effort
EIL pronunciation allows learners to focus principally on those
learners working towards international
features of pronunciation that are central to international intelligibility. Through EIL communication,
intelligibility. learners will be exposed to a variety of
• Preparation for international communication
Exposing learners to a variety of accents and training them
different accents and they therefore need
in productive accommodation helps equip learners with support in accommodating to them as
the skills they need to engage in real-world international listeners as well as in accommodating their
communication.
• Preservation of L1 identity
own pronunciation as speakers. Teachers
Recognition by exam boards of intelligibility as the can help learners to develop these skills by
appropriate goal for pronunciation teaching shows learners ensuring that they have suitable exposure
that speaking English with an accent is accepted. This
empowers them to retain their L1 accent when speaking
to the accents they are likely to encounter.
English if they wish and, with this, their L1 identity.
• Choice
An EIL approach to pronunciation allows learners to choose
their own long-term goals for their pronunciation.
• Motivation
Discussing EIL in the classroom and demonstrating that
non‑native speakers outnumber native speakers of English
can show learners that they, too, ‘own’ the language. This
may boost their confidence and motivation.

Challenges
• Differing learner goals
Within any group of learners, some may wish to aim
for a native-speaker accent and others for international
intelligibility. The teacher will need to make it clear to the
learners that both are possible within an EIL approach.
• Differing learner L1s
A group of learners with different L1s will find different
aspects of pronunciation challenging. However, with sensitive
handling, their accents can be a resource for work on
accommodation skills.
• Learner age and readiness
Teachers need to decide when learners are ready to discuss
EIL and non-native-speaker accents. Before students are
ready to do so, teachers will need to make decisions about
the focus of pronunciation teaching on behalf of their
learners.

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 02
THE IMPORTANCE OF
PRONUNCIATION
Pronunciation skills are crucial for successful communication in
English in today’s globalized world. However, they also have a
more significant contribution to make to language learning and
use. In this section, we consider how pronunciation skills relate
to learners’ overall competence in international communication,
and we examine the importance of pronunciation with regard to
speaking and listening skills, vocabulary learning, and reading
skills.

PRONUNCIATION AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

Pronunciation has long been accepted as an essential part of communicative
competence,16 that is, a speaker’s knowledge of a language and how to use it. A
concept dating back to the 1970s, communicative competence is defined from the
perspective of native-speaker behaviours and cultures. However, the globalization
of English has led to a broadening of this concept to reflect the use of English as an
international language (EIL). The goal is now to develop the language knowledge
and usage skills needed for communicating with people from different linguistic and
cultural backgrounds, or in other words, to develop intercultural communicative
competence. Studies of EIL show that pronunciation can account for up to two-
thirds of communication breakdown between non-native speakers.17 International
intelligibility is therefore an essential component of intercultural communicative
competence, and this makes the teaching of pronunciation more relevant than ever.

Surveys of learner attitudes and beliefs indicate that they are fully aware of the
important role pronunciation plays in successful communication: the majority of
learners rate pronunciation as a priority, either agreeing or strongly agreeing with
statements highlighting its importance when learning English.18 Since learners value
pronunciation so highly, it seems safe to assume that they will be receptive to focusing
on pronunciation in their lessons. And as we explore below, good pronunciation
relates to and can boost performance in other areas of learning English.

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The importance of pronunciation

SPEAKING SKILLS VOCABULARY LEARNING

Studies have demonstrated that deliberate pronunciation training Sound–spelling norms
improves students’ confidence when speaking English.19 This is
Students need guidance in the correct pronunciation of new
significant because we know from other research that students
vocabulary so that they do not apply their L1 sound–spelling
who are less sure about their pronunciation competence are
norms to English words they are learning. For example, if the
less willing to participate in speaking tasks.20 Beyond the
learners’ L1 has a much more transparent sound–spelling
boundaries of formal research, teachers everywhere have first-
system than English, they may pronounce ‘real’ as /reˈæl/. This
hand experience of how poor pronunciation can seriously impact
would not normally be intelligible to listeners with other L1s
a learner’s self-confidence—an effect stemming not only from
and communication would be compromised. Similarly, learners
the difficulty that learners experience in pronouncing words but
expecting to hear ‘library’ as /ˈlaɪbrəri/, with three full syllables,
also from their perception that their spoken English is poorly
might not recognize the word when it is embedded into natural
intelligible to their listeners. Teachers can support learners in
speech and pronounced as /ˈlaɪbri/ with two syllables.
becoming clearer, more confident speakers through simple
classroom activities such as teaching them how to check the
Vocabulary retention
pronunciation of new vocabulary prior to speaking, helping them
with sounds they find hard to articulate, and showing them how In addition, evidence from neurolinguistics demonstrates
to link words so as to increase fluency. the importance of good pronunciation for the retention of
L2 vocabulary. Words that we meet are initially processed in
working memory using what is known as the phonological
LISTENING SKILLS loop. This consists of an ‘inner ear’ and an ‘inner voice’, which
hold and repeat verbal information so that it can be transferred
Bottom-up processing successfully from working memory to long-term memory. Most
Communicative approaches to listening traditionally focus researchers now agree that good pronunciation assists the
on the application of top-down processing, such as using phonological loop in successfully preparing new vocabulary24
contextual clues to understand spoken English. More recently, for storage in long-term memory, from where it can later be
experts in English as a foreign language (EFL) listening have retrieved for use.
agreed that more attention needs to be paid to bottom-up
processing, which involves decoding the individual phrases,
words, and sounds that learners hear. This is especially READING SKILLS
important for lower-level learners, who are often unable to For beginners who are learning to read in English,
make use of either contextual clues or prior knowledge to fill pronunciation is not an optional extra. This is because of
gaps in their understanding. It is also important in EIL settings, the way the written forms of English words are processed in
where interlocutors frequently do not share a common cultural working memory. Both L1 and L2 reading involves decoding
background or prior knowledge. As a result, they may be forced written words by accurately and fluently matching sounds
to use bottom-up processing and rely on the phonological to the letters or letter combinations on the page.25 Thus,
components of what they hear to understand the message.21 knowing the correct pronunciation of letter combinations such
Listeners first need to break the continuous sound of spoken as -ght, -igh, or -tion, or the possible pronunciations of ea
English down into meaningful units, short phrases, or individual for words like ‘head’, ‘meat’, or ‘break’, contributes positively
words. They must then quickly and accurately recognize to word reading fluency and, more generally, to overall
words or, if necessary, individual sounds. It has been argued reading fluency. Research into reading in English as a second
on this basis that pronunciation teaching should reintroduce language concludes that the reading problems experienced
the ear-training and sound discrimination exercises that were by some learners are the result of poor pronunciation of the
widely discredited with the arrival of communicative language sounds of English.26 Assisting these readers in improving their
teaching.22 pronunciation could therefore help them to read better.27

Connected speech
Pronunciation also overlaps with listening in terms of Research suggests that
understanding the changes to words that speakers make in
connected speech—that is, modifications to the dictionary pronunciation can account for up
form of a word through processes such as assimilation, elision,
or coalescence. These effects are most noticeable when to two-thirds of communication
speech is rapid and spontaneous,23 and listeners who are
unaware of them will face serious obstacles in their attempts
breakdown between non-native
to understand natural-speed native-speaker English. This focus speakers.
on connected speech for listening is especially appropriate for
intermediate and higher-level learners. ROBIN WALKER

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The importance of pronunciation

SUMMARY English is a global language.

The importance of pronunciation for Both native and non-native
learners cannot be underestimated. Vital to speakers need to develop
international intelligibility, it is an essential the skills for effective mutual
component of intercultural communicative
competence. Surveys reveal that learners
intelligibility.
view pronunciation as a crucial factor in JANE SETTER

their progress in learning English, and this

intuitive judgement is affirmed by research
which shows how good pronunciation
contributes to success in other aspects
of learning English, including speaking,
listening, vocabulary learning, and reading.

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 03
WHAT TO TEACH
As the goals of pronunciation teaching have shifted, so have
views on how ‘good pronunciation’ should be defined and what
exactly learners need to be taught. In this section, we explore
what ‘good pronunciation’ means, together with teaching
priorities and different models of English. We consider how
pronunciation teaching for speaking can be made relevant to all
learners, whatever their pronunciation goals. Finally, we look at
the pronunciation skills needed for successful listening in English
as an international language (EIL) contexts, and at how best to
equip learners for success.

WHAT IS GOOD PRONUNCIATION?

English as a foreign language (EFL) approaches to teaching assumed ‘good
pronunciation’ to be synonymous with a near-native-speaker accent. However, the
goal of international intelligibility in an EIL approach calls for a broader definition.
Ee‑Ling Low makes the case for ‘listener-dominated norms’, suggesting that ‘the
speaker should try, as far as possible, to achieve intelligibility with the listener’.28
Meanwhile, Rosina Lippi-Green argues for the ‘communicative burden’ to be shared
between the speaker and the listener, with the more competent speaker in any
exchange accepting a greater share of the responsibility for a successful outcome.29
‘Good pronunciation’ in these terms is pronunciation that is comfortably intelligible
to the listener—it does not have a single codifiable form. This represents a clear
departure from the traditional native-speaker-dominated norms for pronunciation
teaching.

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) also now
defines successful pronunciation in terms of intelligibility, acknowledging in its 2018
update that the former focus on native-speaker accent was mistaken:

In language teaching, the phonological control of an idealised native speaker

has traditionally been seen as the target, with accent being seen as a marker
of poor phonological control. The focus on accent and on accuracy instead of
on intelligibility has been detrimental to the development of the teaching of
pronunciation.30

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What to teach

Even for high levels (C1 and C2), the 2018 CEFR descriptors Limited international High international Learners’ personal
intelligibility intelligibility pronunciation goals
for phonological control acknowledge that the speaker’s
intelligibility is not affected in any way by features of an accent
that may be retained from other languages.31 In other words,
learners of English can achieve the very highest levels of Minimal L1
transfer
competence while retaining a non-native-speaker accent.

Thus, researchers and international guidelines for language

teaching concur that for learners of English, ‘good English accent
strongly EIL competence Standard native-
pronunciation’ is what successfully contributes to effective
influenced by (LFC-based) speaker accent
and efficient communication in a given situation. It is what learners’ L1
is comfortably intelligible to the listener(s), whether they are
native or non-native speakers. It is listener-oriented in that it
involves productive accommodation to both the listener and Any chosen
the context on the part of the speaker. No single accent of accent
English—native-speaker or non-native-speaker, standard or
otherwise—automatically represents ‘good pronunciation’. Figure 1. Achievement of different learner goals

The evolution in what constitutes ‘good pronunciation’

enables learners to move away from the native-speaker
accent goal; however, this does not mean that they have to. MODELS OF NON-NATIVE-SPEAKER ENGLISH
In surveys of learners’ views in the early 2000s, respondents A common concern expressed by teachers regarding an
pointed overwhelmingly to the attainment of a native-speaker EIL approach to pronunciation teaching is the lack of clear
accent as their ultimate goal. More recent studies suggest models of English. Opponents of such an approach suggest
that this preference is changing,32 perhaps due to increasing that without native-speaker models for students to work
awareness of EIL. Simon Cole reports how, when he explained towards, standards of pronunciation will fall to a point where
the difference between EIL and EFL goals to his students, communication fails. By contrast, exponents of EIL propose
they were ‘pleasantly surprised’ that they had a choice.33 A three possible options for suitable models:
survey of school students in Finland found that they ‘do not
seem to have aspirations to native-like pronunciation’.34 It is 1 existing native-speaker models for pronunciation teaching,
therefore important that teachers talk to learners about their avoiding features outside the LFC
pronunciation goals. 2 recordings of expert users of EIL
3 the teacher’s own pronunciation.

RESPONDING TO DIFFERENT LEARNER GOALS Model 1 is a convenient and practical option given the amount
of pronunciation practice material already available in ELT
Teachers may find that within one class some learners aspire to materials—usually in Received Pronunciation (RP) and/or
a native-speaker accent and others to international intelligibility. General American (GA). Model 2 is made feasible by websites
Fortunately, there is a lot of common ground between these and mobile apps which provide access to the speech of expert
two goals. Experts are researching how pronunciation can be users of EIL (see Section 4). Whether or not they are aimed at
taught in a way that allows learners to follow the same route language learners, these online resources can provide useful
initially and then branch out to pursue their own personal long- material for creating practice activities.
term goals, whether a native-speaker accent or international Model 3 is of special significance. If the only acceptable model
intelligibility. As Figure 1 illustrates, the pronunciation features were one particular native-speaker accent, teachers who do
in the Lingua Franca Core (LFC) provide a shared path over not speak with this accent would be clearly disadvantaged.
the common ground, allowing learners to quite quickly become In practice, this would affect not just the vast majority of
widely intelligible to willing interlocutors—both native and non-native-speaker teachers but also all the native-speaker
non‑native speakers—in most contexts.35 From there, learners teachers with non-RP or non-GA accents. In an EIL approach
can pursue their personal pronunciation goals. to pronunciation, however, all teachers whose pronunciation is
internationally intelligible are good models for their students.
In that respect, an EIL approach empowers teachers and
Being understood in a language places non-native-speaker teachers on an equal footing with
their native-speaker counterparts. In addition, in some ways,
is much more important than non-native-speaker teachers are better placed as instructors,
given that they will be guiding their learners on the same
sounding like a native speaker. journey that they have taken themselves to attain international
intelligibility.36
JANE SETTER

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What to teach

PRODUCTIVE COMPETENCE
The pronunciation features included in Jenkins’s Lingua Franca Identifying these pronunciation features gives teachers clear
Core (LFC) are those that learners require for basic productive guidance on priorities for learners who will use English as an
competence. Table 1 summarizes the pronunciation features international language. When we compare EIL and native-
that learners need to prioritize in order to be internationally speaker accent priorities (see Table 2), we can observe that
intelligible according to Jenkins’s original study and subsequent the latter includes features which are not relevant for EIL.
work by other researchers.37 Indeed, some features may even be detrimental to international
intelligibility.

Priority pronunciation feature Example

Most consonant sounds The pronunciation of /f/ as /p/, with ‘coffee’ sounding like ‘copy’ could seriously impair
international intelligibility. Similarly, replacing /tʃ/ with /ʃ/ would make ‘chairs’ sound
like ‘shares’ and also threaten intelligibility.
Exceptions:
Common variants of /θ/, /ð/, and /r/ are acceptable and widely intelligible, e.g. ‘think’
may be pronounced as ‘tink’, ‘then’ as ‘den’, and ‘ready’ with a trilled r.
Aspiration of /p/, /t/, and /k/ at the If aspiration is too weak, a word may be mistaken for another, e.g. ‘pear’ will sound
beginning of a word like ‘bear’, ‘tense’ like ‘dense’, and ‘coat’ like ‘goat’.
Consonant clusters at the beginning or Adding an extra sound is unlikely to affect intelligibility, but consonant sounds cannot
in the middle of a word usually be deleted from a cluster, e.g. ‘stone’ is likely to be understood if pronounced
as ‘sitone’ but not as ‘tone’ or ‘sone’.
Vowel length There needs to be a clear distinction between long and short vowels, e.g. ‘fill’/’feel’,
and between vowels length in different contexts, e.g. ‘back’/’bag’.
Nuclear (sentence) stress The placement of stress in a sentence shows the emphasis of the speaker and
therefore affects its interpretation, e.g. ‘I’ve rented a FLAT’/‘I’ve RENTed a flat’/‘I’VE
rented a flat’.
Word stress Word stress needs to be correctly placed to achieve intelligibility, e.g. listeners may
not recognize ‘balloon’ pronounced as ‘BAlloon’, ‘folLOW’ as ‘follow’ or ‘creation’ as
‘CREation’.
Table 1. Priority pronunciation features for productive competence (based on the LFC)

Aspect of pronunciation EIL priorities (based on the LFC) Native-speaker accent priorities
Consonant sounds Most sounds are important except for All sounds
LFC-acceptable variants
Consonant clusters Important at the beginning or in the Important in all positions
middle of words
Vowel length Long/short contrasts and shortening of Long/short contrasts are important
vowels before voiceless consonants are
important
Nuclear (sentence) stress Important Important
Word stress Important Important
Vowel quality L1-influenced vowel qualities are Important. Vowel qualities should be as
acceptable as long as they are consistent close as possible to the target native-
speaker accent, with minimal influence
from L1.
Vowel reduction, use of schwa (/ə/), and Unhelpful to intelligibility; only taught for Important
weak forms receptive purposes
Assimilation, elision, coalescence Can be unhelpful to intelligibility; only Important
taught for receptive purposes
Stress-timed rhythm Not important Important
Pitch movement (fall, rise, fall–rise, etc.) Not important Important

Table 2. EIL and native-speaker accent priorities

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What to teach

Some features of pronunciation work aimed at cultivating a

native-speaker accent are not important for EIL, while some
RECEPTIVE COMPETENCE
connected speech features of native-speaker English (such as Learners’ receptive competence—that is, their capacity to
weak forms, schwa and vowel reduction, assimilation, elision, understand when listening—is greater than their productive
and coalescence) may impair intelligibility in EIL settings. This competence: they can understand more than they can produce.
is because, individually or in combination, they can lead to In EIL settings, learners will encounter a wide range of non-
problems with recoverability, the extent to which a speaker’s native-speaker accents because of the variation in EIL speakers’
utterance is identifiable from what the listener hears. For language backgrounds. In addition, there are features of
example, pronouncing the word ‘particularly’ as /ˈptɪkli/ makes native-speaker connected speech which EIL speakers do not
it harder to recover; it is more easily recoverable as /pæˈtɪkjuleli/. need to be able to produce but do need to understand as part
Various studies conclude that since weak forms and vowel of international intelligibility.40 Pronunciation teaching has a
reduction do not add to EIL intelligibility and could compromise significant role in equipping learners to deal with both of these
it, they should not be taught for productive competence in areas as listeners.
EIL.38
In the past, a great deal of pronunciation and listening practice
was restricted to a small number of native-speaker accents.
Accent addition
Now a wider range of accents are being used in listening
Mastering the EIL priority areas of pronunciation gives learners practice and in the future, learners will need opportunities to
a good level of international intelligibility. Once they have hear an even greater variety of native-speaker and non-native-
reached basic EIL competence, they can embark upon a speaker accents. Pronunciation practice activities will also have
process of accent addition,39 working on the features of their to offer explicit guidance in the ways that different accents in
chosen accent that they have not yet acquired. For learners English affect what listeners might expect. If you know that
whose long-term goal is an RP accent, for example, the next the person you are listening to regularly pronounces /w/ as if
steps would be to work towards productive competence in it were /v/—for example, pronouncing ‘well’ as ‘vell’—then it is
the connected speech features and exact vowel qualities that much easier to adjust your listening to that speaker.
characterize this accent. For learners whose pronunciation
target is high EIL competence, the next step would be to work Specifically designed classroom activities can allow learners
on productive accommodation. This could include consciously to ‘hear, analyse and compare key features among a variety
altering their pronunciation to make themselves more clearly of accents’.41 For instance, learners could listen to how
intelligible to a particular listener and/or reducing the influence different speakers deal with a specific pronunciation issue,
of their L1(s) on their English pronunciation. such as th in ‘this’, ‘those’, or ‘then’, and comment on what
they heard and even on which pronunciation they prefer.
This kind of guided exposure helps learners improve
their ability to understand other speakers’ accents, that is,
their receptive accommodation. This, in turn, facilitates
international intelligibility, helps learners see accent as a natural
phenomenon, and increases their openness towards diversity.

Instructors can use the wide range of speech corpora freely

available online, such as the English Language Listening Library
Online, the Speech Accent Archive, or the International Dialects
of English Archive (see Further reading and resources on page
35). These allow teachers to demonstrate accents from different
varieties of English spoken around the world, giving learners
the opportunity to experience and compare their features.
Additionally, if a class is made up of speakers from multiple
L1 backgrounds, recordings of two speakers with different
accents reading the same passage can be used for in-class
comparisons, provided that the learners are happy to do this
and the activity is handled sensitively.

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What to teach

SUMMARY It is important that my

In today’s world of global communication, students can pronounce
the definition of ‘good pronunciation’ is
the capacity to be intelligible to a given
words, phrases, and
listener in a given context. Whether sentences well enough to
learners aspire to a native-speaker accent be easily understood by
or to international intelligibility, there is
a lot of common ground between these both native and non-native
two seemingly opposing goals which all speakers. The goal should
teachers can cover with their learners. For
speaking skills, productive competence
not be to sound like a native
in the Lingua Franca Core will provide speaker but to develop a
a solid foundation for ensuring learners’
international intelligibility. For listening skills,
pronunciation of English that
receptive competence in a wider range of will allow communication to
pronunciation features, including the ability
occur.
to understand many different accents, will
help promote communicative success. Ricardo, Professor, PANAMA

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 04
HOW TO TEACH PRONUNCIATION
How pronunciation is taught depends to a great extent on
who is teaching, where they are teaching, and who they are
teaching. Nevertheless, there are a number of key principles
that characterize effective pronunciation teaching in any context.
In this section, we demonstrate how teachers can convey
the importance of pronunciation skills and of international
intelligibility. We show how pronunciation teaching can be
integrated with work on other language skills, and how it
can make use of the learners’ L1. We also consider how new
technologies, used selectively, can offer valuable resources for the
classroom or self-study.

SHOWING THE RELEVANCE OF PRONUNCIATION

Whatever their teaching context, teachers can make a lasting impact on their learners’
motivation and progress in developing pronunciation skills by:

• Helping learners understand the importance of pronunciation for effective

communication
This can best be done by explaining how pronunciation relates to success in other
language skills. Learners can also be encouraged to bring in their own examples of
pronunciation issues that have hampered real-life communication to discuss in class.
• Exploring with learners the goal of international intelligibility
This is an achievable goal for all learners and one from which learners can go on to
perfect a specific accent of their choice if they wish to. (See Appendix 1 on page 29
for practical ideas.)
• Establishing priorities for each group or individual learner
These can be based on their learning goals and accompanied by discussion about
the importance of each priority.

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How to teach pronunciation

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO TEACHING Pronunciation and listening

Pronunciation can help learners deal more effectively with the
PRONUNCIATION bottom-up processing requirements that listening places
Pronunciation is intrinsic to the teaching of other skills, on them.43 Work on minimal pairs will help learners recognize
especially speaking and listening, and so pronunciation the difference between problematic sounds. The less effort
activities need to be anchored in one or more of the other needed to distinguish between /æ/ and /ʌ/, as in ‘hat’ and ‘hut’,
language skills being taught.42 Pronunciation is a support for example, the more attention the listener can devote to
system that works in the background whilst other systems are in contextual clues and other aspects of top-down processing.
operation. Targeted pronunciation work can also help learners to pick up
on the weak forms of function words. It can be very hard for
Pronunciation and speaking learners to make sense of ‘He said that they could have won.’
where four of the words are weakened and come one after
Pronunciation supports speaking in different ways. Work on
another. Similarly, ‘and a dress’ sounds the same as ‘an address’
new language structures, for example, requires pronunciation
and it is not easy to distinguish between ‘I’ll go’ and ‘I’d go’ or
practice. Activities focusing on accurate pronunciation of
between ‘she’s gone’ and ‘she’d gone’.
plural -s or regular past tense -ed endings are well represented
in ELT coursebooks, but other structures can also provide
Pronunciation and vocabulary
opportunities for pronunciation work. For example, consonant
clusters, a common source of difficulty for learners, can be Vocabulary knowledge underlies success in both speaking and
practised through third conditional structures such as ‘If we listening, and vocabulary work provides an ideal opportunity
hadn’t followed them, we’d’ve got lost’. Practice like this to integrate pronunciation into lessons aimed primarily at
integrates pronunciation into accuracy-focused oral work on a language or skills work. Checking vocabulary prior to speaking
grammar structure. Learners can also work on the pronunciation allows teachers to detect pronunciation problems and deal with
of lexical chunks, such as ‘if I were you’, ‘I see what you mean’, them before they distract learners during the speaking activity
or ‘it’s on the tip of my tongue’. Helping learners to produce itself. Problematic consonant and vowel sounds, consonant
lexical chunks more fluently will optimize the contribution of clusters, and word stress can all be addressed at this stage in a
these chunks to their overall speaking fluency. way that brings out the real value of pronunciation.

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How to teach pronunciation

THE LEARNERS’ L1 TECHNOLOGIES FOR TEACHING PRONUNCIATION

A significant factor affecting the learning of L2 pronunciation is A wide range of technologies are now available to assist in the
the learner’s L1. This will strongly influence the way that learners teaching of pronunciation. These include technologies that are
perceive the sounds and suprasegmental features (such as specifically developed for pronunciation teaching and form
stress, rhythm, and intonation) of the target language since they part of computer-assisted pronunciation teaching (CAPT).
will categorize what they hear through their L1 system. Hearing They also include general-purpose digital tools, such as video-
English through ‘L1 ears’ creates difficulties for learners. These conferencing or recording apps, which teachers are using for
difficulties can occur with the features of English pronunciation pronunciation work in increasingly creative ways.
that are altogether absent from the L1 and with those that are
significantly different from the L1, but problems are especially Using computer-assisted pronunciation teaching
likely to arise with features that are deceptively similar.44 Most of the online resources and apps created to help learners
improve their pronunciation can be used in class and offer a
Interestingly, for learners whose goal is international
number of advantages, including:
intelligibility, there are many features of their L1 pronunciation
that can be usefully brought to bear on their progress with the • the provision of consistent language models
pronunciation of English.45 As a minimum, the L1 will provide • a wide range of voices (male and female, native speaker and
the basis on which learners can build their competence in the non-native speaker)
key features of the pronunciation of English for international • the potential to facilitate learner autonomy
intelligibility.46 For example, the English sound /ŋ/, as in ‘thing’ • scope for extended individualized practice.
and ‘hanger’, is not found in French but it is pronounced in • their portability as an online or smartphone resource
the French word dingue, where it is present as an allophone
• unlike human teachers, they never get ‘tired’
(an acceptable variant). Similarly, the sound /v/ is not found in
Mandarin Chinese but /f/ is. If learners are asked to make /f/ CAPT resources offer a wide range of different speaker models,
and are then shown how to add voicing, they can easily make thereby providing the exposure that is essential for English as
a /v/ sound. The L1 also provides learners with a lens through an international language (EIL) settings. An app developed by
which they can investigate the sound systems of L2 English the National Institute of Education in Singapore, for example,
speakers with other L1 backgrounds,47 and this will help them uses a non-native-speaker accent as the model.48 The app
to accommodate their pronunciation to speakers of different allows users to record themselves and share their recordings
varieties of English. (See Appendix 1 on page 29 for more ways with a closed social media group and their instructor. This
of using the learners’ L1 as a classroom resource.) enables peers to listen to and comment on each other’s
pronunciation patterns.

Despite the potential benefits of CAPT resources, many

are not yet sufficiently developed to ensure that their use
has the desired result. A 2013 review of smartphone apps
found that most focused on a single aspect of pronunciation,
often an individual sound which did not necessarily affect
intelligibility.49 Most also used native-speaker accents as the
model, and if they gave feedback on the learner’s production,
they did so by comparing it to the chosen native-speaker
accent rather than by measuring the speaker’s intelligibility.

Automatic speech recognition (ASR) is a significant aspect

of CAPT and there has been a good deal of research into its
usability in teaching pronunciation.50 ASR technology is rapidly
improving and is now being used for high-stakes testing.
However, two key issues need to be addressed: firstly, its
capacity to deal with variation and to rate intelligibility rather
than accent, and secondly, its capacity to offer immediate,
meaningful feedback to the user.

As with smartphone apps, if the first issue is not resolved, ASR

will be of limited value to learners aiming to use their English
for international communication. Equally importantly, ASR
and other CAPT resources need to offer learners immediate,
quality feedback, with clear, individualized guidance identifying
errors and indicating how they can be corrected; otherwise
learners risk repeating the same erroneous form and reinforcing
incorrect pronunciation.51

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How to teach pronunciation

Selecting digital resources

Even where good resources and apps are available, human
teachers will continue to play an essential role in pronunciation
SUMMARY
teaching for the foreseeable future. Learners will need guidance
Effective pronunciation teaching starts
from their teachers on which apps and resources are most
useful, which parts of an app or program are most relevant to with demonstrating to learners the
their needs, and how to correct an erroneous pronunciation importance of pronunciation for effective
feature identified by the app or CAPT resource they are using.
When assessing the usefulness of an app or CAPT resource,
communication. It helps them understand
teachers need to consider the following factors: that international intelligibility is a valid and
• Suitability and choice achievable pronunciation goal which offers
Does the resource offer learners what they need and can they a good basis for progressing to speaking
choose what to work on and in what sequence?
English with any accent they choose. Work
• Place and pace
Can learners choose where they will practise and at what on pronunciation skills is most effective
speed they will advance? when integrated into the teaching of
• User instructions
other language skills. The learners’ L1 has
Are the instructions simple and explicit?
• Repetition a significant role to play, being both an
Is there opportunity for abundant repetition as is required to obstacle to and an important resource
make the new pronunciation skill automatic? for learning the pronunciation of English.
• Feedback
Is feedback immediate and useful? Smiley or sad emojis
Technologies are another resource for
indicating right and wrong answers can provide immediate teaching and learning pronunciation.
feedback, but this feedback is of limited use to learners, While they bring a number of advantages,
especially with incorrect answers.
• Progress
learners need guidance from teachers on
Does the app or resource keep a reliable record of the which technologies will help them most.
learners’ progress and can learners easily see their progress?

Rapid technological
developments mean that learners
can have easy access to global
varieties of English through
virtual platforms. This exposure
will help them to appreciate and
understand global varieties of
English.
EE-LING LOW

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 05
THE ASSESSMENT OF
PRONUNCIATION
The significance of English as an international language (EIL) is
reflected in new approaches to assessing pronunciation. Indeed,
as we will see, most examination boards now conceptualize
pronunciation in terms of international intelligibility rather than
native-speaker accent in summative assessment. In this section,
we also look at ways of assessing pronunciation in the classroom
and consider the important role of feedback and correction in
formative assessment.

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT OF PRONUNCIATION

The summative assessment of pronunciation is included in all the major international
examinations in English. These examinations focus on the holistic assessment
of pronunciation as part of speaking and now test candidates according to their
intelligibility52 or adherence to ‘an internationally intelligible model’53 rather than
a native-speaker accent. This development is in accordance with the 2018 CEFR
scale for phonological control and demonstrates the willingness in language
teaching and assessment to evolve in response to the growth of EIL. However, the
use of international intelligibility as a construct for assessing speaking proficiency is
complex. It is the focus of much ongoing research by the assessment community54 and
constitutes a significant challenge for English language assessment.

CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT OF PRONUNCIATION

The assessment of pronunciation in the classroom is essential. It is a way for teachers
to demonstrate the importance of pronunciation and for learners to measure
their progress, a key factor in achieving good pronunciation. Focusing classroom
assessment on international intelligibility rather than proximity to a specific accent
reflects the role of pronunciation in global communication. For the most part, we
recommend the use of holistic classroom assessment (looking at all aspects of
pronunciation) rather than discrete item testing (assessing individual features).
However, there are situations when a discrete item test can be appropriate. For
example, if a group has just finished a unit or module in which they worked on a
specific contrast between two sounds, a simple test requiring them to demonstrate
their ability to perceive and produce this difference would be effective.

In general, experts and skilled practitioners agree that classroom assessment should
take the form of diagnostic testing at the beginning of a course and progress
testing during the course to provide learners with ongoing feedback and help them
to measure their progress.

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The assessment of pronunciation

Diagnostic testing Progress testing

For the purposes of diagnostic testing, some pronunciation Progress testing can now be facilitated by modern technologies
experts recommend obtaining and recording samples of two which allow students to record speech samples much more
types of learners’ spoken output which require them to: easily. After practising a pronunciation feature through a
classroom activity, students can make a recording of the activity
• read a set text aloud
or a related task and send it to their teacher for assessment.
• speak spontaneously.55
This also provides an opportunity for peer and self-assessment,
Using a set text guarantees that all the students in the group since learners can listen to their own recordings and those of
can demonstrate the pronunciation of the target items in their peers. They can also be invited to make various attempts
the same controlled context. The easiest way of choosing an at the target feature(s) based on any feedback they receive from
appropriate set text is to pick one from a recent unit in the class their peers or teacher, without seeing these repeated attempts
coursebook, such as part of a reading passage or the audio as ‘cheating’.57
script from a listening activity. If a listening passage is chosen, it
is best to use a monologue so that all the students are assessed Feedback and correction
on the same text. One of the teacher’s key roles in the classroom is to provide
The disadvantage of using a set text is that reading aloud is not immediate, meaningful feedback to learners as they attempt a
easy and is especially challenging for students with dyslexia. This new pronunciation feature. For example, this can be done by:
problem can be avoided by obtaining samples of spontaneous • showing learners how to put their thumb and forefinger on
speech—for example, by getting learners to answer questions, their throat to feel the vibrations produced by voiced sounds
describe pictures, or talk about themselves. However, such • stretching an imaginary rubber band to remind learners
activities can present other challenges for some students. It is about vowel length
also unlikely that all students will produce the same features • clapping out word stress or nuclear (sentence) stress.
in the same contexts, which can make comparisons between
students difficult. Ideally, both types of speech sample should Learners also need to become aware of each other’s mistakes
be obtained from each learner, but there may be circumstances so that they can offer peer correction, i.e. provide fellow
in which it is better to sacrifice one option and use the other learners with meaningful feedback in the absence of the
in order to allow each learner to perform at their best. Timid teacher. Getting students to work on pronunciation activities
students may well prefer a set text, for example, whilst a student in small groups is a fundamental way of stimulating peer
with dyslexia may prefer spontaneous speech. feedback. In addition, a number of studies suggest that learners
benefit from support in monitoring and correcting their own
Once analysed and marked by the teacher, these samples can pronunciation. It has been found that although learners may
serve as the basis for determining individual learners’ priorities sometimes find it difficult to self-assess their pronunciation,58 in
or for identifying areas that are problematic for the class. Until the absence of either teachers or peers, self-monitoring can be
quite recently, with English being learned mainly as a foreign effective.59
language, samples were marked against a specific native-
speaker accent. However, in EIL settings, it is preferable to
measure learners’ pronunciation against features recognized to
be central to achieving international intelligibility.56

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The assessment of pronunciation

Learner portfolios
One way of combining both diagnostic and progress testing
and both holistic and discrete item testing is the use of learner
SUMMARY
portfolios.60 Portfolios are well suited to adult and teenage
Formal assessment is beginning to take
learners, can be used with classes of any size, and do not
generate a significant amount of extra work for teachers. account of EIL pronunciation, as evidenced
Typically, a portfolio would include: by the fact that international examination
• a recording of a diagnostic test done at the beginning of a boards now reference the testing of
course, together with a marked version highlighting problem pronunciation to international intelligibility
areas
• the written and recorded versions of pronunciation activities rather than proximity to a native-speaker
or tasks done during the course accent. In the classroom, teachers can
• marks and teacher’s comments from progress tests focus principally on formative assessment,
• notes on any pronunciation problems encountered—both
in class during speaking tasks and outside the classroom in making use of the opportunities that
real‑life communication. digital technologies provide for learners
Portfolios allow learners to identify their own pronunciation to record their speech. These recordings
problems and gauge how far they are from targets they have can be assessed by the teacher and are
set for themselves. With this information, the teacher can
suggest activities that will help the learner to overcome these also a good source of material for self-
problems. An additional advantage of learner portfolios is and peer assessment. The assessment of
that they provide both the learner and the teacher with a tool
pronunciation should generally be holistic,
for progress testing. At the end of a course, the completed
portfolio could be given a final mark which could contribute to conducted as part of a wider authentic
any overall summative assessment of the learner. Better still, the speaking task, although discrete item
portfolio could provide the full year mark and so eliminate the
need for a more traditional end-of-course pronunciation test.
testing can be useful at the beginning
of a course or at specific points during
the course. Learner portfolios provide an
excellent means of diagnostic and progress
testing of pronunciation. When kept
over a period of time, portfolios can also
contribute to the summative assessment of
individual learners.

Assessing pronunciation in the

classroom allows teachers to
demonstrate its importance to
learning and enables learners to
measure their progress.
ROBIN WALKER

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 06
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR
TEACHERS
Studies show that teachers, particularly non-native speakers, lack
confidence in teaching pronunciation. In this section, we examine
the knowledge gaps identified in these studies and consider
the types of professional development that might be of greatest
benefit to teachers. We also look at how teaching institutions
can boost teachers’ knowledge, skills, and confidence, and how
investing in professional development in pronunciation teaching
can have a positive impact on all involved.

TEACHER BELIEFS
Teachers often report that they have not had the opportunity to acquire the relevant
knowledge and skills to help them to teach pronunciation. In addition, many non-
native-speaker English teachers are anxious about the perceived inadequacy of their
own accent when this does not match the native-speaker accents featured in course
materials. Similar anxieties may be experienced by native-speaker teachers whose
accent is not the same as those used in recordings for pronunciation work. This lack of
confidence is a result of the emphasis that was previously placed on a native-speaker
accent as the ultimate goal of pronunciation practice, and although surveys of learners
indicate a shift towards international intelligibility as the perceived goal, this may
not be reflected in the goals that non-native-speaker English teachers set themselves.
Their role as models of English for their students may still push them towards pursuing
a native-speaker accent, even if they are aware of English as an international
language (EIL) and its emphasis on intelligibility.61

Interestingly, studies show that learners place less importance on the native-speaker
quality of their teachers’ accents than teachers themselves do.62 This is supported by
research which reveals that being a non-native-speaker or native-speaker teacher ‘is
not a critical factor in teachers being effective pronunciation teachers’.63 In addition,
pronunciation teaching experts increasingly see non-native-speaker teachers as
bringing certain strengths that native-speaker teachers cannot, especially when
pronunciation is being taught for EIL purposes.64 The non-native-speaker teacher has
already been through the process of learning the language and so shares the learning
experience of their students. This should ‘constitute the basis for non-native teachers’
confidence, not for their insecurity’.65

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Professional development for teachers

EQUIPPING TEACHERS TO TEACH PRONUNCIATION

Surveys have indicated that teachers from most entry points Investing in teacher development
into their profession, whether through university degrees
or private certification courses, perceive a need for further
in the teaching of pronunciation
professional development in the teaching of pronunciation and is crucial. It gives teachers the
in the preparation of materials for teaching purposes.66 This
development would include: opportunity to acquire the
• a good understanding of the implications of the globalization knowledge and skills to help
of English in terms of learner goals and priorities
• an increased understanding of the phonetics and phonology learners improve their language
of both English and the learners’ L1(s)
• a working knowledge of how transfer from the learners’
skills, prepare for examinations,
L1 can be both an obstacle and a resource for teaching and communicate in English with
pronunciation
• an awareness of how pronunciation is acquired in a second greater confidence.
language and the effects of factors such as age, aptitude, L1
ROBIN WALKER
phonology, learner motivation, and practical knowledge
• a working knowledge of tips and techniques for effective
classroom teaching, including how the L1 can be exploited to
help learners to achieve international intelligibility
• access to a bank of reliable teaching resources, including
practical activities, apps, and websites
• access to different varieties of world Englishes through online
databases of speech corpora.

As members of a global
society, we need to
communicate with a variety
of people, even in our own
countries. We need to speak
our common language—
English as an international
language—for mutual
understanding in education,
employment, and social
interaction. We need to
teach pronunciation that will
be clear enough to avoid
misunderstanding each other.
Kazunori, Professor, Japan
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Professional development for teachers

THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHERS’ CONTINUING

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SUMMARY
We have argued in this paper that effective pronunciation Both native-speaker and non-native-
teaching is crucial for learners of English, promoting
both intercultural communicative competence and the
speaker teachers are aware of a need for
development of other language skills. However, there are training in various aspects of pronunciation.
also other reasons why supporting teachers’ professional Many find it hard to relate any formal
development in the teaching of pronunciation may be viewed
as a worthwhile investment: instruction that they received in phonetics
• Up-to-date teacher knowledge
and phonology to the needs of day-to-day
In recent years, the English language has undergone major classroom teaching. Non-native-speaker
changes which are hugely significant to the teaching of teachers are especially likely to experience
pronunciation. It is only through professional development
in pronunciation that English teachers can keep up with a
insecurities over their accent. However,
field that impacts on so much of what they do in the ELT these concerns are ill-founded, not only
classroom. because a native-speaker accent is rarely
• Teacher confidence
Many teachers, both native speakers and non-native
a primary concern for learners but also
speakers, feel insecure about their accent, particularly because non-native-speaker teachers’
if it differs significantly from the accents that feature in own learning experiences put them in
the teaching materials they use. Teachers also commonly
report feeling unsure of their understanding of English
a strong position to help their learners
pronunciation and that they have received insufficient to become internationally intelligible.
training to be able to teach it well.67 Continuing professional Institutional support is required to help
development in EIL can help reduce these insecurities and, in
the long term, strengthen teachers’ professional self-esteem
teachers appreciate what they bring to
as well as improving their classroom performance. pronunciation teaching, to enable them
• Success in examinations to keep up to date with changes in the
Teachers who understand English pronunciation and the
concept of international intelligibility are better equipped
pronunciation of English, to better prepare
to prepare candidates efficiently and effectively for external their learners for external exams, and to
examinations, which now evaluate pronunciation in terms of provide the focus on pronunciation that
intelligibility rather than native-speaker accent.
• Student evaluations
their students want and need.
Many learners value pronunciation highly and are likely to
respond positively if their teachers display knowledge and
pedagogical competence in the pronunciation of English.

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