Thursday, September 26, 2013

Pronunciation; Definition and Importance

Bilash (2011) stated that Pronunciation is an essential component not only of learning a language but also of using that language. For this reason,
the learning of proper pronunciation is a delicate area; students need to feel free to make mistakes and practice their pronunciation in order to increase their accuracy, but there are also times when pronunciation must be quickly corrected so that it does not impede the students' ability to understand and be understood. And AMEP (2012) argued that pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning. It includes attention to the particular sounds of a language (segments), aspects of speech beyond the level of the individual sound, such as intonation, phrasing, stress, timing, rhythm (suprasegmental aspects), how the voice is projected (voice quality) and, in its broadest definition, attention to gestures and expressions that are closely related to the way we speak a language.
It is important because Learners with good pronunciation in English are more likely to be understood even if they make errors in other areas, whereas learners whose pronunciation is difficult to understand will not be understood, even if their grammar is perfect! Such learners may avoid speaking in English, and thus experience social isolation, employment difficulties and limited opportunities for further study, which may affect their settlement in Australia. We also often judge people by the way they speak, and so learners with poor pronunciation may be judged as incompetent, uneducated or lacking in knowledge, even though listeners are only reacting to their pronunciation. Yet many adult learners find pronunciation one of the most difficult aspects of English to acquire, and need explicit help from the teacher (Morley 1994; Fraser 2000; AMEP 2011).

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