Search results

1

English Pronunciation Standard Preferences among Students of Polish Universities — Self-reports

100%

Buczek-Zawiła A.

Anglica Wratislaviensia

|

2018

|

issue 56

251 - 271

EN

For many years now the debate as to the English pronunciation model to be selected for training both in academia and for schools in Poland has proved unresolvable. When pronunciation instruction is executed, anything that conspicuously departs from spelling pronunciation is accepted. It appears that teachers implicitly and largely unconsciously follow the idea of the somewhat impoverished instructional model of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) put forward by Jenkins (2000). Until recently, no reasonable, well-argued-for alternative was available, whereas now the model suggested in Szpyra-Kozłowska (2015): Native English as Lingua Franca (NELF) fulfils the needs of both students in English departments as well as ordinary users of English. This paper reports on the preferences as to the desirable standard in pronunciation instruction among students in academia — but not among those of English language departments — as learners of English as a Foreign Language for whom language proficiency may be an important professional asset in their future careers. To investigate the above, a research survey of the quantitative-qualitative type was implemented in the form of a questionnaire. The focus is not so much on the numerical favourites as on the reasons behind a stated preference. The respondents seem to aspire to realistic but nonetheless high goals.

2

Models and Targets for the Pronunciation of English in Vietnam and Sweden

75%

Cunningham U.

Research in Language

|

2009

|

vol. 7

113-128

EN

This paper aims to account for the factors that lie behind the choice of models and targets for the pronunciation of English by learners of English in Vietnam and in Sweden. English is the first foreign language in both Vietnam and in Sweden. English is used as a language of international communication in both settings. Swedish learners have much more exposure to spoken English than do Vietnamese learners and the Swedish language is more similar to English than is Vietnamese. These reasons, among others, explain why Swedish accents of English are typically considerably more intelligible than Vietnamese accents of English. Given that the majority of English speakers in the world are not native speakers, it is argued that the traditional learner target of approaching native speaker pronunciations is not appropriate for either group, but especially not for the Vietnamese learners. Instead maximal international intelligibility is a more useful target. To this end, learners need to be exposed to a variety of native and non-native models.

3

Models and Targets for the Pronunciation of English in Vietnam and Sweden

75%

Cunningham U.

Research in Language

|

2009

|

vol. 7

113-128

EN

This paper aims to account for the factors that lie behind the choice of models and targets for the pronunciation of English by learners of English in Vietnam and in Sweden. English is the first foreign language in both Vietnam and in Sweden. English is used as a language of international communication in both settings. Swedish learners have much more exposure to spoken English than do Vietnamese learners and the Swedish language is more similar to English than is Vietnamese. These reasons, among others, explain why Swedish accents of English are typically considerably more intelligible than Vietnamese accents of English. Given that the majority of English speakers in the world are not native speakers, it is argued that the traditional learner target of approaching native speaker pronunciations is not appropriate for either group, but especially not for the Vietnamese learners. Instead maximal international intelligibility is a more useful target. To this end, learners need to be exposed to a variety of native and non-native models.

Refine search results

2 Research in Language

1 Anglica Wratislaviensia

2 Cunningham U.

1 Buczek-Zawiła A.

1 2018

2 2009

English Pronunciation Standard Preferences among Students of Polish Universities — Self-reports

Models and Targets for the Pronunciation of English in Vietnam and Sweden

Models and Targets for the Pronunciation of English in Vietnam and Sweden