Teaching pronunciation

Teaching Pronunciation

Globalization has given English , an international platform . Today English is the most accessible language . Almost all communications find expression in English . Today English has given universality and flexibility to higher education . National commerce , judiciary all are carried out in English . It is for this reason that more and more students are taking up learning English as second language . Knowledge of English paves the way for further studies taking up jobs in Multinational companies , improves the prospect of advanced studies and Global travel . These future prospects and advantages lure more

and more students to opt for study of English as their second language . Yet while learning and speaking the language , there are various factors which govern the learning pace and quality . They are related to the native language of the speaker , age of the student , his or her attitude towards the language , motivation of learning the language , his or her cultural background . Each of these plays an important role in the learning of second language

In learning a language pronunciation forms an integral part of the language . To speak the language pronouncing the word correctly is very important . In this essay as we deal with teaching pronunciation to the secondary school students , who speak Arabic as their native language , we need to certain facts about these students . The students in secondary level in schools have reached puberty and are recognized as adolescents Their morphological and intellectual growth is accelerated at this age and they are at a turning point . They acquire a language faster and more easily than the adults . Age has an effect on second language learning It has relevance to the `Critical period ' theory popularized by Eric Lenneberg in 1967 . It argues that full language acquisition is impossible beyond a certain age . It says that children have neurological advantage in learning languages and puberty gives a turning point to the ability . The brain loses its plasticity after a certain age , losing its ability to adapt and reorganize . This makes language learning a difficult task . These students in their secondary level have begun their exposure to the language in early childhood and become more proficient in the use of language than the adults , who start late acquisition . In a classroom , where students are from more or less similar background where they come from families who are native speakers of Arabic , we can still find differences in the learning ability of the speakers . While some speak English without any accent , most speak with an Arabic accent and may be distinguished from the rest

In such a context it is important that we take into consideration certain factors which influence the pronunciation and learning abilities of these students

Age has an effect on learning English as the 2nd language . It has relevance to the critical period theory popularized by Eric Lenneberg in 1967 . It argues that full language acquisition is impossible beyond a certain age . It says that children have a neurological advantage in learning language and puberty gives a...