ERIC Number: EJ1139908
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Apr
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0261-4448
EISSN: N/A
Learning How to Speak: Pronunciation, Pragmatics and Practicalities in the Classroom and Beyond
Yates, Lynda
Language Teaching, v50 n2 p227-246 Apr 2017
That learners who want to develop good pragmatically-appropriate speaking skills in a language also need to develop good pronunciation is beyond dispute, and yet research continues to report that both areas still have low visibility in the curriculum and are often treated as poor relations in the classroom. Many teachers are still wary of what they see as specialist areas, a perspective that encourages their neglect in the curriculum, in assessment and in teacher training programmes. In this plenary I go back to basics and focus on what learners need to accomplish outside the classroom with the language they are learning. Drawing on studies that have explored the communicative needs of immigrants to Australia from language backgrounds other than English, I will illustrate the importance of both pronunciation and pragmatics in their lives. I will then consider the implications for how we can approach both skills proactively in the classroom in an integrated way that is capable of developing students' repertoire of speaking skills for effective and appropriate use outside.
Descriptors: Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Pragmatics, Pronunciation, Immigrants, English (Second Language), Language Research, Speech Communication, Communicative Competence (Languages), Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A