The choice of a pronunciation model for the 21st century learner has become a major issue of debate among applied linguists concerned with teaching English. The standard pronunciation models - Received Pronunciation and General American - have recently been confronted with a new proposal of a Lingua Franca Core (LFC) or English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), put forward as a didactic priority in teaching English pronunciation to foreigners. This volume, which includes selected contributions from the Poznań Linguistic Meetings of 2003 and 2004, does not intend to present yet another model, but sets out to place the teaching and learning of English pronunciation in the context of the 21st century. As the needs of English users are clearly changing fast in the globalizing world, the question is to what extent, if at all, models of pronunciation have been able to keep up with them, and whether they in fact should do so. Thus, key issues in the integration of pronunciation into English as L2 curricula are explored.

This book explores the topics of English accents and pronunciation. It highlights their connections with several important issues in the study of English in the world, including intelligibility, identity, and globalization. The unifying strand is provided by English pronunciation models: what do these models consist of, and why? The focus on pronunciation teaching is combined with sociolinguistic perspectives on global English, and the wider question asked by the book is: what does it mean to teach English pronunciation in a globalized world? The book takes Hong Kong – ‘Asia’s World City’ – as a case study of how global and local influences interact, and of how decisions about teaching need to reflect this interaction. It critically examines existing approaches to global English, such as World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca, and considers their contributions as well as their limitations in the Hong Kong context. A data-based approach with quantitative and qualitative data anchors the discussion and assists in the development of criteria for the contents of pronunciation models. English Pronunciation Models in a Globalized World: Accent, Acceptability and Hong Kong English discusses, among other issues: Global English: A socio-linguistic toolkit Accents and Communication: Intelligibility in global English Teaching English Pronunciation: The models debate Somewhere Between: Accent and pronunciation in Hong Kong Researchers and practitioners of English studies and applied linguistics will find this book an insightful resource.

English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is one manifestation of the changing role of English in the world today. This book and audio links explore how ELF may be relevant to teaching your students pronunciation. It draws on the Lingua Franca core, a set of pronunciation features that research has found to be essential to intelligibility in ELF communications, and explores how adopting an ELF approach can benefit students. It covers techniques and materials for teaching ELF pronunciation, including planning and assessment and the influence of learners' first language pronunciation. The audio links feature dialogues between ELF speakers from fifteen different first language backgrounds.

Assuming no prior knowledge, this book offers an accessible overview of English dialects, with activities, study questions, sample analyses, commentaries & key readings. It is structured around four sections: introduction, development, exploration & extension.

This book offers contemporary perspectives on English pronunciation teaching and research in the context of increasing multilingualism and English as an international language. It reviews current theory and practice in pronunciation pedagogy, language learning, language assessment, and technological developments, and presents an expanded view of pronunciation in communication, education, and employment. Its eight chapters provide a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of pronunciation and the linguistic and social functions it fulfils. Topics include pronunciation in first and second language acquisition; instructional approaches and factors impacting teachers’ curriculum decisions; methods for assessing pronunciation; the use of technology for pronunciation teaching, learning, and testing; pronunciation issues of teachers who are second-language speakers; and applications of pronunciation research and pedagogy in L1 literacy and speech therapy, forensic linguistics, and health, workplace, and political communication. The chapters also critically examine the research base supporting specific teaching approaches and identify research gaps in need of further investigation. This rigorous work will provide an invaluable resource for teachers and teacher educators; in addition to researchers in the fields of applied linguistics, phonology and communication.

This book explores the topics of English accents and pronunciation. It highlights their connections with several important issues in the study of English in the world, including intelligibility, identity, and globalization. The unifying strand is provided by English pronunciation models: what do these models consist of, and why? The focus on pronunciation teaching is combined with sociolinguistic perspectives on global English, and the wider question asked by the book is: what does it mean to teach English pronunciation in a globalized world? The book takes Hong Kong – ‘Asia’s World City’ – as a case study of how global and local influences interact, and of how decisions about teaching need to reflect this interaction. It critically examines existing approaches to global English, such as World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca, and considers their contributions as well as their limitations in the Hong Kong context. A data-based approach with quantitative and qualitative data anchors the discussion and assists in the development of criteria for the contents of pronunciation models. English Pronunciation Models in a Globalized World: Accent, Acceptability and Hong Kong English discusses, among other issues: Global English: A socio-linguistic toolkit Accents and Communication: Intelligibility in global English Teaching English Pronunciation: The models debate Somewhere Between: Accent and pronunciation in Hong Kong Researchers and practitioners of English studies and applied linguistics will find this book an insightful resource.

Most books on pronunciation teaching deal extensively with methodology, while giving insufficient attention to the prior questions of the model being used. This book discusses the what rather than the how. It examines critically the kinds of pronunciation model in use in ELT, in particular the Received Pronunciation accent, and shows that they are unsatisfactory in several respects. Various criteria for models are investigated, especially the concepts of intelligibility, identity, and functional load. The importance of features of the phonological system of English is assessed against these criteria, so that priorities are established for pronunciation models. This book is important reading for English language teachers, applied linguists, ELT textbook writers, language planners, speech therapists, and anyone involved in the instruction of the spoken form of English.

This book updates the latest research in the field of 'English pronunciation', providing readers with a number of original contributions that represent trends in the field. Topics include sociophonetic or sound-symbolic aspects of pronunciation English pronunciation teaching and learning.

This book focuses on an increasingly attractive, yet controversial topic of non-native accentedness in speech. The contributors here are aware of the fact that the mechanisms and effects of pronunciation are far too complex to allow for strong and definite claims of any sort, but present research leading to useful answers to relevant questions. The book contributes to the deeper understanding of many aspects of foreign-accented English with reference to clearly described empirical evidence. The volume brings together fourteen chapters organized into four subdivisions, covering conceptual and perceptual issues, questions of segmental and suprasegmental pronunciation features, and methodological and didactic recommendations. As such, it provides a cross-sectional view of the current phonetic and didactic empirical research into the pronunciation of non-native English.

This book addresses issues and debates at the centre of English pronunciation teaching. It offers new theoretical ideas and practical solutions to phonodidactic problems that arise in EFL contexts, approaching pronunciation instruction from global and local perspectives and supporting its theoretical claims with extensive empirical evidence.