To some extent, teaching pronunciation in a monolingual
class, in which all the students share the same native
language, is simpler that teaching it in a class whose students
speak many di"erent languages. It’s easy to choose the topics
to address, based on the students’ common needs.
In a multilingual class, however, we have to face the fact that
di"erent people will have di"erent problems. If you choose
an activit y to address a problem that some students are
having, it may be something that other students are already
able to do easily. If your students are old enough, talk about
this with them. Explain that sometimes the things you
practice might seem too easy, but they might be hard for
someone else. At other times, the shoe will be on the other
foot, and di"erent students will have trouble. Encourage
students to be patient and help each other so everyone can
learn and improve.
What are the learners’ goals?
Di"erent learners have di"erent goals for learning English
and for trying to improve their pronunciation. Some are or
will be living in an English-speaking country and need to be
able to speak clearly in order to survive and work. Others
will be using English in other ways: To travel abroad, to
study in an English-language university, or to do business
with native or nonnative speakers of English when English is
the only language they have in common. Some need to pass a
test, such as the iBT TOEFL or IELTS, that includes a speaking
component. Some just want to pass their English class so they
can get on with more important things.It’s important to try to understand the goals of your
particular group of learners. Along with more general
pronunciation activities, include practice aimed speci!cally
at helping them meet their goals. For example, if your
students are working in a particular profession, they’ll need
to learn to pronounce the vocabulary of that !eld. If they’re
preparing for a test, they’ll need to do practice similar to the
tasks they’ll be asked to do on the test. If they’ll need to give
presentations at professional conferences or business
meetings, they’ll need to pay special attention to appropriate
pausing, prominence, and intonation along with individual
sounds.Constraints on your teaching
In the real world, we don’t always have total freedom to
teach the way we want. The factors that put constraints on
what and how we teach might include:- Time: Few teachers have the luxury of teaching a class
devoted only to pronunciation; it will usually be just one
topic in a broader English class. Class time is limited.
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