Priorities: intelligibility first
Aim for learners to be easily understood by a range of listeners, not to sound like a particular native accent. Jenkins' Lingua Franca Core suggests what matters most for international intelligibility:
| Matters most | Matters less |
|---|---|
| Most consonant sounds (but th and dark l are less critical) | /θ/ and /ð/ (substitutes like /t/, /f/ are usually understood) |
| Vowel length contrasts (ship/sheep) | Exact vowel quality |
| Consonant clusters at the start of words (no deletion) | Weak forms (useful for listening more than speaking) |
| Nuclear (sentence) stress: stressing the key word | Word stress in rare words; pitch movements |
| Aspiration of /p/ /t/ /k/ | Features of connected speech in production |
Teachers working towards a specific exam or workplace may add features (e.g. word stress for presentations).
Diagnosis
- Record a short sample: read a diagnostic passage + 1 minute of free speech.
- Note problems by area: individual sounds, clusters, word stress, sentence stress, intonation, connected speech.
- Mark each as high (affects intelligibility) or low (accent).
- Compare with likely L1 issues (
l1_issues.py) but trust what you hear. - Choose 2-3 priorities per learner; share them with the learner.
Feedback techniques in class
| Technique | How | For |
|---|---|---|
| Model and drill | Model 2-3 times naturally; choral then individual repetition | New items, sounds |
| Back-chaining | Build from the end: -gether / to-gether / al-to-gether | Long words, clusters, sentences |
| Isolate and recombine | Say the sound alone, then in the word, then in the sentence | Individual sounds |
| Articulation description | "Lips round", "tongue tip behind the top teeth", "voice on/off" (hand on throat) | Sounds new to the L1 |
| Visual aids | Mirror, mouth diagrams, phonemic chart, waveform/pitch apps | Self-monitoring |
| Minimal pairs | Discriminate then produce (minimal_pairs.py) | Contrasts |
| Stress marking | Underline, ● o, clap or tap stressed syllables; stretch the vowel | Word and sentence stress |
| Kazoo / humming | Hum the intonation pattern | Intonation |
| Recast with emphasis | "Not bark: PARK." | Quick correction during speaking |
| Finger / gesture | Point to the problem sound in a word-on-fingers | Self-correction |
| Shadowing | Speak along with a recording | Rhythm, connected speech |
| Recording and self-review | Learner records, compares with a model, notes 2 improvements | Autonomy |
Written pronunciation feedback (for recordings)
Strengths: Clear word stress in "important" and "development"; good pace.
Priority 1: /p/ vs /b/ - "bark" for "park" (00:12), "ben" for "pen" (00:31).
Practise: paper strip test; minimal pairs p-b; record the sentences again.
Priority 2: Sentence stress - stress the new information: "I went to the BEACH, not the PARK."
Next recording: read the same text again and compare.Phonemic symbols
Use the phonemic chart for sounds the learners struggle with; teach symbols gradually (the ones for problem contrasts first). Learners use dictionary transcriptions to check new words.
Sensitivity
- Accent is part of identity; frame feedback as clarity, not "correct" vs "wrong" accents.
- Avoid laughing at mispronunciations or imitating learners.
- Private feedback for recordings; choral drills before individual drills to lower anxiety.
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