A Sociolinguistically Based, Empirically Researched Pronunciation Syllabus for English as an International Language

Abstract

The starting point of this paper is the recent shift in the use of English, such that non‐native speakers (NNSs) using English for international communication now outnumber its native speakers (Crystal 1997; Graddol 1997). This shift, it will be argued, has serious implications for ELT pedagogy. Principal among these is the need for empirically established phonological norms and classroom pronunciation models for English as an International Language (EIL), in which intelligibility for NNS rather than for native speaker (NS) receivers is the primary motivation. Three sets of data drawn from NNS–NNS interaction are provided in order to exemplify the kinds of empirical evidence that are necessary to enable us to make informed claims about phonological intelligibility in EIL. Then follows the author's proposal, based on such evidence, for a revised pronunciation syllabus for EIL, the Lingua Franca Core. This core approach, it is suggested, is better able to promote both intelligibility and regional appropriateness among EIL interlocutors, as well as being more teachable, than either of the two most commonly adopted classroom models, Received Pronunciation and General American. Finally, the importance of developing learners' accommodation skills as an integral part of pronunciation teaching for EIL is discussed.