Teaching Pronunciation in Integrated Skills Classes

Abstract

The teaching of second and foreign languages by focusing on the development of separate language skills—reading, writing, listening, and speaking (to include pronunciation)—is a traditional approach to curriculum design. In fact, it is likely the most common approach to organizing and developing both programs and materials for English learners. Some current approaches to curriculum design for language teaching strive to integrate the four skills. While the other language skills, for example writing and reading, receive adequate attention in English language teaching programs with an integrated skills curriculum, pronunciation instruction is still in the background in many programs and, hence, is called the “Cinderella” of language teaching. Despite the fact that pronunciation teaching and/or learning is often shortchanged in the design of curriculum, it has been acknowledged as a crucial skill by English as a second language (ESL) teachers and learners. This entry summarizes some of the major reasons why teaching pronunciation in integrated skills ESL classes is often difficult for English language teachers in both ESL and EFL settings. The entry also offers some pedagogical activities that can be implemented in integrated skills classes to improve and further the teaching of pronunciation.