Introduction to
Pronunciation for a Purpose
Pronunciation for a Purpose (PFP) is an intermediate to advanced pronunciation
and oral communication text which integrates pronunciation and speaking/listening by
using functional and communicative contexts in which pronunciation is important to the
success of the message. For students, the book will help develop their ability to
accurately and fluently pronounce American English in fully planned, partially planned,
and ultimately, spontaneous speech. For instructors, the book will provide flexible,
contextualized pronunciation practice that can be used to develop learners' overall
speaking ability by emphasizing key areas of pronunciation which most contribute to
intelligibility.
Core Beliefs Underlying Our Approach
PFP is based on the belief that pronunciation is an essential element of oral
communicative competence. PFP also recognizes that pronunciation cannot exist on its
own. As part of the larger area of oral communication, it should be taught with constant
reference to communicative goals. In support of this view, Joan Morley, one of the most
influential voices in the modern movement to teach pronunciation, says that the "proper
place for pronunciation in the second language curriculum is as an integral part of
communication" and that pronunciation instruction should include "tasks which match
the communicative needs students have in real life situations" (1999, p. 2)
Although most adult learners of a second language will not achieve a native-like
accent, it is both possible and desirable for them to achieve a level of pronunciation that
will facilitate their ability to communicate effectively. This is what language teachers
describe as intelligibility. Sandra Hinofotis and Kathi Bailey (1981) said that learners
must achieve a threshold level of pronunciation ability in order to be intelligible, and that
without this threshold level, learners' language skills in other areas could never lead to
communicative effectiveness. PFP's goal is to help learners achieve greater intelligibility.
It has always been fairly straightforward to achieve pronunciation success in
isolation, when learners are concentrating on the pronunciation topic, but it has been far
less easy for learners to transfer their new skills into less controlled contexts. To this end,
pronunciation theorists recommend that pronunciation instruction be integrated with
speaking and listening through the use of both genuine communicative tasks and
speaking activities that "bridge this gap between reading and speaking, between form and
meaning" (Grant, 1995, p. 119). PFP seeks to do this through an emphasis on
suprasegmental aspects of English, with approximately two-thirds of the text devoted to
phrasing, phrase rhythm, word stress, sentence focus, and intonation. The rest of the
textbook provides practice for vowel and consonant difficulties that are both common and
likely to impede intelligibility.
In addition to listening and speaking practice, PFP also develops learners'
prediction skills to increase learner independence. For example, in regard to word stress,
a key feature for intelligibility, PFP provides widely applicable predictive rules for high
frequency word groups. This serves to raise awareness of the importance of word stress
and to give learners strategies to pronounce unfamiliar words. This approach, which is
heavily indebted to Wayne Dickerson's groundbreaking work on predictive rules (1989),
is markedly different from most current pronunciation textbooks, in which word stress is
barely taught through lists of suffixes with very little actual listening, speaking, or
prediction practice.
Content and Organization
Each lesson in PFP is introduced through warm-up speaking and listening practice
which helps focus attention both on communication and pronunciation. PFP then
provides pronunciation practice in different contexts which may include other
communicative and language goals. Finally, each lesson ends with communicative
practice in which the focus is on both pronunciation and meaningful
communication. This sequence, from global communicative goals to specific
pronunciation work and then back to global practice, helps contextualize pronunciation
instruction within a larger context of oral communication. The sequence also follows the
model for communicative pronunciation instruction advocated by Celce-Murcia, Brinton,
and Goodwin (2010) in their book Teaching Pronunciation.
PFP's definition of communicative practice is wider than is often assumed in
discussing communicative activities and tasks. Not only are traditional activities such as
information gaps, role plays, drama, discussions and jigsaw tasks common, but PFP
includes activities to work on strategies (such as the use of oral spelling or saying number
individually to distinguish number like 15 and 50). In addition, PFP makes extensive use
of bridging activities (such as branching dialogues), in which learners can both
concentrate on the pronunciation point at hand and on meaning.
PFP is designed to be flexible. Section I of the book, called Basics, provides
coverage of the fundamental concepts that are essential to each of the areas in the
book. This section could be taught by itself as a supplement in any class on oral
communication. Once the Basics topics are covered, teachers are free to move to any
topic areas in the book that are important for the needs of their particular classes. For
example, a class for International Teaching Assistants may want to pay particular
attention to word stress and sentence focus. Instructors can go straight to these sections
without worrying about missing necessary information in earlier lessons. A class of
intermediate level learners, on the other hand, may need to pay more attention to rhythm
and phrasing, and instructors can choose from the lessons in these sections with
confidence.
We assume that learners from almost all language backgrounds will have similar
needs in learning the suprasegmentals of English. These lessons are therefore intended
for classroom practice. Segmental difficulties, that is, problems with the vowel and
consonant sounds of English, are likely to be much more individualized, especially in
classes where learners come from many different language backgrounds. These lessons
are written so that they can be successfully used in self-study or in individualized
tutoring. They can also be used successfully in a classroom if teachers have a
homogeneous class, but they may need to be supplemented with communicative
activities, which are not included with all segmental lessons.
PFP also includes several appendices which may be useful to teachers. There are
diagnostic tasks that can be used to pinpoint student difficulties, lists of minimal pairs for
vowel and consonant sounds that are not included in the segmental lessons but may be
difficult for particular learners, answers to the exercises, and charts that provide a guide
to all the symbols used in the book.
Finally, there is also a teacher's guide for PFP, which is available online at this
website. The teacher's guide provides further justification for the structure and content of
the lessons, as well as ideas for how to present the exercises. PFP can be taught without
the Teacher's Guide, but the Guide will answer many questions and provide ideas beyond
what is obvious in the course text alone.
Teaching Contexts PFP was Designed For
PFP is relevant to several teaching contexts. First, it can be used as a
pronunciation book which addresses the needs of intermediate to advanced learners who
need to quickly develop an ability to speak comprehensibly. Such learners include
international students and teaching assistants at North American universities, as well as
learners in professional programs and in adult education and intensive English
programs. Second, PFP can be used as a primary text for general oral communication
classes because of its integration of pronunciation with areas more typically found in oral
communication texts. In addition, because of its flexibility, PFP is likely to be attractive
as a supplementary text for many kinds of classes in which teachers wish to include
pronunciation but do not have time to teach pronunciation intensively.