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Evaluating pronunciation
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Sun, 03/22/2009 - 20:57
There's a very interesting conversation going on in the Pronunciation Area about the fact that there are so many Englishes and so many different kinds of English pronunciations.
How do you evaluate your students' pronunciation? Do you test it? Do you test it separatly? How? What do you take into account? Is pronunciation to be considered ok as long as it doesn't hider comprehension?
What is your experience?
Tue, 03/24/2009 - 16:51
#2
Hi Silvia, Hi everyone
I do a bit of testing for the tests in Europe called CEF (Common European Framework) which offers categories for all or the major European languages as to speaker's ability. I am an examiner for the English tests. Interestingly enough pronunciation along with intonation is only to be taken into consideration on a fairly advanced level
[Excursus: There are six levels: A1,A2,B1,B2,C1,C2. A1 is the absolute (or relative) beginner, C2 the quasi- native speaker]
As to B1 it says in the regulations for the English tests "pronunciation is clearly intelligible even if a foreign accent is sometimes evident and occasional mispronunciations occur." So on that level which is quite advanced as to grammar, vocabulary, and task management" occasional wrong pronuncations or a foreign accent are fully o.k. and will not lead to a loss of credits.
It is only on B2 level where the rule says "has acquired a clar, natural pronunciation and intonation" that first of all intonation will firstly enter into discussion and that pronucation is required to be clear and natural. Clear means more or less that it does not impede communication, while I read "natural" as sounding more or less like British or American English.
So what this testing board does is place the emphasis on being intelligible and pronunciations being such as not to hinder communication.
In the business sectors, where is mostly teach this idea is absolutely o.k. You are happy when they understand you correctly when you book a flight, reserve a table at the restaurant, give a presentation etc.
Interestingly enough, institutes of higher education in Germany are far more strict in their targets of teaching.
So, that's a bit of information on my experiences.
I would be delighted to hear from your experiences
Dear Silvia!
I think the best way to evaluate pronunciation is to assess it while conducting speaking activity. In our classes there is also another way for testing sounds: For example, the teacher writes down 4 words such as a. decide b. mile c. kind d. sitting. Then the students have to pick out the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from the others