TEACHING PRONUNCIATION: A STUDY ON THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KHULNA, BANGLADESH

Abstract

Pronunciation is an integrated and integral part of second or foreign language learning since it directly affects learners’ communicative competence as well as performance. Notwithstanding, the teaching of EFL/ESL pronunciation is still peripheral and neglected in the syllabus and classroom, especially in Khulna district in Bangladesh. It is a matter of regret that most of the school-level learners in our country are not taught English pronunciation and, hence, it is overlooked. The reasons are not far to seek. A good number of teachers in our country are not aware of the significance of teaching pronunciation and its impact on effective communication. Khulna is an industrial town, yet it is lagging behind in learning English. Although there are some government and non-government high schools here, no developed teaching and testing system of English Language is used in this region. Here the teachers follow century-old traditional testing system for writing and reading English. As for listening and speaking, there is no form of testing that can aid effective pronunciation teaching in secondary schools. Therefore, teaching pronunciation is highly ignored in this area. This paper reviews the notion of pronunciation teaching and gives a theoretical background for developing pronunciation teaching. It empirically studies the learners’ and teachers’ attitudes to the significance of accurate pronunciation teaching in English. Additionally, it reflects on their preferences and beliefs about pronunciation teaching. Finally, it provides some recommendations for effective remedial measures and feedback techniques for developing pronunciation teaching and learning in the light of the theoretical and empirical findings of the research.