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9 - The Intelligibility-Based Classroom

from Part IV - Teaching and Research Approaches to Intelligibility

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2018

John M. Levis
Affiliation:
Iowa State University
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Summary

This chapter discusses the implication of the Nativeness Principle and the Intelligibility Principle, and looks at how the shift from nativeness to intelligibility implies a different role for pronunciation in language teaching. Pronunciation has long been seen in terms of the Cinderella myth, suggesting that pronunciation does not have a proper and equal place in language teaching, while other skills are privileged in classrooms and teacher training. Pronunciation has changed with the times, however, and today’s approaches to pronunciation teaching, and the basic goals, have changed with them. This chapter discusses the Nativeness and Intelligibility Principles in detail, along with their implications for classroom practice, and describes six features that are essential to an intelligibility-based approach to teaching: selectivity in what is taught; instruction that takes account of individual needs rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach; multi-modality in teaching rather than auditory instruction alone; communicatively oriented instruction in which pronunciation is important to communicative goals; accuracy in how pronunciation is described both for teachers and for learners; and connections to socially significant uses of language rather than decontextualized pronunciation instruction.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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  • The Intelligibility-Based Classroom
  • John M. Levis, Iowa State University
  • Book: Intelligibility, Oral Communication, and the Teaching of Pronunciation
  • Online publication: 24 September 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108241564.012
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  • The Intelligibility-Based Classroom
  • John M. Levis, Iowa State University
  • Book: Intelligibility, Oral Communication, and the Teaching of Pronunciation
  • Online publication: 24 September 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108241564.012
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Intelligibility-Based Classroom
  • John M. Levis, Iowa State University
  • Book: Intelligibility, Oral Communication, and the Teaching of Pronunciation
  • Online publication: 24 September 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108241564.012
Available formats
×