Phonology in English Language Teaching: An International Approach

This is an introduction to English phonology, tailored to the needs of the language teacher, showing how phonology can be applied to the language classroom. The book blends the theory and practice in phonetics, phonology, English linguistics, second language acquisition and language teaching which is relevant for the classroom. Taking an accent neutral, international approach to phonology, the book compares the major varieties of English around the world, using a system of description and transcription which is relatively generic. Concentrating on the details of English phonology in the categories of consonants, vowels and parasody, it includes additional material on the relationship of phonology to orthography in English. It provides overviews of research of the acquisition of English consonants, vowels and parasody by second language learning, as well as explicit comparisons of the phenology of other languages, both IndoEuropean and non-IndoEuropean. Practical pedagogical exercises are included, together with ideas for classroom action research projects, and a chapter on classroom issues, needs analysis and lesson design in pronunciation.