Teaching english pronunciation for international intelligibility

Abstract

English has become the language for global communication in this 21st century with non-native speakers outnumbering native speakers. Pronunciation is among the key factors for successful and effective communication in this era of globalization. The learning and teaching of pronunciation, therefore, has been aiming at mutual intelligibility, or international intelligibility, rather than at native-like accents formerly. This paper reviewed the most recent transformations in the practice of pronunciation teaching towards international intelligibility in light of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) (with the Lingua Franca Core (LFC)) and Global Englishes Language Teaching (GELT) in order to help learners be better prepared for global communication. Recommendations were also presented for the instruction and assessment of English pronunciation aiming at an internationally intelligible model.