Some scholars such as Ladefoged (2006) and Roach (2009) state the importance of transcriptions of the speech language as a form to support evidence of the analysis of this speech. One of the goals of this type of transcription can tend to allow second language learners the opportunity to recognize the aspects that involve the speech acts. English teachers may be trained to participate in the analysis and explanation of the IPA symbols so that they could generate a major influence of the English language on the students. Students could understand the importance of the speaking skill by having learning the elements exposed before.

            Pronunciation is vital for making oneself understood in real communication, one could have no grammar at all, but if one lacks of pronunciation, one can easily feel frustrated after realizing that our listeners did not understand what we tried to say. It sounds logic, but most of people fail to grasp that pronunciation plays an important role as stated by Cook (2000). This author also proposes activities that can make students become more self-confident after constant training of pronunciation and accent. This training can be scheduled in normal classes, but it is important that the teacher in turn knows the basis of pronunciation and phonetic symbols so as to prepare enthusiastic

From some of the chapters of my dissertation:

1.2. Some reasons to introduce the IPA to the students for the recognition of symbols

Teaching pronunciation could be argued to be one of the most important yet difficult aspects of EFL. Barrera (2009) states that phonetics is not used at all by English teachers because they give priority to other elements, such as vocabulary and grammar. On the other hand, Kenworthy (1987) talks about the abilities and limitations of second language learners. One of the teachers’ roles should be to help learners understand and be aware of the different sounds of English because of its relevance in communication.

                   In order to support the latter, Barrera (2009) exemplifies it saying that if the learner has never seen a lime, he or she would consider it to be an unripe lemon because that is the nearest equivalent he or she is aware of. Sounds aren’t like fruit – sound images are different to visual images – but the process of establishing categories is basically the same and each language has its own set of categories. This comparison is maybe what could help us to understand the relevance of recognizing the IPA symbols.

1.3. The use of English phonetic symbols and English pronunciation through phonetic transcription.

Phonetic transcription is neither orthography nor letters of the alphabet. It displays closer relationship between symbols and sounds, unlike traditional writing systems. Through the use of phonetic transcription one is able to go beyond standard orthography and be aware of differences in pronunciation between dialects within a given language such as English. It seems that phonetic transcription may help learners to identify and observe changes in pronunciation that take in any kind of speech. Of course, English teachers decide the best moment to teach phonetic transcriptions to their students.

In a non-English speaking environment like our classrooms for teaching English, the phonetic transcriptions play an important role so that our English students can take more out of the English language since this is taught in secondary schools, especially students of the third grade of secondary.

1.4. The importance of learning, recognizing, and using the sounds of the phonetic symbols by English language students.

                   Regarding to the importance of this topic, Jenkins (2001) states that teachers normally fail when trying to teach English language because of the relative failure of English Language Teaching (ELT) pedagogy to adjust its methodologies in line in which the goal of learning is more often to be able to use English as a lingua franca in communication with other non-native speakers - as it occurs in the classrooms of most Mexican schools.

Ladefoged (2006) suggests that in making speech, people can hear humans and it is a more efficient way to impart information. Hence, the importance of the normative production.

Most of English students in secondary schools in Mexico would probably find very difficult to understand English speakers. In real life, it may be an impossible task try to understand native speakers like in situations in which they use higher velocities and liaisons common of English language. Here the importance of phonetic symbols as a way to reinforce real communication, because the phonetic symbols may help the students understand the spoken English they hear as well as make their own speech more comprehensible and meaningful to others.

1.5. Recognition of the places of articulation to produce the English speech sounds.

                   Teaching pronunciation is one of the most important yet difficult aspects of English teaching in general way. Ladefoged (2006) states that human beings convey information by gestures of the hands that other people can see, but in making speech that people can hear, humans have found a more efficient way to impart information. The gestures of the tongue, lips, and mouth articulators are made audible so that they can be heard and recognized by the speaker himself and the listeners.

First contact in series with phonetics:

Students are familiarized with phonetic sounds.

Students hear the chain of sounds and think of sounds.

Students analyze the sounds.

Students are able to write the phonetic trascription.

Students are able to orally produce the normative sounds.

Students are able to write the dictation.

TRANSCRIPTION

[heˈləʊ, maɪ neɪm ɪs __________ aɪm teɪkɪŋ ə’merɪkən ˈæksent ˈtreɪnɪŋ. ðeərs ə lot tuː lɜrn, bʌt aɪ hɔʊp tuː meɪk ɪt əz ɪnˈdʒɔɪabl əz pɒsəbl. aɪ ʃʊd pɪk ʌp ɒn ði əˈmerikən ˌɪntəˈneɪʃn ˈpætern prɪti ˈiːzəli, ɔːlˈðəʊ ði ˈəʊnli weɪ tuː get ɪt ɪs tu præktɪs ɔːl əv ðə taɪm. aɪ juːz ði ʌp ənd daʊn, ɔːr piːks ənd vælis , ɪntəˈneɪʃn mɔːr ðən aɪ juːzd tuː. aɪv biːn peiːŋ əˈtenʃn tuː, pɪtʃ tuː. ɪts laɪk wɔːkɪŋ daʊn ə ˈsteərkeɪs. aɪv biːn tɔːkiŋ tu ə lɒt əv əˈmerɪkəns ˈleɪtli, ənd ðeɪ tel miː ðət aɪm ˈiːziər tuː ˌʌndəˈrstænd. ˈeniweɪ, aɪ kʊd gəʊ ɒn ənd ɒn, bʌt ði ɪmˈpɔːrtnt θɪŋ ɪs tuː ˈlɪsn wel ənd saʊnd gʊd. wel, wɒt duː juː θɪŋk? duː aɪ?]

Barrera (2009) says that English phonetics may offer a wide possibility of tasks in which one can use any kind of games for introducing, practicing, and learning some English sounds, as well as the rhythm, the accent, and intonation. Aware of the aspects mentioned before, one could consider how motivational and attractive the class may result, especially, because students can find in them a new way to learn and use English speech.

1.6. The interpretation of the phonetic symbols in English pronunciation contributes to oral communication

                   Cook (2000) says that in language teaching, many scholars have seen pronunciation as a peripheral compared to central aspects – functions, grammar, etc. Cook states that the working memory theory sees pronunciation as vital. L2 learners hardly ever will be able to say a correct sound at the first try, they will need some practice. Most of students, if not all, will face severe difficulties with this process

Hansen and Zampini (2008) consider that the difficulty in producing new sounds deals with the capacity of the perceptual ability. They say that if the phonological contrasts are not perceived speaker will face problems to produce them as said by Rochet (1995, cited in Hansen and Zampini 2008). Teachers should promote the interpretation of the phonetic symbols and give the students the ability to learn to discriminate speech contrasts of English language.

                   Ladefoged (2006:1) has stated the idea that there are many reasons for wanting to describe speech. One of them could be the interest that a teacher can elicit from students to work with pronunciation and so be able to improve their communication. English teachers working in government secondary schools may like the idea of being considered more complete teachers by mastering in some way these types of issues which at the same time will make them more competitive in the L2

It is important to recognize that most secondary school students feel their speaking and listening comprehension skills are poor in relation to their writing or reading skills which on the other hand the four skills are hardly ever worked properly in English classes. From here, in aid of supporting our English classes in the third grade of secondary schools, we teachers should participate actively to foster better ways that increase students’ oral communication.

                   Zampini and Hansen (2008:311) consider that pronunciation teaching was sometimes overshadowed in the past by using some other methods such as communicative competence and task-based methodologies, especially, when they were heavily promoted. However, today we know that pronunciation teaching is an important aspect that has to be worked in every class. No matter what the kind of English book students are using during the course, teachers should think and look for other materials and activities that support their pronunciation.

2.1. An overview of English pronunciation

                   The British English pronunciation and the American pronunciation are two of the most common in the English world. Cook (2000) indicates that English pronunciation in the United States has the particularity of being different depending on the region or area one lives or one visits. Although people who are no experts or scholars in the field of linguistics may equate accent with pronunciation, Cook (2000) additionally emphasizes that it is not true because of some characteristics that define each one. Pronunciation has to do with the way a speaker utters words in a

2.4. The importance of a normative English pronunciation for students of the third grade of public secondary schools

                   Does pronunciation matter? It may be true the idea that all of English second language learners face problems with the listening skill because of our lack of imitation of the acoustic signal which, on the other hand, have poorly worked during our learning process of English. The latter can cause the listening process become a nightmare and this situation will make us finish feeling very frustrated. Admittedly, pronunciation and listening have a close relationship in the comprehension process in which different types of linguistic knowledge are needed such as phonology, lexis, syntax, etc. (Buck, 2001: 2).

                   If English teachers could teach the normative pronunciation of the English language, students would definitively make themselves understood every time they manage to communicate with English people who will not have to use the guess act as a strategy. Many scholars (Cook, 2000; Buck, 2001) present arguments to emphasize that bad ways of pronunciation often lead to errors in communication, which lead to bad habits which will be difficult to eliminate later especially, because one has repeated them several times. So, it would be great if people working with English could have the ability to compare the characteristics of each sound.

                   Most of teachers and students of English could surely attest that written English is only an approximate representation of the spoken language. But, when we talk about the phonetic or phonemic transcription, we must say that it has to do with the IPA symbols and its standard representation, without any ambiguity or omission. Once one becomes familiar with phonetic and phonemic transcriptions, we understand the connection between the acoustic sounds and every symbol which represent the former. There are no “silent letters,” nor are there any spoken sounds that are not represented in the transcription. That’s why the phonetic or phonemic transcriptions are relevant to increase the power of English pronunciation (Sethi and Dhamija, 1999).

                   Coelho (2004: 225) additionally remarks the importance to provide pronunciation practice in English classes. She advocates the view that pronunciation will help students to learn and recognize words orally. Some strategies should be implemented by the teacher for reaching the purpose of improving pronunciation and gradually reach the normative sounds that rule the English language. Students of the third grade the secondary have previously acquired other linguistic competences for, at least, the two last years of the secondary educational instruction and they should be ready to land the pronunciation and try it more consciously.

                   At the last stage of the academic process in the secondary school, some other elements should be applied so as to make students try pronunciation as a way to sound good or better when using the speaking skill. Students at this stage will finish the school year understanding the importance of pronunciation. This idea may also help to reinforce their motivation to learn and produce oral language in a comprehensible way and with the appropriate linguistic knowledge.

                   Flores and Macotela (n.d) state that there are different causes that affect the learning process in all the areas of education, and the teaching of English is not the exception. Most of our English teachers are not proficient at English language and they lack of materials and support to achieve bigger programs that could establish a more conscious teaching of the linguistic aspects in English as a second language. It should include the English pronunciation. This work does not intent to revolutionize the concept of pronunciation neither the way to teach students English, but the idea of strengthen our students in the ways the use their second language.

                   García and Ruíz (2009) present arguments to emphasize that children learn English when they use their imagination as a tool which is ready to grasp what he seems interesting. Garcia and Ruiz (2009) further assert that the mind is the most powerful and cheapest learning tool that teachers should explode so that students can learn. English teachers can also use their imagination to develop ways to teach pronunciation as well as to imagine the incredible idea of speaking English using a normative pronunciation.

​

Existe un cierto conocimiento de fenómenos relacionados a la pronunciación que deberían estudiarse. Las transcripciones fonéticas, por ejemplo, requieren de un grado de comprensión absoluta por parte del usuario. Su conocimiento es uno de los primeros contactos con lo que escuchamos y decimos.

Para empezar, deberíamos ajustar nuestros modelos de clase a una metodología que en realidad nos aleje, en la parte pedagógica, de la idea de entender que el inglés es hoy en día una Lengua Franca que solamente nos está sirviendo para comunicarnos entre Mexicanos o con aprendientes de otras partes del mundo quienes no alcanzan estándares normativos del hablante inglés. Desde mi punto de vista, la mayoría de los aprendientes usan un sistema fonológico, el cual es una combinación de L1 y L2.

Los primeros acercamientos al reconocimiento de fonos o sonidos están dados y respaldados for el International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Este acercamiento se desarrolla de manera paralela a los puntos de articulación que ocurren en tracto vocal.

References

Barrera, I. (2009). La importancia de enseñar fonética en el aula de inglés. Retrieved from http://www.csi-csif.es/andalucia/modules/mod_ense/revista/pdf/Numero_23/ISABEL_BARRERA_BENITEZ02.pdf

Cook, A. (2000). American Accent Training. China: Barron’s.

Flores, R. and Macotela, S. (n.d.). Problemas del aprendizaje en la adolescencia. Facultad de psicología. [Google books versión]. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.mx/books?id=hSz3vSd8RbYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Programas+de+ingles+en+las+secundarias+de+Mexico&hl=es&sa=X&ei=mMxEUvfBKuLC2AWU_oDgBg&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Programas%20de%20ingles%20en%20las%20secundarias%20de%20M     exico&f=false

Jenkins, J. (2001). The Phonology of English as an International Language. Hong Kong: OUP.

Kenworthy, J. (1987). Teaching English pronunciation. London: Longman. Retrieved on 20 October 2012.