A Call for Teaching Pronunciation in Iranian Schools

Abstract

Teaching pronunciation is one of the most complicated but significant features of EFL and ESL teaching. However, although pronunciation is one of the most noticeable features of a person’s speech, it is not explicitly taught. Almost all English language teachers get students to study grammar and vocabulary, yet some of these same teachers make little attempt to teach pronunciation in any overt way and give attention to it in passing (Harmer, 2001). Most teachers do not provide instruction at all and those few that do generally adopt a hit or miss approach, relying on materials that lack grounding and the desired results (Fraser, 2002). Iranian English teachers are no exception. Despite the importance of pronunciation, the reality is that in many Iranian English language classrooms, little attention is paid to teaching pronunciation. That is because teaching pronunciation involves a variety of challenges, some of which are accounted for in the present article. The study provides an overview of the status of pronunciation teaching in EFL contexts. It aims at reviewing past and present perspectives on pronunciation teaching. It summarizes the background of pronunciation teaching, emphasizes the need for incorporating pronunciation into foreign language classes because of the importance of the pronunciation as a key to effective communication, and outlines some of the procedures that have been suggested for teaching pronunciation, taking into account present-day views in pronunciation pedagogy.