The teaching and learning of english pronunciation in Spainan analysis and appraisal of students' and teachers' views and teaching materials

Resumo

It is generally admitted that native speakers of Spanish are not good at speaking English and have problems with English pronunciation, mainly due to the lack of correspondences between the phonological systems of both languages together with other social and educational factors. This topic has been of interest not only in the past but pieces of news still appear from now and then, with headlines like: "Nueve de cada diez españoles todavía se sienten incómodos cuando hablan en inglés" (Nine out of ten Spaniards still feel awkward when speaking in English) in the newspaper 20 minutos in 2012 or "Solo un 28% del los alumnos españoles habla bien inglés" (Only 28% of Spanish students speak English well), also in 2012, in the newspaper ABC. Moreover, in my MA dissertation (The Teaching and Learning of the Pronunciation of English in Spanish Secondary Schools and Universities. A Preliminary Analysis), defended in 2011 at the University of Santiago de Compostela, I found that not only did Secondary-School students have problems with English pronunciation but advanced university learners who had been in contact with English for around 15-17 years continued to make some mistakes with particular vocalic and consonantal sounds to the extent that on some occasions they were not intelligible. Hence, these negative results acted as a starting-point for this doctoral dissertation which aims at identifying the main role that pronunciation has in EFL classes and teaching materials in Spain. Three main groups of participants will be considered: a) ESO and Bachillerato; b) university-level; c) Spanish Official School of Languages and the Modern Language Centre at the University of Santiago de Compostela. In order to fulfill my aim, I will conduct two practical studies. To begin with, a questionnaire-based survey to identify the perspectives of both students and teachers regarding the importance that is given to pronunciation in their EFL classes, assessment system and teaching materials. I expect to administer this questionnaire to approximately 1,000 students and 200 teachers. Secondly, I will thoroughly analyse 30 EFL textbooks currently used in the previously-mentioned educational levels according to aspects such as the number and format of pronunciation tasks included, the presence of pronunciation in isolated or integrated sections, in the table of contents and revision units or the inclusion of tips/theoretical explanations to help students improve their pronunciation. This longitudinal study intends to be a contribution to the field of language teaching in Spain, particularly to the teaching of English pronunciation to Spanish learners. My general hypothesis is that, despite the changes in the Spanish educational system in the last decades, pronunciation continues to be undervalued in EFL classes in this country as well as in the textbooks used in the classroom. This situation of inferiority may explain why Spanish students of all ages, even those exposed to the foreign language for more than fifteen years, continue to have problems with English pronunciation. My dissertation will also present some general guidelines for a remedial programme which will take into consideration the results obtained from the previous survey.