THE VIEWS OF PROSPECTIVE TURKISH TEACHERS ABOUT NATIVE SPEAKER NORMS FOR L2 PRONUNCIATION

THE VIEWS OF PROSPECTIVE TURKISH TEACHERS ABOUT NATIVE SPEAKER NORMS FOR L2 PRONUNCIATION

Uygun, Dilek

Over the past decades the goal of pronunciation instruction in English language teaching has shifted from attaining native-like competence to achieving intelligible pronunciation. With research pointing out to the effects of age on pronunciation competence in L2 learning, native-like pronunciation seems to be an unrealistic goal, especially for those who start learning English after a certain period. Moreover, with the current status of English as an international language, communicating effectively with non-native speakers (NNS) from different L1 backgrounds has gained more importance than conforming to native speaker (NS) norms. While these facts argue against insistence on native-like pronunciation, the influence of NS norms is still dominant both in learners’ and teachers’ pronunciation preferences. The present study explores Turkish prospective teachers’ (PTs) views on the importance of NS pronunciation norms for their own competence, for EFL teachers’ competence, and for L2 learners’ competence. The data is collected through a questionnaire distributed to 182 first-year and senior students attending the ELT department of a state university in Istanbul, Turkey. The questionnaire aims at eliciting participants’ views about their own pronunciation and about the importance of native speaker norms for both teachers and learners of English. The findings indicate that prospective teachers’ beliefs about the importance of native-like pronunciation competence are stronger in relation to their own pronunciation compared to their beliefs about the importance of it for teachers’ and learners’ competence. Moreover, the results also demonstrate that firstyear PTs who are still under the influence of the established beliefs about NS norms hold stronger views regarding the importance of NS norms than senior PTs who seem to be more aware of the recent changes in the goals of pronunciation teaching and learning. Keywords: Turkish prospective teachers, pronunciation, native speaker norms

Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed

2014

3400