ABSTRACT

The global expansion of English in recent decades and its undeniable status as a lingua franca of the contemporary world have led many scholars and practitioners to question some of the traditional goals of pronunciation teaching. For example, many English language teachers and specialists question the prioritization of native-like pronunciation attainment. Their concerns are reflected in recent calls for a shift away from the nativeness principle to the intelligibility principle (see Levis, 2005). Also called into question is the appropriateness of adopting native speaker models in the teaching of English pronunciation to its many millions of international learners. These conceptual shifts signal that traditional core assumptions concerning the teaching of English pronunciation are being challenged as no longer relevant as is evidenced by heated debates in numerous recent publications (e.g. papers in Dziubalska-Ko?aczyk and Przedlacka’s 2005 volume; Dauer 2005; Szpyra-Koz?owska 2015). The present chapter addresses the issue of what may serve as English pronunciation models and reviews the controversies that surround them by discussing strengths as well as limitations of competing proposals. First, four types of models for pronunciation teaching suggested in the literature are presented and critically evaluated: native, nativized, non-native, and multiple models. Next, the chapter reviews theory/practice differences and connections before examining instructional models currently employed in the inner circle (English as a second language), outer circle (New Englishes) and expanding circle (English as a foreign language) of English language use. Later, several artificially created constructs based on lists of pronunciation priorities are critically examined, including the most influential concept of the lingua franca core, proposed by Jenkins (2000, 2006) as well as Cruttenden’s (2008) Amalgam English and International English. The chapter also features discussions of learners’ accent preferences and factors relevant to selecting appropriate models for pronunciation instruction in three contexts: the inner circle, the outer circle and the expanding circle of English language use.