Presentation

The Social Impact of Pronunciation Difficulties: Confidence and Willingness to Speak

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Abstract

In this paper I focus on the social impact of pronunciation difficulties by exploring English learners’ perceptions of the impact of their pronunciation on their interactions in English and investigating how these perceptions relate to the extent to which they speak English in their everyday lives. I draw on interview data collected from 26 participants who were part of a larger longitudinal study in the Australian context that followed the progress of migrants as they studied English in the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), and then continued on to study or work in the community. As a group, the participants (14 beginner and 12 intermediate level learners) were overwhelmingly negative about their pronunciation skills and most indicated that they felt their pronunciation affected their ability to be understood when they spoke English. Although negative perceptions about pronunciation influenced English use for some participants, other factors seemed to be involved for others, and the relationship between perceptions about pronunciation skills and the extent of English use is somewhat unclear from the findings presented here.

How to Cite:

Zielinski, B., (2011) “The Social Impact of Pronunciation Difficulties: Confidence and Willingness to Speak”, Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Proceedings 3(1).