Challenges in Teaching Pronunciation at Tertiary Level in Bangladesh

Challenges in Teaching Pronunciation at Tertiary Level in Bangladesh
[PP: 09-20]
Tanzina Tahereen
Department of English
East West University
Dhaka, Bangladesh
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Article History
The paper received on:
17/12/2014
Accepted after peerreview on:
20/02/2015
Published on:
07/03/2015
Teaching pronunciation is one the most challenging parts of ELT in

Bangladesh. Very few research and least attention on pronunciation
teaching has instigated those challenges more. Moreover, setting an
ambitious target to achieve native like pronunciation and teaching
without considering the Bangladeshi context are more specific reasons
for creating those problems. Therefore, this paper concentrates on the
discussion of the existing condition of teaching pronunciation in
Bangladesh. Consequently, it starts with presenting existing
circumstances of pronunciation teaching in Bangladesh, and showing
what the achievable and realistic goal should be for this situation. Then,
it talks about the challenges that the teachers face while teaching
pronunciation in ELT classroom. This discussion provides deep insight
into those challenges which are only applicable to Bangladeshi
students. Finally, the paper suggests some contextual and practical
solutions to those specific problems.
Keywords:
Challenges,
ELT,
Intelligibility,
Bangladeshi EFL
Learners
Pronunciation teaching,
Suggested Citation:
Tahereen, T. (2015). Challenges in Teaching Pronunciation at Tertiary Level in Bangladesh. International
Journal of English Language & Translation Studies, 3(1), 09-20. Retrieved from
http://www.eltsjournal.org
International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies

Volume: 03
Issue: 01
ISSN: 2308-5460
January-March, 2015
1. Introduction
Pronunciation is considered as an
integrated and integral component of
second/foreign language learning, as it
influences
learners
communicative
competence
and
performance
(Maniruzzaman, 2008). Though there is a lot
of controversy regarding the inclusion of
explicit pronunciation teaching in the
curriculum, the significance of teaching
pronunciation for teaching effective
communicative skills is undoubtedly
accepted everywhere. Due to this
controversy, pronunciation is a less practised
skill inside and outside the classroom in
many countries. This negligence is
prominently observed in second language
and foreign language context because of
some reasons: lower possibility of achieving
native like pronunciation, less opportunity of
interacting with native speakers (Fraser,
1999), and very little chance in classrooms
to teach pronunciation. The reluctance
among teachers to teach pronunciation is
also a reason for this negligence. However,
these reasons do not rationalize the
negligence for teaching pronunciation, as
teaching itself is obligatory for achieving
intelligible and comprehensible speech
production (Fraser, 1999). Teaching
pronunciation is not important here for
achieving a perfect pronunciation model; but
rather it is significant for developing better
communicative skills.
English is an international language;
it is not restricted to any specific boundary.
It is not feasible to expect that a non-native
speaker will achieve the native like English.
Rather, they should be expected to
communicate appropriately by producing
comprehensible
and
intelligible
pronunciation sounds (Howlader, 2011).
Though in Bangladesh, English is
considered as the foreign language, the skills
in English are exceedingly significant here.

In every sector, people with good English
communication skills are considered better.
Therefore, teaching and learning English has
a great demand in EFL context. Knowledge
in English, especially speaking, has a great
demand in the competitive job market.
However, among the four skills: speaking,
listening, writing, and reading, speaking
English is the most neglected area in
Bangladesh. As a result, the ability of
speaking skills, even for adult learners, is
very poor. In spite of being the students of
higher institutions, they feel shy to speak in
English (Azizul, 2010).
Teaching pronunciation, at tertiary
level in Bangladesh, is not less complicated
than teaching grammar and comprehensions.
As it is neglected at the early level of
education system, the teaching scenario
exists with a lot of difficulties at the tertiary
level. At primary (class1-5), secondary
(class 6-10) and higher secondary level
(class11-12), speaking and listening have
never been the focus to be taught and tested.
Therefore, emphasis on pronunciation never
comes explicitly or implicitly at these levels.
Consequently, teachers at tertiary level find
it challenging while dealing with these
students who have no experience in
practicing speaking and listening inside and
outside the classroom.
So, this paper mainly deals with the
classroom situation at tertiary level where
teachers have to face a lot of challenges to
teach pronunciation. The problems that
teachers in Bangladesh face while teaching
the adult students are discussed in this paper.
Afterwards, some attainable solutions are
proposed through the reference of various
suggested models suitable to Bangladeshi
EFL contexts.
2. Condition of Teaching Pronunciation
in Bangladesh
Cite this article as: Tahereen, T. (2015). Challenges in Teaching Pronunciation at Tertiary Level in Bangladesh.
International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies, 3(1), 09-20. Retrieved from
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Though in Bangladesh students start

learning English as a foreign language from
the very beginning of their education, their
struggle with learning the language still
prevails in every
context to its full
subsequent extent. Teachers at tertiary level
have to endeavor for making their students
conversation
communicative,
comprehensible, and intelligible, as most of
them never accomplish the language skills
successfully even after the twelve years of
secondary education in English language
learning. The question who should be
blamed for this situation invites a lot of
issues, and these are not the focus of this
paper. Teaching pronunciation was never
into the focus in grammar translation era
(Howlader, 2011) in Bangladesh, and so
speaking was not included in the curriculum.
In 1960, with the advent of Communicative
Language Teaching Approach (CLTA),
speaking and listening received the
importance in the curriculum and in the
syllabus, but practically these were observed
neither in the classroom practices nor in the
assessment. Still, the scenario is the same in
secondary and higher secondary level. Most
of the students are found to use the wrong
pronunciation, and they are never corrected.
Pronunciation
has
an
indissoluble
connection to communication through
listening and speaking (Gilbert; CelceMuria; as cited in Maniruzzaman, 2008), it
is ignored in the syllabus and even in the
classroom activities.
However, the real application of
communicative language teaching can be
observed at tertiary level in Bangladesh. In
most of the universities, both private and
public, students have to undertake some
language courses (two or three courses),
apart from the major courses they are
pursuing for their graduation. Therefore, the
duration of these language courses is very
short lasting from 6 months to 9 months.

Within this very short span of time, teachers
have the chance to teach speaking and
listening in classroom where they have to
integrate pronunciation. As CLTA is
followed both pedagogically and practically
at this level, there is a shift observed in
setting objectives for both teachers and
learners
from
specific
linguistic
competencies to broader communicative
competencies (Morley, 1991). Therefore, the
necessity of integrating pronunciation with
oral communication is clearly felt
(Maniruzzaman, 2008).
Amin (2006) and Azizul (2010) have
explained some inherent problems of
Bangladeshi speakers who speak English.
First, Bangladeshi learners do not have the
chance to interact in English with others.
Second, they only focus on the structure of
language, and do not emphasize on
comprehensibility, stress and intonation for
pronunciation. Third, they do not have
enough exposure to English inside and
outside the classroom. Fourth, learners do
not have enough instrumental or integrative
drive to learn this language. Moreover,
Sultana & Arif have said that Bangladeshi
learners are not aware of the difference
between sound and letter, connection
between sound and spelling, and knowledge
of the syllabic or phonological divisions of
words. They also add that the influence of
local dialect has a great impact on the use of
English (as cited in Azizul, 2010, p 199).
2.1 What is to Achieve: Perfection or
Intelligibility?
Which model of pronunciation
should be followed, if learners have to
follow one? The British pronunciation or RP
(Received Pronunciation) and the American
pronunciation or GAm (General American
Pronunciation) have been the prevailing
models for pronunciation for long
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(Hawlader, 2011) though mixing or

confusing two systems of pronunciation is a
common problem of the learners in
Bangladesh. English is now prominently
used in many other parts of the world apart
from UK and USA. English, in present
world, has a great amount of accents or
varieties. Though in the past, many linguists
have tried to prescribe some specific models
of pronunciation, at present much focus is
given
on
comprehensibility
and
intelligibility
rather
than
perfect
pronunciation. The fact is that the near
native
pronunciation
is
practically
unachievable for many ESL learners around
the world. According to Scovel (1969),
learners who start learning second language
after their puberty will not be able to attain
native like pronunciation (as cited in
Moreley, 1991). It is an impractical hope to
have the notion to achieve native like
pronunciation (Moreley, 1991). Notions of
perfection and native-like pronunciation are
kind of imposing and perpetuating false
standards (Moreley, 1991, p 499). Rather,
the native speaker was always found to be
among the least intelligible speakers when
everybody uses English in their own accent
(Smith and Rafiqzad, as cited in Moreley,
1991, p 499).
Walker has not emphasized on any
specific model of pronunciation, rather he
emphasized on comprehensibility (as cited
in Hawlader, 2011, p 274). Moreover,
Marianne, Donna and Janet have argued for
establishing
intelligible
pronunciation.
Learners are expected to achieve the skills
which enable them to communicate
effectively with others. In other words, they
aim to achieve intelligible pronunciation so
that at least others can understand them
easily (as cited in Hawlader, 2011, p 275).
Though having high goal of achieving
perfection in pronunciation (Hawlader,
2011, p. 275) should be appreciated, very

few learners can achieve such perfection.
So, both teachers and learners should
concentrate more on making their speech
intelligible to others, rather than sounding
like native speakers.
According to Fraser,
Being able to speak English of course
includes a number of sub-skills, involving
vocabulary, grammar, pragmatics, etc.
However, by far, the most important of
these skills pronunciation; with good
pronunciation, a speaker is intelligible
despite other
errors; with poor
pronunciation, a speaker can be very
difficult to understand despite accuracy in
other areas. Pronunciation is the aspect
that most affects how the speaker is
judged by others, and how they are
formally assessed in other skills. (as cited
in Nikbakht, 2011, p.147, 148)
Moreover,
Kenworthy (1987)
notes
Intelligibility is the most sensible goal (p.
13). He has said, Intelligibility is being
understood by a listener at a given time in a
given situation (p 13). According to him,
intelligibility
means
understandability.
Moreover, he has added, The issue of
intelligibility is very complex and the
notions of efficiency, effectiveness, and
speakers; intentions are crucial issues
(Kenworthy, 1987, p 14). Therefore,
Pennington and Richard have also suggested
teaching comprehensible pronunciation (as
cited in Kenworthy, 1987).
2.2 Challenges That Teachers Face while
Teaching Pronunciation
The challenges teachers face
throughout the whole world while teaching
pronunciation are not the same. These vary
from context to context. Among many
difficulties, some unique challenges should
be addressed. The challenges are discussed
below:
Interference of Native Language
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According to Kenworthy (1991), the

more differences there will be between the
target language and the native language, the
more difficulties the learners will face in
achieving the correct pronunciation. Though
there are some similar sounds in Bangla and
English, a lot of delicate differences exist
between them which create problem for
Bangla speakers to learn English
pronunciation.
Hai and Ball have observed some
similarities and dissimilarities in both
segmental phonemes and supra segmental
issues of these two languages (as cited in
Azizul, 2010, p 200). They show that there
are 7 vowels in Bangla and 12 in English.
The chart (Appendix 1 & 2) that they
present shows there are only two common
vowels in both of the languages (/e/, //)
though /o/ is very close to English one.
Therefore, the Bangla speakers usually
become confused with 4 English sounds,
and these are /u:/, /^/, /:/, and //.
Moreover, Bangla speakers also cannot
differentiate between English short and long
vowels; for example, they pronounce feet
(/fi:t/) as (/fit/), half (/ha:f/) as (/haf) (as
cited in Azizul, 2010, p 202).
Bangla has 18 diphthongs where
there are only 8 diphthongs in English. But,
they are not similar in characteristics. The
common mistake that Bangla speakers make
with English diphthongs is that they
pronounce diphthong as monothongs. They
often miss the last part of the diphthong or
substitute the first or last sound with some
other sounds. For example, they pronounce
make (/meik/) as/ mek/, boat (/but/) as
/bu:t/, here / h / as /her/, and go (gu/) as
/g/.
The main difficulty that Bangla
speakers face is to pronounce and
differentiate between // and /3:/. They just
pronounce them as /a/ or //. For example,

they pronounce bird (/b3:d/) as /bard/,
occur/ k/ as /kar/.
With respect to consonants, there are
20 plosives in Bangla whereas in English
there are only 6. Bangla plosives can be
categorized into five sub groups based on
place of articulation. Each group has
aspirated and unaspirated sounds. Bangla
speakers become confused with English
aspirated plosives sounds though there are
some aspirated plosives in Bangla. The
aspirated /p/ is often pronounced as fricative
/f/ or Bangla /ph/. The aspirated plosives in
Bangla are /kh/ /gh/ /ch/ jh/ /th/ dh/, and they
are phonemic, whereas in English aspirated
plosives are not phonemic (Hai & Ball, as
cited in Azizul, 2010, p 202). In addition,
there is no fricative in Bangla. Though
Bangla /ph/, /bh/, and /n/ are considered
similar to English /f/, /v/ and /n/
respectively, they are not the same. In
Bangla, /ph/ and /bh/ are bilabial plosives,
and /n/ is dental nasal. However, in English,
/f/ and /v/ are labio-dental fricative, and /n/
is alveolar nasal. As a result, Bangla
speakers find it difficult to pronounce these
English sounds correctly. They pronounce
full (/ful/) as /phul/ and vote(/vut/) as
/bh:t/.
Another area of difficulty arises with
/z/ and // sounds. In Bangla, there is only
one sound /ja/ which is similar to English //
though there are two letters for Bangla ja
sound. Bangla speakers often confuse
English three sounds /z/, //, and //. They
often pronounce zoo (/zu:/) as /u /, zero
(/zi:rou/) as /zr/ (Hai & Ball, as cited in
Azizul, 2010, p 203). There is no / /sound
in Bangla.
Little Exposure to English
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According to Kenworthy (1991), if

the learners have continuous access to
English and enough intakes in English, this
would create a positive impact on learners
pronunciation. He has added if the learners
live in the English speaking country, their
development of pronunciation will rapidly
move towards perfection. Moreover, CLTA
also promotes the concept of having a lot of
input in the target language, and it leads the
learners to have the acquisition and learning
done naturally and rapidly.
In Bangladesh, Bangla learners have
limited exposure to English. Though CLTA
has been introduced long before, the
practical application of CLTA is hardly
noticed in secondary and higher secondary
level. Both teachers and students are
accustomed to memorization. The medium
of instruction is Bangla. Before tertiary
level, most of them do not have any
experience in receiving instruction in
English. The access to English that they
receive is from the amount of reading for the
courses on English. They are hardly
instructed
and
assessed
for
their
pronunciation. So, teachers at tertiary level
find it challenging to continue their
pronunciation
lesson
with
such
inexperienced adult students.
English Spelling System
English spelling system is an
alphabetic one (Kenworthy, 1991, p 94).
Kenworthy has added that there is no
specific convention for spelling. At one
hand,
it
maintains
sound
letter
correspondence. On the other hand, it does
not follow one-to one correspondence
between sound and letter. Unlike some other
alphabetic languages, there are some letters
in English which have more than one sound
value. This feature is termed as GPC
(Grapheme Phoneme Correspondence).
Some letters have more than two values. For
example, /c/ can be sounded as /s/ and /k/.

So, there are single valued and multi
valued words. These multi valued features
create confusion among Bangladeshi
students. They find it difficult to pronounce
unfamiliar words and even some familiar
words as well. Words, such as enjoy
(/nd/) and enough (/nf/), are
pronounced as /endo/ and /enf/, and
learners continue their speaking with such
biased pronunciation for a long time.
Equally, they have difficulties with
understanding those words when they are
pronounced properly.
Moreover, Bangla and English share
very little similarities in their spelling
system. Though the spelling system of
English is less complex than Bangla,
learners find it difficult to pronounce.
Furthermore, though Bangla has joint word
spelling system which combines two or
three sounds together, Bangla speakers often
become puzzled with the composite sound
system of English. For example, -gh can
represent /g/ in ghost or ghoul, /f/ in
cough and can be silent in thorough.
Bangla speakers often use only /g/ for -gh
in all these words.
Lack of Concern and Awareness for
Pronunciation
As pronunciation has never been the
focus of assessment and classroom practices,
learners in Bangladesh do not develop any
concern and awareness for pronunciation.
Learners awareness is very important in
developing good pronunciation. Teaching
and learning pronunciation is not only
connected to the sound system but also to
some other supra segmental factors like
stress, intonation, rhythm, pitch etc. In
Bangladesh, students lack the knowledge of
these factors. They just have the superficial
knowledge about the sounds, but they do not
have any kind of knowledge of these factors
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which are equally important for achieving

intelligible pronunciation.
Influence of Local Accent
In Bangladesh, there are varieties of
local accents which really collide with
English pronunciation. This interference is
really challenging for some students who
struggle
to
achieve
intelligible
pronunciation. Generally, classrooms in
universities consist of students from
different regions of Bangladesh. So, in a
classroom at tertiary level, teachers find 30
to 50 students having minimum 10 different
accents. Some of their accents are so
inflexible that teachers themselves find it
difficult to understand them. For example,
learners from Chittagong, Sylhet, and
Noakhali confuse between /e/ and //. They
use // in place of /e/ in the initial level of a
syllable or word. They pronounce /buv/
instead of /buv/ (Hai and Ball, 1960).
Moreover, speakers of Noakhali pronounce
/fut/ instead of /put/ as they have difficulties
with /p/ (Hai & Ball, 1960). The voicing and
aspiration also change in different regions.
For example, the unvoiced velar aspirated
plosive /kh/ is a fricative sound in the accent
of Chittagongian and Sylheti. In south-east
Bangladesh, bilabial plosive /p/ becomes
alveolar fricative /f/, and /c/, /ch/, /j/, and / jh
/ are fricatives. However, they are affricates
in Kutti dialect of Dhaka. (Hai & Ball,
1960). Furthermore, the consonant clusters
also become challenging for many regions.
Noakhali speakers add // sound before the
words staring with /sp/ /sk/ sl/ st/ etc.
Fossilisation in Certain Pronunciation
Some
ESL
learners
become
relatively fluent, but their pronunciation
often becomes fossilized (Action, 1984)
and quite resistant to change. It is almost
axiomatic that after puberty, learners start
losing their capacity to achieve the native
like
pronunciation
(Action,
1984).
Furthermore, it is also believed that after

achieving a specific level of competence in
target language in which the adults are
functionally active, their pronunciation level
also becomes permanently fossilized
(Action, 1984). It is undoubtedly difficult to
bring any change to the existing permanent
state of someones pronunciation. Altering
intonation, rhythm, and stress patterns can
be an imposing task-let alone ferreting out
all the inaccurate vowels and consonants in
ones vocabulary. Because of the influence
of the native language, local accents and
lack of concern for the pronunciation, they
develop wrong pronunciation which they
practice for years after years. Teachers are
rarely able to solve this problem in few
semesters of language skill courses in
universities.
3. Suggested Solutions
Teaching pronunciation in EFL
context includes axiomatic, procedural and
implementational
issues
related
to
pronunciation teaching: teaching approaches
and
classroom
techniques/activities
(Maniruzzaman, 2008, p 7). Considering
the EFL scenario in Bangladesh at tertiary
level, some effective and practical
approaches and techniques should be
applied in order to receive the maximum
output. Though the possibility of achieving
100% successes is very low, the
achievement of highest intelligibility and
comprehensibility of learners pronunciation
should be the target.
All the suggestions which are
mentioned below are categorized into three
different segments:
a) Determining the focus, objectives, goals;
b) Theoretical Approach;
c) Classroom Techniques/Activities;
3.1 Determining the Focus, Objectives,
Goals
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A
focus
on
intelligibility
&
understandability: Teachers in Bangladesh
should not focus on achieving learners
perfect accent and pronunciation, especially,
when students are at tertiary level and
heading towards the higher studies. Most of
them develop their own speaking style
through their twelve years of learning
experience. So, dealing with adult learners
and teaching perfect pronunciation do not go
along when the learning period is very short.
The teachers should focus on teaching the
intelligibility and understandability of
pronunciation. They should be expected to
produce intelligible speech and to
understand speech produced by others.
Moreover, students should be aware of the
variety of accents existing around the world,
so that
they can develop their
understandings of the native speakers
speech. As a result, students should be
familiarized with the different kinds of
accents of different areas. If anybody aspires
to practice those correct accents, s/he should
be encouraged.
3.2 Theoretical Approach
Integrated
pronunciation
teaching
approach:
According
to
Moreley,
pronunciation teaching should not be done
in isolation. For adult learners, it should be
considered an integral part of oral
communication (1991, p 496). The
integration of pronunciation teaching can be
a very effective idea to teach pronunciation
for a short period of time. Moreover,
teaching
supra-segmental factors of
pronunciation is time consuming and does
not offer students to apply that knowledge in
the broader context of language usage.
Whenever learners hear English or try to
speak themselves, they are doing
pronunciation work; every lesson is a
pronunciation lesson; every time the speaker
speaks he or she is presenting spoken
model (Kenworthy, 1987, p

113).
However, integration of pronunciation into
language class should address two major
factors. There should be the consistency and
planning associated with integration, and
there should be the learners role of selfmonitoring. Otherwise, integration would
not be a successful idea. Kenworthy (1987)
has suggested some ways of integrating
pronunciation.
He
has
said
that
pronunciation should be integrated with
vocabulary tasks, such as word formation,
stress patterns of word, GPC rules, word
simplification, and syllable patterns.
A dual focus program: Moreley has
constructed a Dual Focus Framework
based on the philosophy of pronunciation
teaching as an integral part of oral
communication. The Dual Focus Framework
combines a micro level focus on speech
production (i.e., a focus on discrete elements
of pronunciation in a bottom-up sense) and a
macro level focus on speech performance
(i.e., a focus on general elements of
communicability in a top-down sense),
(Moreley, 1991, p 497). At micro level
(discrete level), the bottom up approach
works. That means the main focus is on
contextualized modification of vowel
consonant
sounds
(their
reduction,
combinations, elision, and assimilation); on
the specific features subsumed under the
rubric of stress, rhythm, and intonation; and
on features of rate, volume, and vocal
qualities (p 498). On the other hand, at
macro level (global level) top down
approach works. This approach concentrates
on the the synthesis of many components
of communicative oral discourse (Moreley,
1991, p 498). This includes non-verbal
behavior, facile communicative command of
grammar and vocabulary, ability to continue
speech, aspects of intelligibility, clarity of
speech etc. The bottoms up and top down
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approaches correspond respectively to the

traditional and research based approach
(Scarcella & Oxford, as cited in Morely,
1991, p 498).
Based on the existing
research, the top down research approach
which works at global level is more
effective in EFL context in Bangladesh
(Maniruzzaman, 2008). Maniruzzaman has
added that teaching EFL pronunciation
should start from the supra segmentals
which are obligatory as these contribute
more to intelligibility than segmentals do
(2008).
3.3 Teaching Techniques and Classroom
Activities
Based on the exploration and critical
analysis of the different approaches to
teaching pronunciation, and what seems to
be teachable and learnable for EFL
classroom settings, I will now propose ten
techniques and activities that, according to
influential pronunciation researchers (e.g.
Morley, 1991, Scarcella and Oxford, 1994,
Fraser, 1999, Thompson, Taylor and Gray,
2001) and my own experience, appear to be
useful for learners and teachers alike.
Introducing IPA symbols & knowledge of
articulatory phonetics: Though the IPA
symbols and knowledge of articulatory
phonetics may frighten students at the very
beginning at tertiary level, this introductory
knowledge will eventually help them to
understand
every
individual
sound.
Moreover, articulatory phonetics helps them
to know the place of articulation of every
sound that helps to pronounce sounds
correctly. At first, this may seem time
consuming and difficult, but once they know
them, practice can transform their
knowledge into skills.
Comparison with Bangla sounds: As the
interference of Bangla language into English
pronunciation is severe, students should
know
about
the
similarities
and
dissimilarities between these two languages.

This comparison surely helps them to
differentiate between the two languages and
acquire the correct pronunciation.
Communicative
activities:
Due
to
limitations of time at the tertiary period,
some communicative activities should be
designed so that learners can target to
achieve some other skills along with
pronunciation skills simultaneously. At
tertiary level, this can be appropriate as
students are adult. Otherwise, correcting
their pronunciation solely may frustrate
them at this level of education.
Maniruzzaman has suggested designing
some dialogues or mini conversations
addressing the common pronunciation
problems of the adult learners (2008). Using
drama and debate can be a very effective
integrated activity. Through this, learners
can learn some communication strategies,
such as retrieval strategies, rehearsal
strategies, cover strategies (Oxford, 2000,
cited in Maniruzzaman, 2008). Rehearsal for
drama may provide them with a wide scope
of practicing and correcting their
pronunciation positively.
Using dictionaries and smart phones:
Dictionaries can be used in the class
whenever it is necessary. Learners often
tend to ask the correct pronunciation to the
teacher while participating in various
activities. Dictionary can be used in such
case. If learners check out the pronunciation
on their own, their knowledge will be more
enduring as visuals in the dictionaries can
properly shape the pronunciation. For most
learners, the visual image developed in such
dictionary work seems to be remembered
more readily than simple auditory feedback
(Dickenson, 1975 cited in Moreley, 1991).
Moreover, students can be allowed to use
their smart phone in the class in order to
hear and check the pronunciation through
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downloading various softwares in their

phones. Most of the learners in universities
use smart phones in Bangladesh. Teachers
can use this strategy for the adult learners
where logistics supports are not always
available. However, they should also
monitor the use of smart phone applications
so that students do not lose their attention in
the class.
Oral presentation on self speech
production: Learners can be asked for
recording their own speech based on a
written script provided by the teachers and
for being critical about their own
pronunciations. Then, they can be asked for
giving an oral presentation providing
feedback on their own speech production
and pronunciation. In that presentation, they
can mention both their developments and
errors, and provide corrections. This is how
they can develop self awareness of their
speech education. Maniruzzaman (2008)
mentions the modeling and individual
correction (p. 20) where teachers give
feedback on the results of students self
correction and analysis.
Tutorial
sessions
and
individual
counseling:
Tutorial sessions and
individual counseling can be arranged for
the students where teachers will talk about
their individual problems and assign some
practice
works
to
develop
their
pronunciation.
Incorporation of novel element: The
instructor should teach novel pronunciation
elements, such as sounds, stress placement,
tones to adult learners with the use of
directions (Maniruzzaman, 2008). This can
be very helpful to the adult learners. While
teaching these supra-segmental factors of
pronunciation, teachers should start with
names of person, places and books and
movies, and then headlines of the news
paper,
and
various
expressions
(Kenworthy, 1987, p 499). These are very

helpful for developing the sense of stress
and intonation.
Computer-assisted language learning:
Computer-assisted language learning or
CALL can be applied for encouraging
autonomous learning. In this way, learners
will be able to find out their own errors and
mistakes, and check the segmental and supra
segmental
graphic
representations
(Maniruzzaman, 2008). Teachers can use
this method for showing the visual image of
the sounds and symbols which can be very
motivating. Teachers can also suggest
pronunciation checking software which
students can use inside and outside the
classroom where computers and internet are
available.
Read aloud: This is a very common and
easy strategy for both the learners and
teachers to follow in class in order to
develop intelligible pronunciation. A
selected piece of writing which includes the
difficult sounds for Bangla learners can be
used in the class as a material. Students can
read them aloud in front of the teachers. In
this way, both teachers and students will be
able to identify their limitations in
pronunciation. Here, teachers can use some
signs for showing the right direction of
pronunciation while the student will be
reading.
Awareness of aspects of connected speech:
Though connected speech is not the feature
of non-native speakers pronunciation,
students should be concerned about the
aspects for developing their understanding
of the native speakers. They are not
expected to develop these features while
talking; they have to have the knowledge so
that they can develop their pronunciation.
Assimilation, Linkage, Elision are the
aspects which are found both in Bangla and
English. So, a comparative study can be
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made for their quick understanding. In order

to quicken their learning, recording of
various accents should be played in the class
and should be suggested to listen to outside
the class.
Using minimal pairs, tongue twisters: In
order to develop speech production, creating
sound awareness is very important. Learners
have to develop the awareness of their own
sound production and the perception of what
they are hearing. Practice with minimal pairs
and tongue twisters may help them in
developing this perceptual awareness.
Tongue twisters also help Bangla learners,
especially the learners who have influence
of local accents on their speech production.
Creating awareness of schewa sound: In
English schewa is the most important
sound. Students attention should be drawn
to this sound at the very beginning through
imitation, correction and perception work
(Kenworthy, 1987). Students should be
introduced with all the letters and composite
letters for which schewa can be
pronounced.
4. Conclusion
To summarize, it can be said that
teaching pronunciation at tertiary level in
Bangladesh is very exigent and strenuous.
This area of English Language Teaching in
Bangladesh has not been discussed a lot.
Therefore, research and further studies are
required in this specific arena of ELT to
have effective pronunciation teaching in
Bangladesh. Though there are lots of
difficulties in pronunciation teaching at this
level, achieving target level of pronunciation
is not impracticable yet. Most of the
difficulties in pronunciation teaching arise
due to existing curriculum and syllabus of
English in early years of education which
result in limited teaching practices. Efforts
on teachers side can mitigate the distance
between the target level and the achieving
level of pronunciation of learners. Teachers

may accomplish the objectives and goals of
pronunciation teaching when they combine
the above mentioned theoretical framework
with the classroom activities. Appropriate
selection of teaching materials, effective
instructions, and awareness of the learners
regarding their speech production should be
the main focus of teachers in teaching
pronunciation. If all these components can
align with each other, teachers can
overcome most of the challenges in teaching
pronunciation at tertiary level.
About the Author
Tanzina Tahereen did her honors in English
and masters in Applied Linguistics and ELT
from Dhaka University. She has been teaching
in East West University, Bangladesh for more
than three years. She teaches courses in
language and linguistics. Her research interest
lies in ELT and comparative linguistics.
References
Action, W. (1984). Changing
fossilised
pronuniciation. TESOL Quarterly, 18(1), 71-85.
Fraser, H., (1999). ESL pronunciation teaching:
Could it be more effective? Draft of AALA
conference paper.
Haque, M. A. (2010). The influence of the local
varieties on the sound patterns of English: A
case study of Bangladeshi tertiary students. IIUC
Studies,7. 197-220.
Howlader, M.R. (2011). Approaches to
developing pronunciation in a school language:
A study in Bangladesh. University Review, 5(2).
273-281.
Jahan, N. (2011). Teaching & learning
pronunciation in ESL/EFL classes of
Bangladesh. Journal of Education and Practice,
2(3). 35-46.
Kenworthy, J. (1987). Teaching English
pronunciation: Longman handbook for language
teachers. NewYork: Longman Publishers.
Moreley, J. (1991). Pronunciation component in
teaching English to speakers of other languages.
TESOL Quarterly, 25(3). 481-520.
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Volume: 03
Issue: 01
ISSN: 2308-5460
January-March, 2015
Maniruzzaman, M. (2008). Teaching EFL

pronunciation: Why, what
and how?
Germany: GRIN Verlag.
Nikbakht, H. (2011). EFL pronunciation
teaching: A theoretical review. The Journal of
Applied Linguistics, 4(1). 146- 263.
Appendix 2:
Appendix 1
(Hai & Ball, cited in Azizul, 2010, p 201)
(Hai & Ball, cited in Azizul, 2010, p 200)
Page | 19

Challenges in Teaching Pronunciation at Tertiary Level in Bangladesh

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Challenges in Teaching Pronunciation at Tertiary Level in Bangladesh

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Challenges in Teaching Pronunciation at Tertiary Level in Bangladesh

Teaching pronunciation is one the most challenging parts of ELT in

International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies

in English are exceedingly significant here.

International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies

Though in Bangladesh students start

short lasting from 6 months to 9 months.

International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies

(Hawlader, 2011) though mixing or

2011, p. 275) should be appreciated, very

International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies

According to Kenworthy (1991), the

pronounce them as /a/ or //. For example,

International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies

According to Kenworthy (1991), if

example, /c/ can be sounded as /s/ and /k/.

International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies

which are equally important for achieving

Furthermore, it is also believed that after

International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies

model (Kenworthy, 1987, p

International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies

approaches correspond respectively to the

dissimilarities between these two languages.

International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies

downloading various softwares in their

(Kenworthy, 1987, p 499). These are very

International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies

made for their quick understanding. In order

level of pronunciation of learners. Teachers

International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies

Maniruzzaman, M. (2008). Teaching EFL

(Hai & Ball, cited in Azizul, 2010, p 201)

(Hai & Ball, cited in Azizul, 2010, p 200)

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