Yesterday’s webinar organised by Trinity College London shed light on the interconnection between reading and pronunciation. Mike Budden explained why pronunciation is an integral part of reading and how teachers can include it in their reading lessons.
We started off with some basic facts: Mike emphasised that reading is not a natural skill, but a relatively new phenomenon in the history of civilization. While speaking develops naturally, reading has to be learned separately and with conscious effort. Therefore, many consider reading and speaking to be distinct skills, which leads to the neglect of pronunciation in reading instruction, since it is often viewed as a component of speaking.
However, Mike pointed out that research and neuroscientific evidence demonstrate a direct connection between them. In fact, science suggests that effective reading relies on a strong foundation in phonological awareness (Dehaene, 2009).
This idea also ties in with the observation that native speakers of English take longer to learn reading than speakers of Italian or German. The latter two show a strong overlap between spoken and written language, which makes it easier for native speakers to learn reading. They can simply apply most of their phonological knowledge directly.
In contrast, English shows a bigger linguistic gap between spelling and pronunciation, making reading harder to navigate. Effective reading thus goes hand in hand with solid pronunciation skills and phonological awareness.
But what about second language learners, who do not have the advantage of native-level speaking skills?
Effects of missing pronunciation skills on L2 learners
We had a closer look at the challenges second language learners face while reading. The most prominent here is the common separation of pronunciation from reading instruction. This lack of input often leaves L2 learners without the tools to develop their sound recognition skills. So when they encounter unfamiliar words, they may resort to guessing pronunciation or relying on phonetic patterns from their first language. As a result, habitual inaccurate pronunciation can become entrenched over time.
This shows that reading without pronunciation practice can hamper language learning, as interference from learners’ mother tongues and false assumptions can easily lead to fossilised mistakes.
L1 interference through cognates: Meaning vs Pronunciation
To illustrate the effect of L1 interference, Mike gave us a simple task involving a sentence translated into various languages:
While we may not understand every detail, we recognise cognates (words that look similar and have the same meaning in different languages). In this example, speakers of English will understand the overall meaning of most of the sentences from cognates such as ‘excellent/eccellente’.
However, this alone won’t enable them to access the correct pronunciation (in this case, [etʧeˈllɛnte]). So relying on cognates to understand a text bypasses phonological understanding in favour of semantic meaning.
What’s more, cognates can easily prompt us to apply L1 pronunciation without noticing. As a result, a Spanish speaker might pronounce the English word ‘international’ as they would in Spanish, ‘internacional.’
Mike summed it up:
We are lazy and can read automatically in our L1 without consciously activating the phonology (sound) of the language. When we “understand” an L2 text, we might be inadvertently accessing L1 pronunciation.
So even when we understand the meaning of a text, we need to engage pronunciation to activate the phonological pathway —otherwise, we risk superimposing L1 concepts onto L2 content, relying on guesswork, and cementing errors.
To help us out, Mike shared some ideas on how to include pronunciation in a lesson with us.
Tips for including pronunciation in reading lessons
The best way to practise pronunciation is reading out loud. Mike explained that this should be done at the right time and in the right setting.
He gave us some simple and straightforward tips for this:
- Create a safe atmosphere and welcome mistakes as part of the learning process. Students need to feel comfortable practising words without worrying about getting them wrong or looking silly.
(That’s pretty good advice, no matter what you teach, really!) - Focus on meaning first and work with the text extensively before moving on to pronunciation. Your students won’t learn much if they have to navigate meaning and pronunciation at the same time. Once they know what they are talking about, they are ready to practise pronunciation.
- Let your learners practise reading out loud in pairs. This will make them feel more comfortable and safe. As they practise, you can monitor and take notes (as you would in a speaking lesson). Afterwards, you can correct errors by writing the mispronounced words on the board and practising the correct pronunciation as a group.
(If you notice fossilised mistakes, which are harder to fix, you can make the student aware of them and ask if they want to work on their pronunciation. Let them know it’s their choice whether to focus on changing these habits.) - Bonus tip: You can make it fun and model for your learners. For example, you could write a little anecdote as a lead-in and read it enthusiastically. This will take the edge off and they’ll be exposed to your pronunciation. Don’t worry about your accent and whether it’s suitable for teaching. Your learners need a model, and since you’re their teacher, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be you.
The above tips were well received, and one of the attendees mentioned that her adult learners loved reading out loud. Mike gave a simple reason for this:
Reading a familiar text means far less cognitive overload than speaking, as it requires no searching for ideas and words, no answering questions, no logical coherence, etc. It’s basically practising pronunciation in isolation.
Final thoughts on pronunciation
I walked away from the webinar with a fresh perspective on the relevance of pronunciation in teaching. Although it often leads a shadowy existence in ELT, pronunciation plays a crucial linking function in language learning. It is a vital part of reading, and indeed, of all four skills.
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If you enjoyed this post, you might also be interested in:
PJ Ryan’s article on how to give motivational feedback
Rachael Harris’s article on empowering students with effective learning strategies.
References and further reading
Baddely, A. (2010). Working Memory. Current Biology, 20(4), R136-R140.
Birch, B. M. (2007). English L2 reading: Getting to the bottom (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
British Council Spain. (2015) ROBIN WALKER: Pronunciation Matters – re-thinking goals, priorities and models.
Cambridge (2024, June 13). 3 common myths about teaching pronunciation.
https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2019/11/15/dispelling-elt-myths-part-1/
Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. M., & Goodwin, J. M. (2010). Teaching pronunciation: A course book and reference
guide (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Dehaene, S. (2009). Reading in the brain: The new science of how we read. Penguin Books
Frank, C., & Rinvolucri, M. (1991). Grammar in action again: Awareness activities for language learning (2nd ed.). Prentice Hall.
Gibson, S. (2008). Reading aloud: A useful learning tool? ELT Journal, 62(1), 29-36.
https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccm075
Sandra is ELTABB's Chair and the current editor of the ELTABB journal. She holds an MA in English and is passionate about brain-friendly language learning and teaching. Likes Shakespeare and Venetian lute music.
