A Sociolinguistically Based, Empirically Researched Pronunciation Syllabus for English as an International Language

The starting point of this paper is the recent shift in the use of English, such that non-native speakers (NNSs) using English for international communication now outnumber its native speakers (Crystal 1997; Graddol 1997). This shift, it will be argued, has serious implications for ELT pedagogy. Principal among these is the need for empirically established phonological norms and classroom pronunciation models for English as an International Language (EIL), in which intelligibility for NNS rather than for native speaker (NS) receivers is the primary motivation. Three sets of data drawn from NNS–NNS interaction are provided in order to exemplify the kinds of empirical evidence that are necessary to enable us to…