Course paper on the theme «Practice and assessment of in teaching pronunciation at all stages elt» done by: 3rd course student of Faculty of Foreign Philology English Teaching Metodology Sayfiddinova Sabohat

2.2. Assesment of in teaching pronunciation at all stages ELT
Teaching English to young learners In Slovakia, it is compulsory to teach English from the third grade of primary school (8 years of age). However, many schools provide English language from the first grade. English language teaching should mainly support the pupils’ personalities at primary education. Knowledge of foreign languages should develop abilities of pupils to understand that there are differences between languages and cultures. Teaching English to young learners should evoke 22 interest, joy, desire to explore and discover, and the teachers should support children’s capabilities and abilities (ISCED 1, 2011) English language teaching at the primary school level should stimulate interest in the language, provide basis for further English language education, develop communicative competences in their mother tongue and English, support universal development of pupils (social, emotional, cognitive and personal), develop intercultural competences, and all linguistic activities should focus on listening comprehension, speaking with the accent on pronunciation (Gadušová, 2009).The Common European Framework for Languages (CEFR, 2001) recommends teaching pronunciation right from the beginning of foreign language teaching. During early stages of learning, pupils should practice correct pronunciation. The emphasis within teaching pronunciation is to meet the communicative objective of the language (ISCED 1, 2011).
The National curriculum sets the level of proficiency in English of primary school pupils to A1.1+ according to the CEFR (2001). Concerning pronunciation, pupils should be exposed to authentic spoken utterances, encouraged to imitate the teacher, audio-recorded native speakers, video-recorded native speakers, read aloud phonetically weighted texts, practice ear-training, phonetic drilling, imitation, tongue twisters, explicit teaching, etc.
Clapping, clicking, tapping, gestures and mirrors can be also used in teaching pronunciation. Young learners are still considered to be in the ideal “Critical Period Hypothesis” age and can achieve flawless like pronunciation if their teaching pronunciation is addressed correctly. Suitable techniques for teaching pronunciation to young learners are described later.
Teaching English to adults According to Harmer (2005), adult learners are those who are over twenty years old. There is a general assumption that adult learners are much more disadvantaged in learning foreign languages than younger learners. However, there are not only disadvantages with adult learners, but adults also have many advantages next to younger learners.
Harmer (ibid.) stated that the ability of adults to work with abstract thoughts and their life experiences bring advantages into foreign language learning. Adults are often more disciplined and create patterns to their learning. They are able to struggle with learning even when it is boring and they can focus even when something is not interesting. A crucial factor in foreign language learning is motivation and adult learners usually have high motivation, know what they want to achieve and they follow their goals. He (ibid.) also stated disadvantages of adult learners in foreign language teaching. Adult learners can be critical of teaching methods, because their previous learning experiences might have predisposed them to certain teaching styles and methods and they could feel uncomfortable with new or different teaching patterns. They can also be negatively influenced by failure or criticism, which can make them feel anxious and under-confident. Teaching pronunciation to adults is one of the most difficult issues in ELT (Strevens, 1991). Adults have reduced auditory discrimination and plasticity for language acquisition, they are inferior to monitor their own pronunciation performance, notice and correct own errors.
Their mimicry is reduced in adulthood too. Their shyness is increased and they are unwilling to make unfamiliar sounds. Adults prefer writing to speaking, are afraid to make errors in speaking, especially in public. However, there are some positives of teaching pronunciation to adults too. Adults can follow detailed instructions and can intellectualise their learning. They can explicitly learn about speech organs and production of speech sounds, phonemic alphabet, apply rules to pronunciation, etc. This is what young learners cannot do.