Phonetics, dialectology and computers and how they could help language learning if they join forces.

For the last few weeks I was reading Peter Roach's English Phonetics and Phonology. It was one of the course-books we used in the English language phonetics course in my first year in College and I remember vividly how dense and blurry it felt them. I am still a bit rusty in technicalities so at times it feels too much for me, but since I have decided to focus on teaching pronunciation, re-reading it is becoming an enlightening experience.

Just last night I was finally finishing reading it and I came up with an idea, based on his comments in the last part of the book.

Let me start with the germ of it which is my own personal experience as an ESL teacher. With a very specific student in mind but lots of other cases throughout my career, I have come to the conclusion that one of the handicaps that many learners face in the field of pronunciation is their native language phonetic environment. Pretty evident, right?

Usually the idea of learning a foreign language more or less from scratch involves speaking what is agreed to be the correct, educated variety of the language. That would mean having as a goal RP for British English or General American for American English. Or alternatively what has come to be known as international English.

In any case, whatever the language and its variety, the common assumption is that the barrier that hinders or prevents success altogether is the difference between the established systems. This is based on the false assumption that the student's starting point is the standard. In countries like Britain or the US people are rather conscious about their pronunciation and their connotations. However in countries like Spain, having a non-standard Castilian Spanish has not been so far a barrier for achieving high-office or business success. Least of all on television. That comes together with the subjective perception that their speech is not so far away from that standard anyway. The fact that communication between dialectal pronunciations is mostly possible kills any feeling that a change might be needed.

I would like to propose the development of a new approach which I believe is now technologically possible. I said a new approach because I don't know of anyone doing it! As a "work-in-progress" label,  I coined "phonetic DNA analysis". Not only is the difference between dialects relevant but also the personal idiolect of the student. IN fact, I think we should factor in the following elements: the student's idiolect, his local variety, the standard in his own language, the standard in the language the student wishes to learnt and finally, the variety that the teacher may use.

In my experience this last part creates a lot of interference. Usually the debate is between the necessity of a native speaker as a role-model, over a non-native speaker with enough language proficiency. But we are forgoing the obvious, which is that not all native-speakers have equal voices. And striving for a standard accent in English when the teacher has let's say, standard scottish pronunciation can be at least confusing for the student.

This would be again paramount in the case of students wishing to learn or improve their English to use it in environments where educated pronunciation which doesn't sound foreign is like wearing an expensive suit or italian shoes.

This is again a point that has not yet seeped down in many ESL environments. Most teachers' I have met and almost every student I have come across were either unaware of this or were so concentrated on more pressing problems that advanced students (yes, they do exist!) are neglected in an aspect which they could profit from (and their companies and businesses too).

So I am proposing tailoring pronunciation teaching to the student's needs carrying a scientific, technical analysis of their "phonetic ecosystem". This would include also "pathological" aspects such as stammering, lisps and the like. But the most important aspect would be the analysis of the way they pronounce and which sounds and combinations of sounds they are able and unable to produce in their native language. In this way, frustration and progress blocks would be avoided.

And maybe many spaniards would stop saying that they can't learn to speak like a native.