Communication Sciences and Disorders
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Contact the Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic at 928-523-8110 or shclinic@nau.edu.

Pronunciation for Second Language Learners

About

Speakers of English as a Second Language (ESL) may demonstrate an accent that varies from Standard American English (SAE) accent. The sound system of a speaker’s native language may influence pronunciation of English in at least three ways:

  1. Sounds in English may not be a part of a speaker’s native language.
  2. The rules for combining sounds into words are different in a learner’s native language.
  3. The patterns of stress and intonation in a native language may be transferred into English.

Given the biological, socio-cultural, personality, and linguistic factors which affect acquisition of a second language, eradication of a foreign accent may be an unrealistic goal. However, training in pronunciation may enhance a speaker’s ability to be understood, and may be a personal goal of the client. It is possible for adult ESL learners to improve their pronunciation of English.

Who can this affect?

People for whom English is a second or foreign language.

Evaluation services

Assessment of:

  • hearing
  • oral-motor mechanism and function
  • production and discrimination of English vowels and consonants
  • intonation

Management services

  • training in discrimination (hearing differences) of sounds
  • production of sounds in isolation
  • production of sounds at the word, sentence, and conversational level
  • intonation training
Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northern Arizona University
Location
Room 302 Building 66
Health Professions
208 E. Pine Knoll Dr. PO Box: 15045
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
Contact Form
Email
speech@nau.edu
Phone
928-523-2969
Fax
928-523-0034
Social Media
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