Perceptions of stakeholders towards the choice of pronunciation norms in language teacher education in Russia

by Alina Maslova

Lomonosov Moscow State University

Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies

maslovalina@gmail.com

Abstract

This article discusses the issue of teaching pronunciation to English Language Teaching majors in Russia. The study reveals that even though English has become an international language and now intelligibility is valued more than ‘nativeness’ within the EIL perspective, it is still necessary to follow a pronunciation norm in EFL teachers’ education. An online survey administered to 41 ELT majors and 23 Lomonosov Moscow State University faculty members has shown that most respondents regard native-speaker pronunciation (in particular, Received Pronunciation) as the correct model to teach to the future teachers of English. Results also indicate that the closer a certain teacher’s pronunciation is to that of a native speaker, the higher this teacher is regarded by their students. This study sheds light on the future of ELT education in Russia as it is based on the real opinions and perceptions of the future teachers of English who will shortly start their professional careers.

Key words: pronunciation norm, native-speaker pronunciation, pronunciation standard, perceptions

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