How English Suprasegmental Features of Pronunciation Are Viewed and Treated by Instructors in Iranian Private Language Centers

Abstract

English suprasegmental features of pronunciation (ESFP), as key elements in developing effective communications, are regarded as critical aspects of language proficiency to be practiced markedly in language classrooms. They have pivotal roles in determining the utterance meaning, and change in some of these features can lead to change in meaning. The present study was, therefore, motivated to explore how ESFPs were viewed and treated by language instructors in Iranian English language private centers. It is an account of interviews with 12 experienced language instructors reporting their insights into significance and treatment of these features in the language institutes. The results emerging from the detailed analysis of the data indicated that ESFPs were perceived by the respondents as critically significant aspects of language proficiency due to their substantial sensitivity in speech perception and production as well as boosting language learners' self-esteem and motivation. Further, close examination of the data suggested that EFSPs were assigned short shrift in pedagogical practices mainly due to such factors as skill prioritization, insufficient class time, improperly developed materials, and language learners' negative attitude and unwillingness towards such features.