Pronunciation teaching: Past and present

Abstract

Pronunciation, despite being known as an important component of language learning, has not been awarded due attention within the field of language education. This article is a humble attempt to present an overview of the history of pronunciation teaching. Different approaches and methods of language teaching from the late nineteenth century into the new millennium are reviewed and discussed with regard to their stance in pronunciation instruction. Recent trends and issues of pronunciation teaching, e.g. intelligibility and Lingua Franca Core are also highlighted. Discussions like the present one might be beneficial in gaining a better understanding and evaluation of the status quo in order to improve and enhance the status of pronunciation instruction within language pedagogy.