Pronunciation Matters: Accents of English in the Netherlands and Elsewhere

Pronunciation raises many questions. Since learners of English are exposed to a bewildering variety of native and non-native Englishes, they are challenged to reflect on the importance of accent -- both in their own English and in that of others. New developments in teaching, and the introduction of common European standards, have also prompted teachers to incorporate pronunciation training into their curricula. In this collection, contributors discuss the most recent research on pronunciation issues to provide insight into matters of teaching, testing and the wider communicative context, ranging from Business English as a Lingua Franca to English communication between the Dutch and the Chinese.

Table of Contents:
Why Pronunciation Matters; Perception training of L2-contrasts; My Pronunciation Coach: Computer-assisted English Pronunciation Training; Pronunciation teaching at Dutch secondary schools: Taught or caught; Working on quality: The assessment of future English teachers pronunciation & phonetic/; phonological knowledge; Are we at sixes & sevens? Pronunciation assessment by lecturers of English in the Netherlands; And what about testing pronunciation? A critical look at the CEFR pronunciation grid & a proposal for improvement; Phonetic specifications for pronunciation teaching & learning: A social semiotic perspective; Pronunciation matters: Using English for international business communication; Pardon my French? Mother-tongue French listeners evaluations of Dutch accents in French & English; Is a shared interlanguage beneficial? Mutual intelligibility of American, Dutch & Mandarin speakers of English; Mutual Intelligibility of English Consonants by Chinese, Dutch & American Speakers of English.

About the Author :
Rias van den Doel was educated at Utrecht University and Trinity College Dublin, and has taught English to university students in the Netherlands Leiden and Utrecht, Spain, Poland and China. He is now affiliated to Utrecht University, where he runs courses in pronunciation training, intercultural communication and World Englishes. His chief research interest is English linguistic diversity and its consequences for L2 acquisition. Laura Rupp was educated at Utrecht University and the University of Essex, and has taught English to university students in the Netherlands, England, and Ghana. She is now an Assistant Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where she teaches courses in pronunciation training and Global English. Her current research is on language variation and change and second language acquisition in English.