Teaching English pronunciation beyond intelligibility

Teaching English pronunciation is being neglected in English lessons in the Netherlands. Most teachers do not have a specific pedagogy for teaching English pronunciation or do not consider it to be important. Students with a desire for more native-like English pronunciation, be it to enhance their intelligibility, confidence or credibility, are faced with a lack of skilled professionals who are able to provide them with the necessary feedback for improvement. Research shows that a student-oriented computer-assisted pronunciation teaching tool can significantly improve students’ pronunciation skills, even without initial teacher input.