Prosody, Identity, and Multiculturality: Uncovering English Pronunciation Challenges Among Argentinean University Students
摘要
In our diverse and multicultural world, English as a Lingua Franca plays a crucial role in effective cross-cultural communication. However, English learners in monolingual settings face challenges in developing multicultural communicative competence because they do not have the immediate urge to accommodate their speech to a standard international pronunciation. This chapter reports on a study that explored the English oral performance of Argentinean students at a teacher training course. The objective was twofold: to explore the interplay between prosody, particularly nuclear tones, identity, and multiculturality; and to provide pedagogical implications for enhancing the students’ oral production. The students were recorded reading aloud texts in English. Their production was analysed auditorily and acoustically using speech analysis software. The results provided a basis for establishing connections between the students’ interlanguage and their L1. Additionally, a questionnaire was administered to gain insights into students’ emotions, attitudes, and experiences that may affect the learning of English intonation, throwing light on the relationship between prosody, identity, and multiculturality. This chapter concludes with recommendations for activities that can help deepen students’ understanding of the cultural and communicative aspects of prosody so that they can be better equipped to face the multicultural world as English teachers.