Beyond Accented Speech
Paths towards Intelligibility in the Teaching of English Vowels to Translators and Interpreters
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48162/rev.57.010Keywords:
L2 pronunciation, intelligibility, vowel teaching, academic-professional training, translators-interpretersAbstract
For a long time now, Applied Linguistics has emphasized that L2 pronunciation students should achieve a native accent. However, in recent decades, the paradigm has shifted, prioritizing intelligibility as the main objective. This study analyzed the impact of two pedagogical approaches for teaching the English vowels /i:, ɪ, e, æ/ on intelligibility. Thirty-six students from the English<>Spanish Translation Bachelor's program at a private university in Montevideo, Uruguay, participated in the study, divided into two groups. Group 1 received instruction based on the Nativeness Principle, focused on phonological accuracy, while group 2 was taught using the Intelligibility Principle, which incorporated communicative tasks, focus on form, self-assessment, and peer evaluation. A group of 10 judges, non-native speakers of Montevidean Spanish, rated the speech samples using criteria such as intelligibility, comprehensibility, foreign accent, and communicative effectiveness, on a Likert scale. The findings revealed that instruction that includes communicative tasks, focus on form, self-assessment, and peer evaluation is more effective in improving L2 pronunciation, fostering a collaborative and supportive learning environment that promotes metacognitive development and reduces academic anxiety. The pedagogical implications suggest that, in the professional and academic training programs for translators and interpreters, intelligibility should be prioritized over imitating a native accent, allowing for a more inclusive and effective approach to global communication in multicultural and multilingual settings.
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