On Teaching English Pronunciation in Japanese Secondary Education: How It Is and How It Should Be(<Feature Articles>The English Language Education from a Phonetic Perspective)

Abstract

This article examines the following three aspects of teaching English pronunciation at secondary schools in Japan: 1)which features of pronunciation are actually taught and which are not; 2) which problems are caused by this; and 3)which measures can or should be taken to solve the problems. In each aspect above, single sounds, word/phrase/sentence stresses and intonation are taken into account. Very little time is devoted to teaching pronunciation, and sadly awareness of the importance of pronunciation among pupils/students is quite low. In order to improve the situation, remedies, such as phonics-based instruction, are proposed.