第十九篇: Error Correction Pronouncing a language is a skill. Every normal person is expert in the skill of pronouncing his own language, and --71-- few people are even moderately proficient at pronouncing foreign languages. Now there are many reasons about this, --72-- some obvious, some perhaps not so obvious. But I suggest that the fundamental reason why people in general do not speak foreign languages very better than they do is that --73-- they fail to grasp the true name of the problem of learning to pronounce, and consequently never set about tackling it by the right way. Far too many people fail to realize --74-- that pronounce a foreign language is a skill, one that --75-- needs careful training of a special kind, and one that cannot be acquired by just leaving it to take care of himself. --76-- I think even teachers of language, while recognizing the importance of a good accent, tend to neglect, in their practical teaching, the branch of study concerning with speaking the --77-- language. So the first point I want to make is that English pronunciation must be taught; the teacher may be prepared to --78-- devote some of the lesson time to this, and by his whole attitude to the subject he should get the student to feel that here is a matter worth of receiving his close attention. --79-- So, there should be occasions where other aspects of English, --80-- such as grammar or spelling, are allowed for the moment to take a secondary place. |