Integrating Pronunciation Into the English Language Curriculum - A Framework for Teachers

Oct 15, 2026

Integrating pronunciation instruction into classroom practice requires more than isolated techniques; it needs a systematic, research-informed curriculum-planning framework. Drawing on work with international teaching assistants, the study presents a five-stage process developed over ten years and evaluated in a pre-post classroom-based research design showing significant pronunciation improvement. The stages guide teachers through institutional planning, learner-factor identification, needs assessment, explicit feature and feedback decisions, and scaffolding strategies that foster autonomy. Each stage is supported with guiding questions, related research, and an ESP curriculum example.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Five-stage curriculum-planning framework

Stage 1: institutional factors

Stage 2: learner factors

Stage 3: needs assessment

Stage 4: pronunciation features and explicit feedback

Stage 5: scaffolding and learner autonomy

Integrating Pronunciation Into the English Language Curriculum: A Framework for Teachers Research provides evidence of effective factors in pronunciation teaching and learning. However, incorporating research into classroom practice is a challenge left to instructors, often without the help of a systematic framework for integrating pronunciation into a curriculum. This article, informed by work with international teaching assistants, offers such a framework. Developed over a 10-year period, the framework was tested in a pre-post classroom-based research study that indicated significant pronunciation improvement. The authors guide classroom instructorsand teacher trainers through a 5-stage curriculum-design process for the integration of pronunciation, and they exemplify the use of the framework via the development of an English for Specific Purposes curriculum for international teaching assistants. Each stage includes guiding questions, related research, and demonstration of the outcomes through examples from a curriculum designed for international teaching assistants. The framework provides a practical approach to integrating fundamental building blocks of effective pronunciation instruction into the curriculum design process. Adult learners of English pronunciation in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) contexts face demanding communicative interactions necessitating a high level of pronunciation skills. As Celce-Murcia, Brinton, and Goodwin (2010) assert,“Perhaps more than any other aspect, pronunciation is the salient feature of our language competence. It is the lens through which we are viewed in each interaction we have”(p. 279) . To attain the level of pronunciation required for their targeted language-competence levels, ESP profession The CATESOL Journal 30.1 • 2018 • 69 als need effective learning experiences. The responsibility for creating this successful journey typically falls on the instructor. The decision-making process of curriculum design requires instructors to think through, factor in, and grapple with a seemingly infinite number of variables. This entire process relies on the teachers’ cognition—that is, their knowledge, beliefs, and thinking about teaching and learning pronunciation (Baker & Murphy, 2011)—and poses at least two fundamental challenges. First, theory and research not within a teacher’s knowledge may be unintentionally overlooked, and second, even with solid preparation, each teacher must translate knowledge into the creation of a curriculum tailored to a unique context and a specific group of students. Richards (2013) describes a curriculum as “the overall plan or design for a course and how the content from a course is transformed into a blueprint for teaching and learning which enables the desired learning outcomes to be achieved”(p. 6). Consequently, there is a need for a systematic framework based on theory and research to support instructors in creating blueprints for effective pronunciation teaching and learning. This article offers a five-stage curriculum-planning framework that allows teachers to draw on research and theory to guide decision making. Developed over a 10-year period, the framework was tested in a pre-post classroom-based research study that indicated that participants made significant pronunciation improvement (Sardegna & McGregor, 2014) . The framework includes five stages sequenced to systematically address key components involved in integrating pronunciation into a curriculum. Table 1 presents the framework, including each stage’s guiding questions and target outcomes. Stages 1 and 2 pertain to pre-course planning. Answers to the guiding questions for these stages comprise the fundamental building blocks that situate the course within an institutional context and align pronunciation instruction with learner factors. Stage 3 provides guidance in planning and conducting a needs assessment with awareness raising followed by prioritization of the res

FAQs

Why is a systematic framework needed for integrating pronunciation into a curriculum?

Research indicates effective factors for pronunciation teaching and learning, but instructors often struggle to incorporate research into classroom practice without a systematic curriculum-planning framework.

What are the key stages in the proposed curriculum-planning framework?

The framework is organized into five stages: institutional factors, learner factors, needs assessment, decisions about pronunciation features and explicit feedback, and curriculum elements supporting scaffolding and learner autonomy.

How was the framework evaluated and what outcomes were reported?

Developed over a ten-year period, the framework was tested in a pre-post classroom-based research study indicating significant pronunciation improvement among participants.

Oct 15, 2026

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