Abstract

The emergence of English as an international language has undoubtedly influenced the way the language is taught all around the world. Among all the skills and components of English, pronunciation has perhaps been the one most highly affected by this trend. In a country, such as Iran, where learners come from a variety of dialectical backgrounds, English is taught using the same national syllabus and textbooks in all parts of the country. Hence, an investigation into the most prevalent approaches to pronunciation instruction can shed light on the techniques employed by teachers to overcome the difficulties brought about by linguistic diversity. The present study seeks to fulfill this aim by developing and administering a questionnaire among 130 teachers in the Iranian public education system, asking them about the most common approaches and techniques they use for teaching pronunciation in their classrooms. An exploratory factor analysis of the responses revealed that four major sets of techniques were commonly employed by the teachers surveyed in this study. Comparisons drawn between the participants revealed some important differences based on the teachers’ age, gender, years of experience and educational background. These differences are discussed in light of the multilingual context of education in Iran.

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