Let’s Speak, Pronunciation, Issues in Adult Employment

Pronunciation is an integral and necessary component of language acquisition. For adult migrants in Australia, effective oral communication is a desirable goal, yet challenging to achieve. It is the process by which speakers present an image of themselves. Unfortunately, for many adult migrants, pronunciation is
still a significant impediment to communication. In fact, adult English language learners are seriously disadvantaged without effective second language oral skills, and “intelligible pronunciation is an essential component of communicative competence”. Fraser (2000) argues that they are at risk educationally,
occupationally, professionally and socially if unable to communicate effectively in spoken English.