The document discusses the pros and cons of teaching learners the phonemic script. Some teachers feel the phonemic script should be taught so learners can understand different phonemes, word patterns, learn autonomously using dictionaries, and reduce mother tongue interference. Others feel it may not be practical or suitable for all learning styles or ages. There are also differing opinions on whether learners should focus on individual phonemes first or whole words and phrases. Some think a balance of both approaches depending on learner needs is best. The discussion also touches on dialects and accents and how exposing learners to these could help with communication challenges.

1. Disucussion summary

2. Dear all,
It is interesting to see that teachers from
many different countries are almost
unanimous on many issues. You have given a
lot of pros and some cons regarding the
phonemic script and learners learning it.

3. (Martina, Marcia, Mario, Nevena, Alla, Yana, Michaela,
Elizabeth, Velimira, Gergana, Gulsanem, Galiya, Viktoria,
Larisa and Inna)
Learners should learn the phonemic script for the following
reasons:
 to help them learn the phonemes that are different or
absent from the mother tongue
 to understand different patterns and exceptions related to
English words that have foreign origin (choir, boutique
etc.)
 to be able to learn the language autonomously by using
dictionaries or other resources
 to build learner confidence
 may be suitable for the learner learning style (visual
learner)
 to lower/remove mother tongue interference (by showing
mouth or tongue positions etc.)

4. Some of the reasons why the phonemic script
should not be taught are the following: Alla,
Elizabeth, Pavla, Nevena, Alla, Velimira, Viktoria
Sherzod, Michaela, Thomas):
 the learning style may enable the student to
learn the pronunciation of the words in a
different way (auditory learners may not need
the script)
 may not be practical and take up too much class
time
 not suitable for the learners’ age (young learners
should not be taught the phonemic script at least
until they learn how to write, and even then very
gradually appropriately to their cognitive
abilities

5.  some teachers and learners consider the
phonemic script too difficult
 learners may acquire native-like/good
pronunciation through listening activities,
songs, films etc
 learners may learn pronunciation from online
dictionaries where they click a button/box
and they can hear the word pronounced.

6. There are several opinions on whether the
pronunciation of words and phrases should
be learned as a whole or should learners
focus on separate phonemes:
Martina, Marcia, Mario, Sherzod, Alla, Yana,
Pavla and Viktoria think that learners should
learn words as a whole, because learning the
pronunciation of whole words and phrases is
much more practical and faster

7.  Sherzod, Marcia, Yana, Alla think that if
learners have a difficulty with a particular
word or if the pronunciation of a particular
phoneme causes communication problems or
is absent from the mother tongue, they
should go through the phonemes of that
word. Mario says that the teacher should find
the balance between the teaching the
phonemes and the words and phrases as a
whole depending on the learner needs

8.  Michaela, Velimira, Gergana, Martina, Nevena,
Galiya think that learners should learn
phonemes first and then words as whole
 Elizabeth thinks that lower levels should learn
phonemes and advanced levels should learn
directly words and phrases as a whole
 As for the discussion on dialects and accents
many of you said that we do not have time
allotted for them, and go over them either
briefly or when there are questions about them.
However, they are important as they may cause
difficulties in communication (as Thomas
illustrated in his example): Velimira, Alla,
Nevena, Yana