pronunciations of O and I

[MikeNewYork]

So, in your view, Taiwan students are better at pronouncing English than native English speakers? I seriously doubt that.

 

[TaiwanPofLee]

So, in your view, Taiwan students are better at pronouncing English than native English speakers? I seriously doubt that.

Taiwan students who learn English pronunciation with phonetic symbols learn it more efficiently; they are not better at pronouncing English than native English speakers.

 

[emsr2d2]

I think some people learn better with phonetic symbols and some don't. Perhaps Taiwanese students fall into the former category. Native speakers learn perfectly efficiently by listening to everyone around them.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Possibly Taiwanese children have an accent problem they must overcome.

 

[TaiwanPofLee]

Possibly Taiwanese children have an accent problem they must overcome.

Taiwanese teachers and students of English care about standard (American) English pronunciation. Generally speaking, Taiwanese have an English accent more similar to that of general American English speakers than Singaporeans, Indians and Japanese.
I taught English pronunciation and grammar at high school five years before I switched to law at college. I graduated from college in Taipei, and spent several years studying in Texas, California, New York, and Scotland.

*Oxford Eng. Dict.:
Accent: A distinctive way of pronouncing a language, especially one associated with a particular country, area, or social class
Pronunciation: The way in which a word is pronounced

 

[MikeNewYork]

You have already admitted that Taiwanese students don't pronounce English as well as American students. That tells me that while you think Taiwanese students need your system, American students don't.

 

[TaiwanPofLee]

You have already admitted that Taiwanese students don't pronounce English as well as American students. That tells me that while you think Taiwanese students need your system, American students don't.

I am concerned with efficiency and effectiveness of teaching and learning of English pronunciation.

Popular English dictionaries such as Oxford, Cambridge, Collins, Merriam-Webster, American Heritage, and Longman carry phonetic symbols. Teachers and students can use any phonetic system.

 

[MikeNewYork]

You are repeating yourself.

 

[TaiwanPofLee]

You are repeating yourself.

I think American students will be better off in their pronunciation when they learn an English phonetic system.

 

[emsr2d2]

And we have established that most of us think you are wrong. We are going round in circles. I can see the benefit of phonetic symbols for people learning a foreign language. I see no benefit for native English speakers when they are learning their own native language.

 

[TaiwanPofLee]

And we have established that most of us think you are wrong. We are going round in circles. I can see the benefit of phonetic symbols for people learning a foreign language. I see no benefit for native English speakers when they are learning their own native language.

I understand your real life.

On the other hand, I don't think Taiwan and China are so stupid as to teach their primary school pupils Zhuyin and Pinyin.

 

[MikeNewYork]

What does that have to do with native English speakers?

 

[TaiwanPofLee]

What does that have to do with native English speakers?

Phonetic symbols help native language speakers with their learning of standard pronunciation.

 

[MikeNewYork]

You keep repeating yourself.

 

[emsr2d2]

If someone else wants to reverse the action I'm about to take, feel free, but I am closing this thread. It is going nowhere. TaiwanPofLee, I admire your enthusiasm and tenacity but we cannot keep telling you that we native speakers simply do not need phonetic symbols in order to speak our own language if you're going to insist on not believing us.