Relatore Chiar mo Prof. Graziano Serragiotto Correlatore

1.2. Why is it important to have a good pronunciation? 
Nowadays, English is the language used for international communication and speakers need 
to be able to exchange information effectively, both orally and in writing.
According to Joan Morley, 
“intelligible pronunciation is an essential component of 
communicative competence
” (Morley, 1991: 513). Celce-Murcia et al. agree with her statement 
claiming that “intelligible pronunciation is one of the necessary components of oral communication” 
(Celce-Murcia et al., 1996: 8). As Yates explains
, “learners with good pronunciation in English are 
more likely to be understood even if they make errors in other areas, whereas learners whose 
pronunciation is difficult to understand will not be understood, even if t
heir grammar is perfect” 
(Yates, 2002:1). Similarly, Burns claims: 
“clear pronunciation is essential in spoken communication. 
Even where learners produce minor inaccuracies in vocabulary and grammar, they are more likely to 
communicate effectively when they have good pronunciation and intonation
” (Burns, 2003: 5). 
Hewings has also underlined the importance of pronunciation in effective communication. He states 
that “difficulties with pronunciation might mean that students fail to get their message across, even 
when the correct words are being used, or they might fail to understand what is said to them” 
(Hewings, 2004: 11).
Furthermore, another aspect to take into account is that people are often judged by the way 
they speak (Yates, 2002). In this respect, 
MacCarthy argues, “there is no doubt that people have views 

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on the subject of how their language should be spoken, how they like to hear it spoken 
– particularly 
by foreigners” and “it would be unwise for the learner to disregard them entirely” (MacCarthy, 1978: 
9). H
e also points out that, “subconscious attitudes unfavourable to the foreign speaker can be due to 
no more than something about his ‘way of speaking’” and that “these attitudes may take forms such 
as impatience at undue hesitation or slowness; dislike of some particular mispronunciation that begins 
to irritate when it keeps recurring; a sense of lack of sympathy or intimacy or deeper understanding 
because of a pervasive impression of strangeness; or just the vague feeling that the speaker could 
have taken a greater trouble to pronounce one’s language well” (MacCarthy, 1978: 9). In fact, as 
Yates claims, “learners with poor pronunciation may be judged as incompetent, uneducated or lacking 
in knowledge, even though listeners are only reacting to their pronunciation” (Yates, 2002:1).