Integrating Elocution into Foreign Language Instruction: Enhancing Phonetic Awareness and Vocal Expression in the Language Classroom

Session

Language and Culture

Description

Elocution, or speech training, constitutes an integral component of the education of actors, as well as of television and radio presenters and professional speakers. It encompasses a range of skills, including breathing techniques, modulation of the average speaking pitch, standard pronunciation of the given language, clear and precise enunciation, effective voice projection and the use of vocal variety. Elocution is traditionally taught in drama schools and forms part of rhetorical education. To a considerably lesser extent, it features in the curricula of foreign language instruction. Nevertheless, such courses ‒ particularly at the tertiary level ‒ should, in addition to addressing core linguistic aspects such as grammar, lexis and idiomatic expression, cultivate learners’ phonetic proficiency and the vocal competencies inherent to the target language. The present paper examines the potential for integrating elocution into foreign language instruction. Particular emphasis is placed on the use of speech exercises, accent enhancement and the establishment of an appropriate articulatory basis, as well as on the study of intonation and prosody ‒ specifically, the contrast between stress-timed and syllable-timed languages ‒ and on phonetic and phonological phenomena such as the distinction between free and contextsensitive allophones, and the weakening of sounds, exemplified by the schwa in English.

Keywords:

Elocution, foreign language instruction, articulatory basis, stress-timed and syllable-timed languages, allophones

Proceedings Editor

Edmond Hajrizi

ISBN

978-9951-982-41-2

Location

UBT Lipjan, Kosovo

Start Date

25-10-2025 9:00 AM

End Date

26-10-2025 6:00 PM

DOI

10.33107/ubt-ic.2025.266

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Oct 25th, 9:00 AM Oct 26th, 6:00 PM

Integrating Elocution into Foreign Language Instruction: Enhancing Phonetic Awareness and Vocal Expression in the Language Classroom

UBT Lipjan, Kosovo

Elocution, or speech training, constitutes an integral component of the education of actors, as well as of television and radio presenters and professional speakers. It encompasses a range of skills, including breathing techniques, modulation of the average speaking pitch, standard pronunciation of the given language, clear and precise enunciation, effective voice projection and the use of vocal variety. Elocution is traditionally taught in drama schools and forms part of rhetorical education. To a considerably lesser extent, it features in the curricula of foreign language instruction. Nevertheless, such courses ‒ particularly at the tertiary level ‒ should, in addition to addressing core linguistic aspects such as grammar, lexis and idiomatic expression, cultivate learners’ phonetic proficiency and the vocal competencies inherent to the target language. The present paper examines the potential for integrating elocution into foreign language instruction. Particular emphasis is placed on the use of speech exercises, accent enhancement and the establishment of an appropriate articulatory basis, as well as on the study of intonation and prosody ‒ specifically, the contrast between stress-timed and syllable-timed languages ‒ and on phonetic and phonological phenomena such as the distinction between free and contextsensitive allophones, and the weakening of sounds, exemplified by the schwa in English.