In Fig. 1, we suggested that the selection of appropriate discourse is a factor in
the treatment of pronunciation within the integrated strategic pedagogic model.
Given that the purpose in the controlled speaking phase of the pedagogic model is
to focus on form, it makes sense to ensure that the discourse to be spoken at this
`output 1' phase is monologic and highly ideational in its orientation. When in the
real world we participate in dialogue, our attention tends to be on meaning,
including interpersonal meaning, most of the time; so that in the language-learning
J. Burgess, S. Spencer / System 28 (2000) 191±215 203
classroom highly communicative dialogue is perhaps a poor vehicle for a focus on
pronunciation form. And in any case, all aspects of pronunciation are to be found
at work in highly ideational discourse, ful®lling ideational or textual functions.
Even intonation, which clearly has very signi®cant interpersonal functions (functions
which are, however, notoriously dicult to describe concisely or satisfactorily,
given the number of variables in personal behaviours, etc.), can be practised very
well in its highly ideational or textual functions. If, for instance, one trains learners
to perceive and produce appropriate message-oriented intonation patterns (marking,
say, message-®nality or non-®nality) in highly ideational monologic contexts, it
is then relatively straightforward to tune their listening to the many and various
interpersonal uses of intonation in dialogic contexts, and to get them to experiment
with these uses in roleplay activities. So, following our example above of the lesson
beginning with the dialogue, the controlled speaking would eect a monologic
retelling of the ideational content Ð the story. This does not mean that the learners
would not participate in a dialogue at any stage of the lesson, however. They would
very likely do so in the ®nal freer `input/output 2' activity, perhaps using new information
so that their dialogue would be closer to the communicative use of language
that we experience in the real world. The importance of the link between the controlled
speaking phase and this freer one is that the former provides guidance for the
latter, in pronunciation as well as other formal aspects of the discourse.