The College of Education/Al-Qurnah at the University of Basra, in cooperation with the Continuing Education Unit at the college, organized a scientific seminar titled:
"How do we pronounce a Language Naturally"
The seminar was presented by the lecturer Ms. Amal Salman Mishri, who discussed the importance of natural pronunciation as one of the essential components for effective communication in foreign languages. She explained that natural pronunciation goes beyond merely producing sounds correctly to include stress, rhythm, and intonation, representing the speech patterns used by native speakers in their daily contexts.
The lecture also covered the characteristics of connected speech, such as word linkage, reduction, assimilation, and intonation patterns.
She highlighted that true fluency is achieved by understanding the "music of the language," rather than focusing only on isolated sounds. During the seminar, a number of methods were reviewed to help learners improve their pronunciation, including listening to authentic models, the shadowing technique, self-recording, and phonological training.
The lecturer emphasized the importance for teachers to guide learners to practice pronunciation in real communicative situations and to focus on clarity and confidence during speech instead of striving for an unattainable ideal accent.
