A Study on the Feasibility of Teaching Intonation to the ESL Learners through George Bernard Shaw’s Play Pygmalion

Abstract

This paper aims to project the importance of Intonation in pronunciation and teaching Intonation to ESL learners through George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion. Since English Language plays an important role in communication and Information technology, the acquisition of the exact pronunciation of this lingua franca is a complicated task. So the learners and teachers must be aware of the different types teaching and learning strategies to acquire the apt skills in pronunciation. Clear pronunciation helps to convey both objective and subjective ideas of the speaker. In pronunciation, much importance is given to the segmental part of language than the suprasegmental. Suprasegmental helps to understand and to speak the language in a proper way. Intonation is one of the features of suprasegmental aspects and it is the rising and falling of a pitch in spoken language. Intonation plays a crucial role in expressing emotional content and speakers’ intended message in a speech by changing pitch according to it. Learning any skills is greatly enhanced when appropriate tools are employed. Play as a medium, can foster language learning, boost creativity and enhance communication skills of the learners. In this paper, a theoretical analysis of intonation within the context of the play Pygmalion has been undergone and explains how this play serves as a valuable tool for developing the pronunciation skills. Only selected dialogues from Pygmalion are utilized in this paper to illustrate the concept of intonation. This paper offers insightful information to ESL learners on how play aids in learning Intonation can effectively.