This thesis deals with the current phenomenon of uptalk. The theoretical part provides a brief overview of the phenomenon, including its characteristics in terms of phonetics and phonology, geographical and linguistic origin, occurrence in contemporary English, relation to gender and functions the pattern fulfils in interactions. The practical part focuses on the implementation of uptalk in teaching English. It aims at producing a lesson plan on the phenomenon and its subsequent application in class. Furthermore, it provides findings of a questionnaire survey conducted among the participants of the implementation project in order to get their feedback on the lesson plan.

Different opinions exist about the use of phonetic alphabet symbols in teaching English pronunciation to second language learners. Some authors and researchers believe phonetic symbols can benefit students in many ways; others consider this tool hardly recommendable. However, little empirical research has been done to find out what ESL teachers think about the use of this linguistic tool. Thus, via an online survey this study sought to identify ESL teachers' attitudes towards the use of phonetic symbols in teaching ESL pronunciation. A total of 120 teachers took the survey and most of them were experienced in teaching pronunciation to adult ESL students. The analyses of qualitative data identified a contradiction between experienced teachers' opinions and what they practiced in class. On the one side, the teachers had predominantly positive attitudes towards the use of phonetic symbols, and about 80% of them agreed that it was a valuable use of class time. Despite this, many teachers (n=40) did not report using phonetic symbols in their teaching. In addition, though the teachers pointed out enabling student independent learning as the main reason to teach phonetic symbols, only three participants reported that they used phonetic symbols for this purpose. The results of the study suggest that ESL teachers' lack of training in teaching phonetic symbols to ESL students can be one of the main factors causing this contradiction.

L’elaborato indaga le modalità di insegnamento della lingua e della dizione italiana ai cantanti d’opera internazionali. Dopo una breve cronistoria dell’opera lirica, si analizza la figura del librettista e in particolare di Lorenzo Da Ponte, insegnante ante litteram della lingua e della cultura italiana. Segue una disamina dei corsi di canto degli albori, dalla quale emerge quanto il problema di una corretta pronuncia fosse cruciale nell’educazione dei cantanti già nel Settecento. Si indagano le metodologie di insegnamento della fonetica e della prosodia nella storia della glottodidattica, i fattori biologici e psico-sociali determinanti nell’apprendimento di una L2/LS e le principali difficoltà linguistiche incontrate dai discenti stranieri che si accingono ad apprendere la lingua italiana. Si presentano i dati di una ricerca condotta su dieci istituzioni musicali tra i quali il Conservatorio di Milano, la Juilliard School of Music di New York e la Washington State University di Seattle. Si analizzano le metodologie di insegnamento e i manuali adottati e si espongono i dati emersi da un questionario rivolto ai docenti e ai discenti delle suddette scuole. Si procede esponendo un sillabo ideato per i cantanti che permetta uno studio più proficuo della lingua e della dizione italiana. / The research investigates the teaching procedures of Italian language and diction to international opera singers. After a brief digression on the lyric opera, we analyze the figure of librettista and in particular of Lorenzo Da Ponte, a forerunner of the Italian language and culture teaching. An examination of the first singing courses shows how teaching a impeccable pronunciation was already crucial in the XVIII century. The phonetics and prosody teaching procedures in the history of glottodidactics are then examined, as well as the biological and psycho-social factors critical while learning a foreign language and the main linguistic difficulties faced by foreign students approaching the Italian language. We present the data of a survey conducted on ten musical institutions like the Milan Conservatory, the Julliard School of Music of New York and the Washington State University of Seattle. We analyze the teaching procedures and the textbooks adopted and the results of a questionnaire addressed to the teachers and students of these schools. Finally we display a syllabus for international opera singers to profitably approach the Italian language.

The theoretical part of the thesis scrutinizes the principles of awareness raising and noticing in language teaching. Furthermore, it focuses on their implementation in pronunciation teaching and examines the possible limitations to these approaches imposed by learners' age and level of cognitive development. The practical part presents a research which consists of designing a battery of pronunciation activities promoting noticing and awareness raising, followed by their pilotage in five different groups of elementary school pupils. The aim of the research is to determine whether the piloted activities result in young learners noticing the target pronunciation features. The results of the research suggest positive impact of the noticing and awareness raising activities even among the pupils at lower stage of cognitive development. Key words: young learners, teaching pronunciation, consciousness raising, noticing, cognitive development, learners' involvement

This paper examines three English teachers’ attitudes towards teaching pronunciation. The teachers involved are teachers at upper-secondary level in Sweden. The study is based on a qualitative method, since the research involves collecting data to understand opinions and experiences. The data in this study are collected through semi-structured interviews to analyze teachers’ attitudes. All of the three teachers agreed on their students having good pronunciation and mentioned different sounds as pronunciation difficulties that are problematic for their students. Furthermore, the three teachers expressed that they avoid correcting their students most of the time, however, when the teachers correct their students, they usually use a corrective method that can be interpreted as implicit feedback. Earlier research has shown that explicit feedback is the most effective method to use in a teaching environment to make it possible for students to improve their pronunciation.