The Phonetic Alphabet for Beginners: a revision and adaptation to English for International Communication

Abstract

In the following article I want to offer a revision and updating of Gabriel Tejada’s original idea adapting the International Phonetic Alphabet for beginners in English in a non-native environment. I will seek to offer a presentation and discussion of the original proposal, by considering the paradigm of English as an International Language (EIL), followed by a series of suggestions that will make the use of a notation system easier and realistic for young learners of English. The strong points in the original suggestion are highlighted, and some new ideas are incorporated in order to adapt it to the new situation of English internationally and in the Spanish and Andalusian current teaching setting.