Abstract/Summary

Jenkins (2000) proposed the lingua franca core (LFC), a set of pronunciation features that she claimed to be the key contributors to intelligibility in the context of English as a lingua franca (ELF). While the LFC has been widely discussed in the field of applied linguistics, empirical studies directly testing its application in teaching practices and evaluating outcomes with solid evidence are sparse. This gap is particularly pronounced in the context of China. Hence, this study assessed the impact of LFC-oriented versus RP-targeted pronunciation instruction on intelligibility among 60 adult English learners divided into two groups of 30 at an English language school in Shanghai, China. It compared learners' pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest performances, focusing on their production of English pronunciation in terms of intelligibility, comprehensibility and other relevant constructs about pronunciation. The results indicated significant gains in productive pronunciation competence, especially in intelligibility, for both groups, with no major difference in overall performance, yet with specific advantages for the LFC group in certain areas. Furthermore, learners’ LFC competence shows a strong positive correlation with intelligibility and comprehensibility, suggesting LFC-based instruction's potential for improving productive pronunciation skills without the necessity of minimising accents. This research contributes to the fields of ELF and English language teaching by providing empirical evidence supporting LFC-oriented teaching in enhancing pronunciation competence with a primary focus on intelligibility.