The ‘International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health’ is a framework, often used in healthcare, that focuses on functioning and participation, taking into account personal and environmental factors. It assists in: identifying influencing factors, providing input to enable appropriate goalsetting and helping to view the individual L2-learner as a whole.
In the Netherlands, Speech and Language Therapists (SLT’s) use the ICF-model (WHO, 2001; 2013) to classify and clarify communication problems patients experience in daily functioning. The ICF or ‘International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health’ offers a conceptual framework that acknowledges the complex dimensions of human functioning. It incorporates personal and contextual factors that can positively or negatively influence participation in the daily lives of people (Heerkens & De Beer, 2007; Threats, 2008; Ma, Threats & Worrall, 2008). This model is used globally in a broad array of healthcare professions. Yet, it is not a customary tool, nor probably an obvious one, used by L2-professionals over the world (Blake & McLeod, 2019). Of course, our goal is not to classify pronunciation problems of L2-learners as disabilities or impairments. However, training of pronunciation should unequivocally be linked to complex daily life experiences (Derwing, 2017) and this framework proves a useful tool. It allows identification of influencing barriers, or facilitating factors within the stagnation or improvement of pronunciation (Howe, 2008; Blake & McLeod, 2019). The use of the ICF provides additional areas of consideration to enable appropriate goal setting for each individual: each client comes from a different background, participates in a different environmental context and engages in different activities within those contexts (Threats, 2008). In other words, by viewing the individual L2-learner as a whole, and part of a larger system, L2-professionals will be better able to tailor their treatment of pronunciation problems to the individual’s needs and situation (Blake & McLeod, 2019). In our SLT-curriculum we have applied the use of this model to assess the pronunciation problems of L2-learners of Dutch and consequently to establish the priorities in instruction (Howe, 2008). In this presentation we would like to address the relevant aspects of this model in relation to L2-practice.
