HOW IMPORTANT ARE PHONETIC SYMBOLS FOR ESL BEGINNERS

As you probably know, phonetic symbols are a great help when it comes to learning to pronounce English words correctly. Any time you open a dictionary, you can find the correct pronunciation of words you don't know by looking at the phonetic pronunciation that follows the word. Unfortunately, learning the phonetic alphabet is not always the easiest thing to do.
The use of phonetic symbols in foreign language teaching and learning is potentially very advantageous. Provided that the values of phonetic symbols are known and that the foreign language learner can produce and discriminate the sounds symbols stand for, these advantages include, among other things, increased awareness of L2 sound features, “visualisation” of such intangible entities as sounds, increased learner autonomy when checking pronunciation in dictionaries, etc. (see Mompean 2005 for a full account of the potential advantages of phonetic notation).
Despite the convenience of phonetic notation in foreign language teaching and learning, any potential benefit depends crucially on how the notation is taught and learned. Good teaching practices may increase learners’ motivation to use phonetic symbols. In contrast, a negative learning experience may cause phonetic notation to be perceived as something unattractive and even irrelevant to learning the foreign language. It is therefore essential to analyse the issue of how best to take advantage of phonetic symbols in the foreign language classroom.