1 Introduction

The paper emphasizes the core position of phonetics in foreign language teaching and points out the problem of marginalization in current phonetics teaching. The author, through studying the book "English After RP: Standard British Pronunciation Today", believes that there is a need to re-examine speech teaching to address the challenges. The book suggests that RP pronunciation has disappeared in the UK and suggests abandoning RP standards in foreign language teaching. The author found through personal experience and observation that the details of speech have changed, presenting diversity and personalization in actual use. At the same time, there is a trend of marginalization in phonetic teaching in universities and middle schools, and students generally lack knowledge of rhythm. Frontline teachers face many specific problems and confusions, such as vowel pronunciation, consonant pronunciation, stress position, and phonetic evaluation, all of which stem from unclear standards for phonetic teaching.

What standards should Chinese schools adopt to teach English phonetics?

Explored the issue of what standards Chinese schools should adopt when teaching English phonetics. With the rapid development of world English, regional cultures and accents are respected, and Chinese schools are faced with the choice of whether to establish and adopt Chinese English phonetic standards. The world's English phonetic standards have gone through four stages from singular to diverse, with RP standards constantly being challenged and "whose English" has become a focus of debate. The Chinese academic community recognizes the objective existence and cultural identity characteristics of Chinese English, as well as the two-way interaction of cross-cultural communication, but the mainstream language attitude still tends to avoid the use of Chinglish. Although the acceptance of Chinglish accents has increased, the native language standard is still the most recognized. The teaching standards and norms for Chinese English and Chinglish have not yet emerged and are unlikely to be formulated. The recognition of World English variants in Chinese schools and society is not high, and they are not even well-known. Standard English has always been used in foreign language teaching in China, and the knowledge system of English phonetics is based on the RP tradition of UCL founded and developed by D. Jones and A.C. Gimson. University foreign language teaching treats British and American norms equally, with a preference for British pronunciation in the foundational stage. However, regardless of whether it is British or American, the phonetic system generally follows the IPA standard. The RP and IPA phonetic systems are still the most widely accepted teaching standards due to their historical origins, theoretical and teaching practice accumulation, as well as the promotion of BBC teaching programs and documentaries worldwide. Chinese foreign language teaching should choose the most widely recognized norms, with the goal of spreading China and communicating with the world. Contemporary RP is different from a hundred years ago, as phonetics are the most active among the three elements of language. Gimson specifically recommends General RP without regional accents as a standard for foreign language teaching. If the class labels and unequal imprints brought by the term RP are intolerable, they can be replaced by GB and SSB. The confusion of frontline teachers is partly due to their failure to keep up with the times, including their limited knowledge of phonetic changes and updates to authoritative dictionaries. With the increasing influence of China in international exchanges, it is reasonable for more and more Chinese English variants to enter the dictionary.

3. Update the knowledge system and teaching content

Discussed the changes from traditional RP to modern GB speech, emphasizing the acceptance of speech diversity and personalization. Suggestions have been put forward to update the standards and content of phonetic teaching, including understanding the changes in vowels and consonants, updating knowledge of word stress, and paying attention to changes in pitch and intonation. It is recommended not to overly emphasize traditional standards in teaching, but to cultivate students' open mindedness and tolerance towards phonetic variations. At the same time, it points out the updating of pronunciation in dictionaries and the universality of variants in practical use, and suggests that teachers and textbooks keep up with the changes of the times and constantly update their phonetic knowledge.

4. Transform teaching philosophy and focus

It emphasizes that in the post RP era, speech teaching should distinguish between teaching standards and evaluation standards, using the highly recognized variants in GB or GA as teaching standards, while evaluation focuses on the effectiveness of information transmission. The focus of teaching should shift from vowels and consonants to rhythm teaching, especially sentence stress, rhythm, and intonation, in order to improve oral fluency and the ability to express complex ideas. Teaching materials should focus on the complexity of ideological content and encourage learners to pay attention to expressing complete semantics rather than single phonetic accuracy.

5 Conclusion

In the context of world English, the cultivation of foreign language talents in the new era needs to update the concept of phonetic teaching and separate teaching and evaluation standards. Teaching should adopt widely recognized native language standards, while evaluation should be based on comprehensibility and a tolerant attitude towards phonetic variants. The teaching content should include rhythm, sound meaning interaction, and information exchange, promoting the integration of phonetics and oral language. Reform requires teachers to update their concepts and knowledge, adapt to local conditions and teach according to their aptitude, and implement them in textbook writing and teaching practice.