Witting or unwitting

English conventional spelling is so irregular that it does not give any clear guidance about pronunciation, indeed it is often positively misleading. As there is no reliable correlation between conventional spelling and the sounds of English, many native speakers are not really aware of the set of sounds they actually use in speech.

This does not matter in their everyday conversations but it does matter if they want to teach English to non-native speakers. EFL teachers need to be very clear about the sounds of English. Every native speaker of English unwittingly knows the sounds and the grammar of English. But teachers of English need need to be witting.

This document can give them the conscious understanding they need, and hence the ability to unhesitatingly answer any pronunciation questions their students may ask them.