Connected Speech

Pronunciation itself isn't important. What's important is being fairly easily understood, easy comprehension and a easy intelligibility. And for that, some kind of skill in pronunciation is needed. It's not a matter of being accurate or exactly right as if there is some model everyone must stick to. But it is a matter of a finding an accent that most people are going to understand when one speaks.And that also influences how one listens. So pronunciation affects both one's capacity to listen and one'scapacity to speak - absolutely ye.