Saudi EFL Learners Views on English Pronunciation
Abstract
The current study attempts to find out the main causes of errors Saudi EFL learners make in English pronunciation. The participants in the study are students who passed their secondary school and were enrolled in the Preparatory Year Program at Najran University. The results show that lack of proper attention towards teaching English pronunciation, and lack of motivation among the learners towards learning pronunciation lead the EFL learners into faulty pronunciation. The results also demonstrate the students’ unawareness and ignorance regarding the sound system of English that is equally important component in the situation of EFL pedagogy. This study works as an eye opener and suggests EFL teachers and material designers to focus on teaching the sound system of English to the students. Teaching the sound system of English to the students will reduce problems of English pronunciation among Saudi EFL learners.
References
• Abdul Haq, F. An Analysis of Syntactic Errors in the Composition of Jordanian SecondaryStudents. MA Thesis, Jordan, Yarmouk University, 1982.
• Al-Shuaibi, A. Phonological Analysis of English Phonotactics of Syllable Initial and Final Consonant Clusters by Yemeni Speakers of English. M.A. Dissertation, Language in India, V 9, 195-328, 2009.
• Altaha, F. Pronunciation errors made by Saudi university students learning English: Analysis and remedy. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 109, 110-123, 1995.
• Binturki, T. A. Analysis of pronunciation errors of Saudi ESL learners. MA Dissertation, Southern Illinois University, USA, 2008.
• Celce Murcia, M. Teaching Pronunciation Communicatively. Mextesol Journal, V7, N1, 10-25, 1983.
• Emad M. Al-Saidat. Phonological Analysis of English Phonotactics: A Case Study of Arab Learners of English. The Buckinghum Journal of Language and Linguistics, V 3, 121 to 134, 2010.
• Harrison, W. Prator, C. Tucker, G. English Language Policy Survey of Jordan. Centre for Applied Linguistics, Arlington VA, 1975.
• Kharma, N. & Hajjaj, A. Errors in English among Arabic speakers: Analysis and remedy. Longman: London, 1989.
• Madden, M., & Moore, Z. ESL Students' opinions about instruction in pronunciation. Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education, V3, 15-32, 1997.
• Wahba, E. Teaching pronunciation-why? Language Teaching Forum, V36, 3-32, 1998.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
- Papers must be submitted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis) and are not currently under consideration by another journal published by any other publisher.
- It is also the authors responsibility to ensure that the articles emanating from a particular source are submitted with the necessary approval.
- The authors warrant that the paper is original and that he/she is the author of the paper, except for material that is clearly identified as to its original source, with permission notices from the copyright owners where required.
- The authors ensure that all the references carefully and they are accurate in the text as well as in the list of references (and vice versa).
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
- The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.