Acoustic analysis of the production of English monophthongs in Serbian EFL speakers at tertiary level

Abstract

In learning and mastering a foreign language, adequate acquisition of a vowel system is regarded as particularly important, both for the speech intelligibility and successful communication. However, it is an undeniable fact that 'foreign accent' often remains present in foreign language speakers, regardless of their level of knowledge, primarily due to the interference and transfer of phonetic/phonological characteristics of the mother tongue. This paper examines phonological competencies of ESL students at tertiary level in the field of English vowel system. Students' ability to accurately and adequately recognize and produce qualitative and quantitative distinctions of relevant elements of the English phonological system through the oppositions of monophthongs [ɪ] - [i:], [e] - [æ], [ʌ] - [ɑː], [ɒ] - [ɔː], [ʊ] - [u:] is examined through an acoustic analysis of speech. The experiment included ten male participants, i.e. five freshmen and five seniors. The acoustic analysis attempted to explain how the period of two years of intensive English Language classes influenced the development of phonetic/phonological competencies in the field of monophthongs in the production of final-year students. The results are rather similar in both groups, with only a few exceptions. The period of two years of intensive learning of English as a foreign language did not provide noticeable results in the acquisition of vowels, but proved that the phonological competences of both groups are at the same level.