English Language Pronunciation Research Articles

Integration of Technology to Facilitate English Learning Outside Classrooms

This research work tends to ascertain the role of technology in integrating the pronunciation of English among students outside the classroom. Higher National Diploma II in Umaru Ali Shinkafi Polytechnic, Sokoto, Nigeria, was selected for the study. Questionnaires were used to gather data from the students. Results were presented using a bar chart (Figure I-X). The results obtained showed that 50% of the population responded that the use of technology in learning English language pronunciation proved very effective, 35% responded that it was effective, and 15% suggested that the method was less effective. Approximately 50% responded, suggesting learners often watch videos or clips related to spoken English, while 40% suggested learners occasionally understand the lyrics of English songs. Researchers urged parents and teachers to encourage students to learn English vocals outside the classroom environment so as to feel free and use technological devices to comprehend the vocals effectively.

Speechnotes y el mejoramiento de la pronunciación del idioma inglés

Introducción One of the most difficult problems students deal with is how to improve and correct their pronunciation mistakes. In that sense, Speechnotes is an application created by Wellsource in 2018. Therefore, learners and the general public can have access to this application by downloading it in their mobile phones. This tool is an online speech recognition notepad that allows people to dictate any word or sentences resulting text immediately. Students worked with this app to later state whether this tool helped them recognize what they say by pronouncing words and sentences and the way it supported them to overcome their pronunciation issues. This research work aims to describe the dimensions and phases of the Speechnotes app, as well as identifying the benefits of this app for the improvement of the English language pronunciation. After the pandemic of covid-19, it has been demonstrated that learners have used different free online tools in order to overcome some problems when learning the target language, so Speechnotes is the app that supports learners tackling their pronunciation mistakes. Objetivos To describe the dimensions and phases of the Speechnotes application. Método This work was a descriptive research that was developed with a survey which was used and applied to 73 students. Thus, it was focused and divided into two sections considering two main research questions: 1.- What are the dimensions and phases of the Speechnotes application? which contained 10 items. 2.-To what extend does Speechnotes application benefit the English pronunciation? containing 8 questions. The Likert scale through the whole survey and the coefficient Cronbach’s Alpha were used to gather data and validate it respectively. The result of the Cronbach’s Alpha resulted in 0,856 that means the instrument was reliable. The data and results obtained were analyzed by the SPSS statistical software and described to determine the perspectives and opinions from the participants. It consisted of collecting the data from the survey and describe the real information that students completed according to their own experiences and knowledge (Groves et al., 2011). Principales resultados The results showed that learners consider the dimensions and phases of the Speechnotes application that stand out the most are the accessibility because they agreed on that they have free access without any registration. This aspect allows students to work freely with the application. Consecutively, the application adapts to the students’ voice while they are speaking. It indicates that the application adjusts the voice of a new speaker and recognizes the words easily. Moreover, related to the phases of the application, when the students practice their pronunciation by saying different words, dialogues, etc. The application writes them into a text belongs to the speech recognition phase. Meanwhile, when they mispronounce a word, the app writes another word instead. corresponds to the error diagnosis phase which if there is an inaccurate pronunciation, the software will not write the correct phrase. In this way, when the app does not write the word the students pronounced, they practice until the correct word is written. The feedback presentation phase was also done when learners asked their professors for assistance to know the sort of mistakes they were making in order to overcome those issues. Conclusiones Firstly, it was possible to identify how Speechnotes benefits students due to the fact that it promotes concentration on the individual learning challenges and brings an effective and stress-free environment with motivation as it encourages students to state their points of view according to their preferences through Speechnotes. Secondly, the application allows the practice of segmental and suprasegmental features, and it promotes the improvement of pronunciation and speaking skills in some way. Last but not least, it assists students to develop their oral communication abilities because it could be an effective means of teaching and learning English pronunciation. Speechnotes promotes autonomy in L2 learners because they prefer to perform the pronunciation activities on their own.

Teaching English Phonetics and Pronunciation to ESL Students and Non-English Speaking Residents

Pronunciation teaching is evolving as a result of an emerging trend in foreign language teaching to promote communicative and holistic approaches. Specifically, for the students coming from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds with a different life experience, pronunciation methodology and phonology have been recently adopted to improve the English pronunciation. This research study highlights the significance of English Pronunciation for English as a Second Language (ESL) students in India. This study also highlights the potential of teaching native English pronunciation and importance of English phonetics and phonology by finding out the factors that generally affects the pronunciation of ESL students with different mother tongues. In this research, a sample experiment has been conducted on school students. The student sample information is obtained via Selective Sampling Technique. From the resultant observations, this study suggests different communicative approaches, which are suitable for the ESL learners to enhance their English language pronunciation

Investigating English Pronunciation of Speakers of Asante Twi: A Case of Wesley College of Education Level 100 Students, Ghana

English language pronunciation teaching is typically based on native speakers' norms. English is spoken all over the world. It has become a lingua franca for many people, an international language that ends up promoting successful communication for all. It is a medium of instruction for our learners from Basic Four to the tertiary level. Despite this, English pronunciation presents a lot of difficulties to its users, as it is inconsistent with the spelling of words. The problem exists with speakers of Asante Twi as students of Wesley College of Education who use it as a second language. They make errors in pronouncing some English words. Against this background, this study seeks to assess the pronunciation intelligibility of speakers of English whose first language is Asante Twi. It is worthwhile to identify and analyse their peculiar difficulties and get a specific prescription to correct the errors. The study findings will have significant pedagogical implications for teaching English pronunciation at Wesley College of Education. It will help raise awareness among teacher trainees of the critical problems they are going to face in the future as teachers.

Pronunciation Difficulties and Challenges in the Field of Research in Jordan

This paper presents the current evidence regarding English pronunciation challenges and problems in the Jordanian context by reviewing related literature. The present study was carried out to determine the extent to which pronunciation research regarding challenges is carried out in Jordan. The available literature on pronunciation is limited to phonological variances, consonants’ and vowels’ variations, syllable structure differences and similarities, and mother tongue as an effective element. In order to achieve this objective identifying pronunciation difficulties and challenges in the field of research in Jordan, this study followed systematic literature review (SLR) framework adapted from previous studies in this regard. The findings revealed that one of the key problems in learning English language pronunciation is related to the socio-psycho variables e.g., anxiety, self-confidence, motivation, attitudes and so on noting that studies investigated did not present these factors in detail and they focused more on the role of learners’ native language, exposure to language, phonemic variations and vowels, and syllable structures’ differences. Hence, future studies in this regard are recommended to investigate the challenges related to anxiety, self-confidence, motivation, attitudes and their role on affecting pronunciation teaching and learning.

COMPUTER-MEDIATED PRONUNCIATION TECHNIQUE IN DEVELOPING HIGH SCHOOL LANGUAGE LEARNERS: THE CASE OF PRAAT

This study aimed to examine the relationship between the effects of the traditional method and PRAAT software to teach pronunciation to female high school students in Dehloran. The design of the research was a descriptive and comparison group design to interpret the phenomena under study. Third-grade high school girls were selected based on cluster sampling and were randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. The experimental received pronunciation instruction via PRAAT but the control group attended traditional classes with learning pronunciations through repetitions and practice. The participants took a pretest of pronunciation at the beginning of the intervention period; and after the intervention sessions, the same test was given to both groups in the posttest. Faunally, an attitude questionnaire was given to the experimental group eliciting their views on the use of PRAAT software in learning pronunciation. The data was gathered and analyzed through t-test analysis. The results showed that the experimental group who were taught by PRAAT outperformed significantly the control group who were taught by the traditional approach to learning English language pronunciation. Moreover, the findings indicated that the EFL students were interested in learning pronunciation via PRAAT. Implications suggest that EFL students were provided with the opportunity to practice pronunciation using pronunciation tasks via technology.

Pronunciation Achievement in Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) Classrooms

The current mixed method study investigated the use of synchronous/asynchronous computer-mediated communication as a method of L2 pronunciation achievement among medical students during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. In so doing, the study utilized an experimental comparative design with two groups of 17 participants. There were two types of tests in this study: word stress test, and a semi-structured interview. The results showed the positive effect of computer mediated communication in pronunciation development among students of medicine. Moreover, the findings revealed more positive effect of synchronous computer mediated communication-oriented instruction compared with asynchronous computer mediated communication-oriented instruction on medical students' English language pronunciation development. It can be concluded that computer mediated communication especially synchronous mode is effective for pronunciation development of medical students since technology provides the opportunities through which medical students can notice the gaps in their current English language and thus produce modified output.

Elsa Speak App: Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) for Supplementing English Pronunciation Skills

Nowadays, artificial intelligence (AI) became a special concern in language teaching for the reason that it can assist and enhance language learning for all levels of education. Again, it had beneficial roles for supplementing language teaching like ELSA Speak App one of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) used for teaching pronunciation. It studied how students heard, voiced, uttered, vocalized, and asserted the English words in the oral language, but the students often pronounced incorrect words with the result that the uttered words had faulty meaning. This study aimed to carry out English Language Speech Assistant (ELSA) Speak App to improve English language pronunciation skills to higher education learners that were the English Department Students of Nahdlatul Ulama University of Yogyakarta (UNU). The data were collected using a test of pronunciation and interview. The researcher also taught in the classroom. The results showed that ELSA Speak can increase the students’ pronunciation skills. It can be seen from the average scores obtained from the teaching cycles from two to four in grade. Clearly, ELSA Speak helped the students pronounce diverse words more easily and comprehensively. Also, the available features offered by this app like instant feedback enabled the students to pronounce precisely. In conclusion, ELSA Speak can improve the students’ pronunciation skills well and effectively. Indeed, it can motivate the students to engage in learning to pronounce.

Challenges Students Encounter in their Study of Pronunciation in Ghana: A Case of Osei Kyeretwie Senior High School

The purpose of this study was to establish the challenges Ghanaian students face in learning English language pronunciation. The study employed a qualitative approach through administering a recording test on the learners and a questionnaire that required teachers to write their views and ideas regarding the problem under investigation. The study collected data from 50 randomly selected students out of a total number of 300 from the final year classes of Osei Kyeretwie Senior High School and 25 out of 45 teachers of English from the languages department. The study found that a large number of the learners mispronounced selected vowels and consonants, thus confirming the reality that pronunciation problem persisting in Ghanaian secondary schools. The problem of poor pronunciation was found to be related to the teaching and learning strategies employed in teaching pronunciation, unskilled teachers and the influence of mother tongues. The study recommends that teacher trainees in English language from institutions of higher learning should be exposed to the appropriate strategies of teaching good pronunciation. Furthermore, regular in-service training should be organized for the teachers of English in senior high schools to equip them with the current approaches to teaching pronunciation. Lastly, stakeholders of education in the country should provide well-resourced language laboratories for senior high schools to enable students to practice phonetics effectively.

English Language Pronunciation Barriers Encountered by the Expatriate Students at King Saud University, Riyadh

The English language pronunciation is a sub-skill of speaking modules during the learning process of a second language. Accurate pronunciation is not followed enough by Bangladesh students in speaking English It was found that the participants face barriers while pronouncing English. However, it is ignored and even provided the least attention by them. In order to explore the pronunciation barriers of vowels and consonants of Bangladesh expatriate learners and to identify remedial measures, this study stresses about four aspects of pronunciation: vowel confusion and insertion, missing stress sounds, sounds’ errors cause of written form, and absence of fricatives. The study emphasizes on the value and status of pronunciation and overcame the approach of it among Bangladesh expatriate students. A pronunciation test was conducted with 8 Bangladesh expatriate learners with an age range of 20-25 years and the participants were asked to pronounce 7-8 words in every aspect, recorded their voice and documented for analysis along with observation of the Bangladesh expatriate learners at King Saud University. The study reveals that Bangladeshi students have many errors on the way to the correct vocalization of English sounds, which are mainly the influence of their mother tongue. Bangladeshi Learners could not make the distinction between long and short vowels. To overcome this problem, learners need to participate pronunciation practice in the formal assessment process in addition to language lessons and also focus their attention on conversation through multimedia.

Different Letters / Groups of Different Letters in the Different Words of English Language Beginning with the Alphabets ‘R’, ‘S’, ‘T’, ‘V’, ‘W’, ‘X’, ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ having Same Pronunciation

The present research article is about the different letters / groups of different letters in the different words of English language beginning with the alphabets ‘R’, ‘S’, ‘T’, ‘V’, ‘W’, ‘X’, ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ having same pronunciation. At the outset, the importance of pronunciation in English language has been given in brief. The different letters / groups of different letters in the different words of English language beginning with the select alphabets, having same pronunciation, have been mentioned with their total numbers separately and their description with examples including words and phonetic transcriptions have been detailed. It has been concluded with the view that if one knows the particulars in the pronunciation of different letters / groups of different letters in the different words of English language having same pronunciation, he / she will find the mastery over the pronunciation of different words in English language. It ends with references.

English Language Pronunciation Barriers Encountered by the Expatriate Students at King Saud University, Riyadh

The English language pronunciation is a sub-skill of speaking modules during the learning process of a second language. Accurate pronunciation is not followed enough by Bangladesh students in speaking English It was found that the participants face barriers while pronouncing English. However, it is ignored and even provided the least attention by them. In order to explore the pronunciation barriers of vowels and consonants of Bangladesh expatriate learners and to identify remedial measures, this study stresses about four aspects of pronunciation: vowel confusion and insertion, missing stress sounds, sounds’ errors cause of written form, and absence of fricatives. The study emphasizes on the value and status of pronunciation and overcame the approach of it among Bangladesh expatriate students. A pronunciation test was conducted with 8 Bangladesh expatriate learners with an age range of 20-25 years and the participants were asked to pronounce 7-8 words in every aspect, recorded their voice and documented for analysis along with observation of the Bangladesh expatriate learners at King Saud University. The study reveals that Bangladeshi students have many errors on the way to the correct vocalization of English sounds, which are mainly the influence of their mother tongue. Bangladeshi Learners could not make the distinction between long and short vowels. To overcome this problem, learners need to participate pronunciation practice in the formal assessment process in addition to language lessons and also focus their attention on conversation through multimedia.

Advantages and disadvantages of interactive pronouncing methods while teaching pronunciation

This paper presents a research carried out to x-ray the effects of using interactive multimedia on the English language pronunciation performance of pupils in the Nigerian primary School. The simple observation technique and a well-structured questionnaire were used coupled with class test to show whether the effect is negative or positive. Pupils from grade one to grade five were randomly selected and all the class teachers responded appropriately to the questionnaires administered to them. A well-structured formative test was also given to the pupils in order to ascertain the status of effect and the level of impact of interactive digital multimedia on English Language pronunciation performance of pupils. This paper illustrates that adopting the interactive multimedia technology in education makes it possible to achieve effective teaching and training in multiple domains which was not possible in the traditional text based environment.

English phonological errors by Kimakunduchi speaking EFL learners in Zanzibar

The aim of the present study was to find the phonological errors on segmental level involving selected consonant sounds which are produced by Kimakunduchi speaking English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners in Zanzibar. Specifically, the study sought to provide the evidence of cross-linguistic influence involving phonological transfer on segmental level. The study employed two sampling techniques: stratified and random sampling. The data for this study were collected from three secondary schools located at Makunduchi district in Unguja Island –Makunduchi, Kusini, and Kizimkazi secondary schools – using the oral interview and observation. The data were analyzed with the use of both qualitative and quantitative research approach. The study was guided by the transfer theory (reference needed) which was one of the components of Selinker’s (1992: 209) interlanguage theory. The findings revealed that, to a large extent, native Kimakunduchi speakers of EFL tended to transfer the sounds existing in their L1, or even in Kiswahili, into English. The transfer was done because of the nonexistence of the particular sound in the students’ native language or because of the discrepancy of spelling and pronunciation in English language. The study concludes that an articulation of vowels is more complex compared to consonants because of their absence in the first language (L1) or because of the confusion of spelling and pronunciation in English as FL. Thus, the study recommended that serious measures should be taken from both education holders to make sure that the learners could be able to pronounce English phonemes/words correctly.

Assessment of Language Laboratory and Teaching and Learning of English Language Pronunciation among Undergraduate Students in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions

The study made an assessment of language laboratory and teaching and learning of English language pronunciation among undergraduate students in Nigerian tertiary institutions. In order to carry out this study, specified research objective was developed from which and used for the study. The research design for this study is an Expost Facto design. The population of this study consisted of all HND II students in Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Ikot Osurua, Ikot Ekepene in 2019/2020 academic session. The sample size for the study is 302 respondents, representing 10% of the student population. The Multi-stage sampling was used to select the respondents. The instrument was validated by two research experts. Data from the completed questionnaires was subjected to percentage analysis. The findings showed and concluded that there is significant effect of language laboratory and teaching and learning of English language pronunciation among undergraduate students in Nigerian tertiary institutions. The study recommended that, Since lecturers quality was significantly related to students’ achievement in English Language pronunciation, lecturers should possess the requisite qualifications before being recruited to teach. Furthermore, the English language lecturers should adopt better teaching strategies during the teaching-learning process.

A Descriptive Study: Factors Affecting the Pronunciation of English Language (L2)

Acquiring correct second language pronunciation is an indispensable part of the language learning process. It plays a substantial role in enhancing the communicative competence and performance of second language learners. The learning of pronunciation is a very sensitive and complicated aspect of the English language classroom. However, all English language learners are not equally good in learning pronunciation. The aim of this research is to explore the factors which affect the pronunciation of English language learners. Theories, empirical evidence, and personal observations are discussed in this study which classifies the factors affecting pronunciation into two types, that is, inner and outer factors. Inner factors include age, brain, aptitude, types of learners and goals. Outer factors include first language interference, motivation, types of teachers and teaching methodologies, classroom environment, and institutional variables. This research is significant because it highlights the importance of acquiring pronunciation of the second language. Moreover, it provides an insight to language teachers and learners which allows them to critically understand the factors which affect the pronunciation of English as a second language as well as to reflect on their own learning and teaching methodologies. This research is qualitative and descriptive in nature. To support the arguments presented in this research, the researcher sought help form primary source books, personal observations and empirical studies, as well as secondary source research articles, journals and reviews. In conclusion, this study also gives some suggestions to teach pronunciation in the English language classroom.

Grammatical Errors in Nigerian English Language Pronunciation Problems Among Students: Psychological Implications and Management

This study was designed to identify some English grammar pronunciation problems and how the problems can be managed. The population consists of all the first-year students in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in Enugu State of Nigeria. Nine hundred and ninety-nine (999) students from four departments were sampled using simple random sampling technique. Three research questions and one null hypothesis were generated to guide the study. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the three research questions while t-test statistic was used to test the null hypothesis. The results revealed that consonant and vowel phonemes, syllabic consonants, consonant cluster, unstressed vowels and stress timing are the aspects of pronunciation that are considered problematic among some first-year students. It also revealed that gender does not play a functional role on pronunciation problems among these first year students in the learning of English Grammar, and that teachers’ emphasis on the problematic area of pronunciation, constant practice, teachers’ knowledge of Oral English, building of language laboratories, teachers’ use of compact disks and tapes on pronunciation, students access to compact disks and tapes on pronunciation dictionaries are the management strategies that can be used to improve pronunciation in English language.

CAPT and its Effect on English Language Pronunciation Enhancement: Evidence from Bilinguals and Monolinguals

Nowadays there are several challenges for English teachers as well as researchers regarding how to teach foreign language pronunciation more effectively. The current study aimed to explore the effect of computer-assisted pronunciation teaching (CAPT) on Persian monolinguals and Turkmen- Persian and also Baloch- Persian bilinguals’ pronunciation considering production and perception. A sample of 48 female mono and bilingual 7th-grade students participated in this study and made the experimental and comparison groups. All the participants took the Oxford Placement Test and accordingly were in the beginner level of English language proficiency (95.83% of the participants’ scores ranged from 0 to 15). The experimental group experienced a technology-based instruction while the comparison group benefited from traditional listen and repeat method of pronunciation teaching. Two Two-way between-group ANOVAs were used to define the influence of CAPT on pronunciation production and perception of the mono and bilingual participants. The results of the study indicated that CAPT had a significant effect on pronunciation production while pronunciation perception was comparatively more enhanced through the traditional method. Regarding mono and bilingualism, it was also found that bilinguals significantly outperformed monolinguals in pronunciation production in both groups while there was no significant difference between them in pronunciation perception. There were also no interaction effects for pronunciation perception or production scores. The results generally showed that CAPT can be beneficial specifically when it is used along with traditional methods at schools in beginner levels.

Different letters / groups of different letters in the different words of english Language beginning with the alphabets ‘d’, ‘e’, ‘f’, ‘g’ and ‘h’ having same pronunciation

The present research paper highlights the different letters / groups of different letters in the different words of English language beginning with the alphabets ‘D’, ‘E’, ‘F’, ‘G’ and ‘H’ having same pronunciation. At the beginning, the significance of proper pronunciation in English language has been given in short. The different letters / groups of different letters in the different words of English language beginning with the select alphabets, having same pronunciation, have been written with their total numbers independently and their presentation with examples including words and phonetic transcriptions have been tabulated. The concluding lines clarify that if one perceives the details in the pronunciation of different letters / groups of different letters in the different words of English language having same pronunciation, he / she will become competent in the use of proper pronunciation of different words in English language. References have been included at the end.

The Effect of Local Arabic Dialects on Learning English Language Pronunciation

Due to the variety of their local dialects and accents, Arab learners occasionally face some problems when pronouncing English letters and phonemes. These pronunciation errors are caused by the influence of native language interference. Each language in any part of the world has its linguistic characteristics and rules that control their pronunciation and even word-formation process, which distinguishes them from those of other nations. Modern linguists described this phenomenon as verbal behaviors because, by the end of a special stage of a child’s growth, it becomes as constant customs. As a consequence, generations inherit these verbal qualities from their ancient without having any choices to make a linguistic formation in particular. As they work to develop their English language fluency, Arabic ESL students, for instance, face several pronunciation difficulties such as adding or replacing new phonemes that do not exist in the target language. The linguistic differences between Arabic and English usually have a crucial impact on how simply a learner can study to form the English letter sounds.