Common Pronunciation Difficulties Observed among Native Arabic Speakers Learning to Speak English is about the linguistic qualities involved in teaching the science of phonetics. Pronunciation is a concept in English language teaching that has been long overlooked and undertaught. Nevertheless, its importance is the difference between being understood and considered literate or being misunderstood and illiterate.
Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2009 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, , language: English, abstract: The ultimate goal of most second language learners is to attain a native level of speaking. They want to be indistinguishable from native speakers. However, for many learners, this dream has remained a dream and has not come true especially in the area of pronunciation as native speakers usually identify them as nonnative speakers because of their accent. A large number of second language learners believe that the main difficulty they encounter when speaking the second language is pronunciation and consider this difficulty as the main source for their communication problems. English occupies a high status among world international languages, as it has become the language of diplomacy, trade, communication, technology and business. Thus, learning English provides the person with an advantage as an active participant in today’s world, opening new horizons to a better future. English as an international language has been taught in almost all countries in the world. In Arab countries English is a foreign language which is a compulsory subject to be taught in all schools from lower secondary to upper secondary schools. Even in some elementary schools, English is offered as an elective subject. However, we have seen that the proficiency in English of secondary school graduates still creates disappointment among teachers themselves as well as parents. The unsatisfying quality of English in Arab countries of course is related to different variables. I have tried to shed light on one of these variables here. That is to say, the causes behind the errors committed in pronunciation and grammar in English language by the Arab learners. The importance of investigating pronunciation and grammar difficulties stems from the fact that, it stands as an obstacle in communication. However, it is necessary, in this research, to find out why the aforesaid learners face difficulty in the acquisition of the phonological system and grammatical structure of any non-native language.
This book is a contrastive analysis of Arabsâ (TM) errors in English pronunciation regarding segmentalsâ "consonants, consonant clusters, and vowelsâ "and suprasegmentalsâ "main word stress. It also explains the main interlingual reasons behind these errors, and presents some teaching suggestions for surmounting them. The findings show that the subjects substitute their own Arabic sounds for unfamiliar English ones, producing incorrect English sounds. In addition, they apply Arabic main word stress rules instead of English ones, producing incorrect English stress patterns. The book also shows that English sounds and stress patterns that are both different and more marked than corresponding Arabic ones caused learning difficulties for the subjects.
This book is a contrastive analysis of Arabs’ errors in English pronunciation regarding segmentals—consonants, consonant clusters, and vowels—and suprasegmentals—main word stress. It also explains the main interlingual reasons behind these errors, and presents some teaching suggestions for surmounting them. The findings show that the subjects substitute their own Arabic sounds for unfamiliar English ones, producing incorrect English sounds. In addition, they apply Arabic main word stress rules instead of English ones, producing incorrect English stress patterns. The book also shows that English sounds and stress patterns that are both different and more marked than corresponding Arabic ones caused learning difficulties for the subjects.
Language teachers are often asked, 'Will I ever be able to sound like a native?'. Through research, experience, and long-term teaching, the answer is almost always, 'If you did not learn the language as a child, then it is almost impossible to sound like a native.' Many studies have contributed to the idea that achieving the native accent as an adult is almost impossible no matter how long one has been exposed to the target language. In an attempt to find the effects of overcoming the foreign accent through exposure to the target language, the present study compares two groups of adult speakers of Arabic from Saudi Arabia learning English as a second language. The study focuses on difficulties associated with producing the Alveolar lateral approximant /l/ and it two allophones, the light [l] and the dark [l], in three different positions: initial, intervocalic and final. The English /l/ is very similar to the Arabic /l/; however, their distributions within the two languages are different. These differences cause problems among speakers of Arabic in producing the correct sound when speaking English. The two groups were chosen based on their length of exposure to the target language; the first group had little exposure to it while the second group had three or more years of exposure. After analyzing the data and comparing the results of the two groups, it can be seen that although there was no significance in the overall results, the production of the dark [l] in final position was close to significance. This suggests that the participants, who have been exposed to the target language for some time, have begun to realize the difference between both /l/s and are thus beginning to apply the English /l/ to their pronunciation when speaking English. In addition, when comparing the errors in both groups, the results suggest that most of the learners who had little exposure to the language were transferring the /l/ from their first language; while those who had three years or more exposure, were resulting to other factors related to interlanguage such as: hypercorrection, attitudes and high levels of motivation to acquire the native speakers' accent. As for the comparison of both the dark and the light /l/ in all three positions, the analysis presented here suggests that Arabic speakers learning English as a second language, regardless of their length of exposure, have more difficulty in producing the dark [l] in its correct positions than the light [l]. Similarly, Arabic speakers prefer to produce the light [l] in the intervocalic position. The results of this study are beneficial to both teachers and learners in ESL settings. If teachers and learners familiarize themselves with the production of the dark [l] in the English language, the possibilities of overcoming this barrier to accented speech may still be regarded as an achievable goal.
Clear English Pronunciation provides students with the tools to effectively communicate in English without centring solely on native-speaker pronunciation models. The focus of the book is on individual pronunciation targets rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Divided into four sections, each featuring detailed articulatory explanations, sample sentences, and recordings to help learners improve their pronunciation, this book: introduces the phenomenon of pronunciation as part of a broader communicative realm; explains and demonstrates the melody and rhythm of understandable and natural English pronunciation; supports students in identifying and practicing their own pronunciation issues. Supported by an interactive companion website which features recordings and expanded explanations of key topics, Clear English Pronunciation is an essential textbook for international learners of English who want to improve their pronunciation skills in diverse social settings. https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/clearenglishpronunciation
This book focuses on an increasingly attractive, yet controversial topic of non-native accentedness in speech. The contributors here are aware of the fact that the mechanisms and effects of pronunciation are far too complex to allow for strong and definite claims of any sort, but present research leading to useful answers to relevant questions. The book contributes to the deeper understanding of many aspects of foreign-accented English with reference to clearly described empirical evidence. The volume brings together fourteen chapters organized into four subdivisions, covering conceptual and perceptual issues, questions of segmental and suprasegmental pronunciation features, and methodological and didactic recommendations. As such, it provides a cross-sectional view of the current phonetic and didactic empirical research into the pronunciation of non-native English.
