An Analysis of Pronunciation Errors of Iranian EFL Learners

Subject Areas : Research in English Language Pedagogy

Mahmood Hashemian ¹ , Kamal Heidari Soureshjani ²

1 - Shahrekord University
2 - Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord Branch, Shahrekord, Iran

Received: 2012-06-20 Accepted : 2013-01-01 Published : 2013-01-01

Keywords: pronunciation errors, speed of reading, Phonology,

Abstract :

As oral skills are increasingly seen as a high priority, phonology and pronunciation teaching are occupying a central position in the teaching and learning of other languages. The present study is an attempt to shed some light on identifying and exploring the difficulties of Iranian EFL learners in phonology and pronunciation. To achieve this goal, 3 male language learners (elementary, intermediate, and advanced) were randomly selected and were required to articulate 3 different types of material. Having analyzed the data, the study revealed that, first, pronouncing /ɪə/ as /eə/, /æ/ as /e/, /ɑ:/ as /ɔ:/, /ʊ/ as /u:/, /aɪ/ as /ɔɪ/, /ɪ/ as /i:/, /əʊ/ as /ɔ:/, /w/ as /v/, /ð/ as /d/ or /z/, /θ/ as /t/ or /s/ and /ŋ/ as /ng/ and mispronouncing /ɒ/, /ʌ/, /ɜ:/, /ə/, /ɔɪ/, /eə/, /r/ and /aʊ/ are the most frequent errors among Persian-speaking learners. Second, the study indicated that the speed of reading was inappropriate for all the beginning, intermediate, and advanced learners.

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