Analysing EFL learners’ pronunciation of the vowel sounds /./, /e/, /./ and /e./
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Date
2018
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University of Oum El Bouaghi
Abstract
This study is concerned with the identification, analysis and classification of pronunciation errors at the level of the vowel sounds : /?/, /e/, /?/ and /e?/ made by third year students at the department of English, Larbi Ben M'hidi University. These errors are attributed to two major sources : the overgeneralisation of English pronunciation rules and the interference of the French vowel sound system. Accordingly, this research seeks to explore the extent to which these sources affect students' pronunciation of the target vowel sounds. To answer the study's questions, an error analysis on the pronunciation of the target vowel sounds is done. The fieldwork is conducted following a descriptive analytical method with a voice recorder to collect oral data. Analyses are carried out to fulfil the main purpose of this dissertation. The results establish valid evidence that the two pre-determined sources appear to affect learners' pronunciation at the level of the target vowel sounds to a considerable extent. The significance of this study flows from the fact that previous studies rarely tackled the pronunciation of these four vowel sounds : /?/, /e/, /?/ and /e?/. So, through this study awareness of those errors will be raised so that teachers will do something to lessen their occurences.
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Keywords
Error analysis, Pronunciation, Vowel sound