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

• Published in: Arab world English journal Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 293 - 308
• Main Authors: Vadakalur Elumalai, Kesavan, Sufian Abdullah, Mohammad, P Sankar, Jayendira, R, Kalaichelvi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Arab World English Journal 01.03.2021
• Subjects: English (Second Language); Error Patterns; Foreign Countries; Foreign Students; Interference (Language); Pronunciation; Second Language Learning; Suprasegmentals; Undergraduate Students; Vowels; Written Language; Young Adults; Saudi Arabia; Bangladesh
• ISSN: 2229-9327; 2229-9327
• DOI: 10.24093/awej/vol12no1.20

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.