The Importance of Pronunciation Among Saudi Learners in Second Language Acquisition and

The Importance of Pronunciation Among Saudi Learners in Second Language Acquisition and Their Performance

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Outline

Introduction: concerns what the assignment is about

Problem statement: This will focus on identifying the problem that will be discussed

Objectives of the Study: This will highlight what the assignment tries to examine

Research Questions: This part highlights the questions that the essay tries to answer

Significance of the Study: This covers why the study is important

Literature Review: This part concentrates on giving views of other researchers concerning the problem being studied

Methodology: This discusses the participants and data collection and analysis concerning study of the problem under concern

Conclusion: This gives an analysis and views concerning the problem under study

Introduction

Each language has a rule for merging sound segments so as to make meaningful words. While developing these sounds, children adopt these sound rules via listening followed by trial and error. Later, they develop a linguistic competence through which they recognize and produce meaningful sounds. Alternatively, when students learn a foreign or second language, they encounter some overlaps because of the different phoneme systems of both languages (Soler, 2008). Hence, when they try speaking a second language, they produce sounds that are closest to the sounds that exist in their first language. For instance, most Arab speakers pronounce the words cheap and play as sheep and blay. This kind of pronunciation problem develops a vast hindrance in the process of communication amid speakers. Besides, it spoils the learning and teaching efforts in second language learning settings. In this assignment, the importance of pronunciation to Saudi learners acquiring English as a second language will be discussed. Besides, ways of overcoming the problem of pronunciation among Saudi learners acquiring English as a second language will also be discussed.

Problem Statement

Different Saudi learners, who desire to acquire English as a second language have experienced the problem of pronunciation, which has resulted in poor acquisition of the English language and poor performance overall since English has become a common language used in setting exams. Today, English has become Lingua Franca, which implies that it is exceedingly vital to learn and understand the language (Sharifian, 2009). In order to understand any language, it is crucial to have the capacity to pronounce, write and read words of that language; this is not different in learning and understanding the English language. The chief problem that this research deals with concerns the issue of pronunciation among Saudi learners acquiring English as their second language.

Objectives of the study

1. To understand the importance of pronunciation in the acquisition of English as a second language
2. To establish whether the pronunciation is a common problem among Saudi learners acquiring English as their second language
3. To find ways of solving the problem of pronunciation

Research Questions

1. Why is pronunciation important for Saudi learners acquiring English as a second language?
2. Is pronunciation a common problem among Saudi learners acquiring English as a second language?
3. How can the problem of pronunciation be solved among learners?

Significance of the Study

English is a vital language since it determines in the overall performance of students. Therefore, pronunciation is also vital for learners acquiring English as a second language since it helps them in becoming proficient in the language. Hence, this study will help Arabia learners in understanding the importance of pronunciation to the overall performance. Besides, this study will help learners in solving the problem of pronunciation. Apart from helping the learners, the study will also help teachers in educating learners on how to end the problem of pronunciation. In addition, this research will open up an avenue for other studies conducted in the future regarding the problem of pronunciation in learners acquiring English as a second language.

Literature Review

Saudi students learning English as a second language encounter various problems with almost every component of language such as writing, reading, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. At most of the time, all the other components except pronunciation are greatly emphasized in classroom teaching. As a result, learners come up with flawed pronunciation that creates huge obstacles in the communication process. According to Rakas (2008), the phonological system of any language acts as a sieve through which everything, which is said passes. Every person acquires the system of his first language. However, when he hears another language, he intuitively utilizes the known phonological sieve of his first language in analyzing what is being said in another language. Nonetheless, since the phonological sieve is not suitable for the foreign language, various mistakes and mispronunciations emerge (Binturki, 2008).

The sounds of the second language receive incorrect phonological interpretations because they become strained through the phonological sieve of one’s own first language. The pronunciation of certain consonants by Saudi learners is a major concern in teaching of English as a second language. For instance, /p/ has no counterpart in the phonemic system of the Arabic language; therefore, it is voiceless and is not easily realized by the .............