Abstract:
This research was aimed at discovering pronunciation errors Chinese EFL
learners commit. To do this, a qualitative study was conducted on the pronunciation
errors of 10 undergraduate freshmen of Jianghan University. The data collected and
used for the analysis comprised those gathered through interview, reading exercise,
and observation. Errors related to segmental and suprasegmental features were
identified. They include consonantal and vowel errors in addition to stress,
intonational, and connected speech errors. Specifically, there were errors of
substitution, omission, and addition of certain sounds. Among them, substitution
errors recorded the highest frequency. Based on the findings, the causes of errors in
the learners’ pronunciation were also identified. The main cause was absence of
certain English sounds in their L1 phonetic system coupled with inadequate
environment for the L2. Some suggestions are made particularly to stakeholders to
increase the frequency of English learning from the tender age.
Description:
A Dissertation in the Department of Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Foreign
Languages Education and Communication, submitted to the School of Graduate
Studies, in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the award of the award of the degree of
Master of Education
(Teaching English as a Second Language)
In the University of Education, Winneba
