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ERIC Number: EJ1284887
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-1305-578X
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Difficulties Encountered by Albanian Students While Pronouncing English Minimal Pairs
Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, v17 spec iss 1 p672-682 2021
Many foreign language learners encounter difficulties in pronouncing English language sounds, which potentially leads to misunderstanding in oral communication. Sometimes, the Albanian learners find pronunciation quite tricky when learning English language because they have to replicate lots of new strange sounds that are completely unknown to them. The present paper tackles the difficulties of producing English sounds with focus on minimal pairs, which is not an easy task, especially when the learners are not exposed to the native speakers in their environment. This research focuses on pronunciation errors with the minimal pairs committed by students of English language who study at the University of Vlora in Albania. As an experienced teacher of English Language in Albania, I have had the opportunity to observe the difficulties the Albanian speaking learners usually face in learning English pronunciation and what I have concluded is that Minimal pairs bear great benefits in pronunciation teaching and learning. There were 20 students who participated in this research and all of them had been studying English Phonology for a semester at the university. We selected six minimal pairs [i] vs. [i:], [e] vs. [ae], [u] vs. [u:], [lambda] vs. [a:], [[Greek small reversed lunate sigma symbol]] vs. [[Greek small reversed lunate sigma symbol]:], [w] vs. [v] and prepared a test for the students. The data were collected and the findings revealed the difficulties the students faced these six minimal pairs.
Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies. Hacettepe Universitesi, Egitim Fakultesi B Blok, Yabanci Diller Egitimi Bolumu, Ingiliz Dili Egitimi Anabilim Dali, Ankara 06800, Turkey. e-mail: jllsturkey@gmail.com; Web site: http://www.jlls.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Albania
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A