Investigating Difficulties Encountered by EFL Learners in Pronouncing English Consonant and Vowel Sounds

Abstract

This study aims at investigating difficulties encountered by EFL learners in pronouncing English consonant and vowel sounds. The researcher noticed that most of the learners especially those who study English as a foreign language face difficulties while pronouncing consonant and vowel sounds. The researcher adopted the descriptive analytical methodology. To collect the data needed for this study, an oral test was designed to examine the specific samples that were chosen randomly. The total number of students who participated in this test is 30 students, at Sudan University of Science and Technology; third year English students at College of Languages, English Language Department, in the academic year 2018. After marking the test and analyzing it statistically manipulating Statistical Package for Scientific Science (SPSS), the final findings revealed that: First; most of third year EFL students are not capable of pronouncing vowel and consonant sounds correctly within a word. Secondly, the learners were unaware of pronouncing consonant and vowel sounds. Based on the findings the researcher recommends that English learners are asked to pay attention to the right pronunciation of each new word they hear. Also the learners are required to learn phonetics because that may help them to master their consonants and vowels pronunciation