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Abhat Journal, Volume. 16, Issue. 2, September 2024
Abhat Journal, Faculty of Arts, Sirte University
Source Homepage: http://journal.su.edu.ly/index.php/ABHAT/index
DOI: https://doi.org/ 10.37375/aj.v16i2.2932
Abhat Journal: Volume. 16, Issue. 2, September 2024 Faculty of Arts, Sirte University
169
Investigating Difficulties that EFL Students Face in English Pronunciation
in Secondary Schools in Ghat-Libya
Sumaya Aoghala Zaziya Ali
sum.aoghala@sebhau.edu.ly englishghat2019@gmail.com
English Language Department English Language Department
Faculty of Education Faculty of Education
University of Sebha University of Sebha
Abstract:
Keywords:
The current study was designed to investigate the pronunciation issues encountered by
foreign language learners in Ghat, south-west Libya. The findings have important
implications for understanding students' English pronunciation problems. This study
employs qualitative research methods to acquire an extensive understanding of a topic.
This study used two data collection tools: observation and a pronunciation test. During the
observation, the initial ideas and perceptions were documented, and the verbal data was
collected for further analysis. The data were gathered from three secondary schools in
Ghat that teach English as a foreign language in approximately four lessons per week. The
test consisted of ten sentences and was administered to five secondary school students.
According to the study, the most common pronunciation challenges among EFL students
are a) vowel sound confusion, b) consonant sound confusion, and c) inflectional
morpheme errors. Students commonly use the sound /ɪ/ for front vowels and the sound /ɒ/
for back-rounded vowels and fail to pronounce central vowels due to problems in
predicting pronunciation. Additionally, the survey found that the most prevalent consonant
issues are p, f, v, ð, θ, z, ʃ, and ʧ. Finally, students frequently pronounce /s/ at the end of
regular plural nouns; insert /ɪ/ before /s/ or /z/ in plural nouns, and before /d/ in past verbs,
regardless of the preceding phonemes. Consequently, the researchers concluded that EFL
students in Ghat secondary schools frequently pronounce the alphabet letter as written,
failing to predict its pronunciation when the letter has numerous pronunciations.
English pronunciation, EFL
learners, vowel sounds,
consonant sounds, inflectional
morphemes.
Introduction:
A considerable amount of literature has
been published on learning ESL and EFL
pronunciation. Pronunciation is crucial in spoken
language for clarity of communication,
confidence, credibility, and listening
comprehension as well. That is to say, clear
pronunciation boosts confidence and increases
participation in conversations. Good
pronunciation also enhances credibility and
professional sound, making it easier to understand
others' pronunciation.
However, during learners’ educational
journeys, they frequently confront a variety of
issues with English pronunciation. Thus, recent
research has shown an increased interest in such
issues. They have focused on the
common pronunciation problems of learners of
English. Understanding learners' pronunciation
problems or challenges is crucial for effective
language teaching.
For example, it allows for tailored instruction,
focusing on common students’ faults, and
increasing students’ confidence. Addressing these
difficulties helps to address individual challenges,
resulting in a more efficient learning environment.
Yet, learners' backgrounds can have a
considerable impact on the types of pronunciation
problems they encounter while learning English.
Knowing these types is beneficial for a teacher in
assisting their students’ challenges by tailoring
instruction, as discussed before. Although
extensive research has been carried out on EFL
students' pronunciation problems, no single study
showing the common pronunciation problems
among students in Libya exists or has been
Investigating Difficulties that EFL Students Face in English… Sumaya Aoghala & Zaziya Ali
Abhat Journal: Volume. 16, Issue. 2, September 2024 Faculty of Arts, Sirte University
170
published so far. Therefore, this paper attempts to
explore the learners' pronunciation difficulties at
the secondary school level in Ghat, a city in the
south-west of Libya. The research data in this
paper is drawn from two resources: observation
during the English class, in particular, reading-
aloud activity sessions, and a pronunciation test.
To explore the students’ pronunciation problems,
the audio data from the current investigation was
later transcribed for analysis. The analysis in this
study used grounded Theory, which is an
inductive technique that focuses on theory
creation rather than testing. The findings of this
study should make an important contribution to
the field of second or foreign language learning
and education. Yet, the reader should bear in mind
that the study is based on a qualitative study, and
no percentage of the students’ errors was
presented throughout the study.
The first section of this paper will identify
some essential terms in phonetics that are used in
this study. Additionally, it presents some
difficulties faced by EFL learners with
pronunciation in literature. Then, the second
section is concerned with the methodology used
for this study. The next section analyzes and
discusses the results of the observation and a
pronunciation test. Finally, it introduces the
conclusion.
Literature Review:
Learning the English language implies
mastering a range of various skills and abilities
that together cater to learning the language to a
certain level of proficiency. One of these skills is
pronunciation. Pronunciation is recognized as a
fundamental ability that students should acquire,
primarily because it can affect accuracy and
comprehension. Seidlhofer (2001:56) defined
pronunciation as "the production and perception
of the significant sounds of a particular language
in order to achieve meaning in contexts of
language use." This definition is close to those of
Yates and Zielinski (2009), who define
pronunciation as the sounds we make to convey
meaning when speaking. It includes the segments
and suprasegmental features. Segmental features
include all consonant and vowel phonemes. They
refer to discrete components that can be detected
physically or auditorily in the flow of speech in
any language, while supra-segmental features of
speech are those that encompass more than one
sound in an utterance, and they include features
such as tone, juncture, length, intonation, and
stress (Sharma, 2021).
Gelvanovsky (2002) references the fact the
fact that pronunciation is crucial in
communication as it influences the listener's
understanding. Poorly pronounced segments and
suprasegments can hinder effective
communication, even if grammar and vocabulary
are correct. Talkpal (2024) states that if we cannot
hear the sounds of a language correctly, we may
have difficulty understanding what others are
saying. This might make it harder to engage in
discussions and slow our language learning
progress. Besides, pronunciation can influence our
capacity to be understood by others. If we have a
thick accent or mispronounce words, native
speakers may have difficulty understanding us.
This can be frustrating for both parties and
impede our capacity to form relationships with
native speakers.
Gelvanovsky (2002) adds that apart from
having a key function in attaining efficient
communication, pronunciation has an essential
social value, being associated with prestige,
similar to other values such as intelligence,
professional competence, persuasive power,
diligence, and social privilege that are all
considered indispensable for socioeconomic
success.
Yet, learning English as FL or SL often
leads to pronunciation issues. According to Faisal
(2023), in many languages, the letters of the
alphabet are pronounced the same way they are
written. However, English has several exceptions
to this norm. For instance, words are commonly
spelled differently than they are pronounced. In
English, each sound is represented by many letters
or sequences. A single letter might represent
multiple sounds or none at all. Another problem
stated by Faisal (2023) is that foreign English
learners have communication challenges due to
inflectional morphemes, including regular plural
nouns, third person singular, possessive -'s, and
regular past tense morphemes, which vary with
word endings. All of which lead foreign English
learners and speakers to produce incorrect
pronunciation of words and morphemes, which in
turn causes poor communication with native
speakers of the English language (Faisal, 2023).
Investigating Difficulties that EFL Students Face in English… Sumaya Aoghala & Zaziya Ali
Abhat Journal: Volume. 16, Issue. 2, September 2024 Faculty of Arts, Sirte University
171
There are many studies that attempt to
explore such pronunciation difficulties made by
learners of English as FL or SL. An example of
these studies is the one conducted by Ha (2005) to
identify the most common pronunciation
difficulties among Vietnamese English learners.
The learners were English department students
who had completed four years of English. The
data was collected through an oral test. This is the
final oral test for students. During the test, each
student was asked to provide a five-minute
presentation on a certain topic. While listening to
the students' speeches, the researcher took note of
any faults in pronunciation. The study identified
three major categories of mistakes. a) The most
frequent error was sound omission, with ending
sounds being the most frequently omitted.
Vietnamese learners struggle to pronounce some
sounds, such as /ʒ/, /dʒ/, and /tʃ/, especially at the
end of words. Additionally, many learners
struggle with pronouncing the sound /z/,
sometimes ending up with /s/ due to over
pronunciation. b) The second form of error
involves auditory misunderstanding. The most
common errors are /t/, /tr/, /tʃ/, /ʃ/, /dʒ/, /s/, and
/θ/. c) Next, 'sound redundancy errors occur when
individuals overpronounce finishing consonants,
adding /s/ or /z/ at the end or in the middle of
words. Moreover, Barros (2003) investigated the
problems Arabic speakers may have while
pronouncing English consonants. All of the
participants are adults: six Arabic native speakers,
five men and one female, arrived in the United
States after puberty and have been here for at least
four years. Three participants are graduate
students at West Virginia University, with two
from Egypt and one from Saudi Arabia. The
remaining three Kuwaiti undergraduates attend
the same university. The study found that Arabic
speakers struggled to pronounce eight English
consonants, including /ŋ/, /l/, /d/, /r/, /p/, /v/, /ʤ/,
and /ð/. The latter two were exclusively
experienced by Egyptian participants. The study
found that problems for Arabic speakers vary by
the learner's country of origin.
Furthermore, the Hassan (2014) study
sought to evaluate the difficulties in English
pronunciation encountered by students whose first
language is Sudanese spoken Arabic. In other
words, identify the challenging sounds and the
underlying causes. Then find some strategies to
help Sudanese English students improve their
pronunciation. The study included fifty students
from the University of Sudan of Science and
Technology (SUST) and thirty university lecturers
of English from the same university. The data
were collected using observation, recordings, and
a structured questionnaire. The data gathered were
examined statistically and descriptively. The
study found that Sudanese English students with
Sudanese Spoken Arabic had difficulty
pronouncing English consonants such as /z/, /s/,
/ð/, /θ/, /b/, /p/, /ʃ/, and /tʃ/, and vowels with
multiple pronunciation options.
A recent study conducted by Plailek and
Essien (2021) aimed to identify the elements
influencing EFL students' English pronunciation
and address their issues. The study involved 208
students from Suan Sunandha Rajabhat
University's Faculty of Education in Thailand who
speak English as a foreign language. Data
gathering tools included an English pronunciation
test, a questionnaire, and a semi-structured
interview. The data was analyzed using
percentages, means, standard deviations, and
content analysis. The study found that learners
struggle with English phonemes at the initial
syllable position, such as /ð/, /θ/, /dʒ/, /ʒ/, /v/, and
/z/, as well as /ð/, /θ/, /v/, /f/, /s/, and /l/ at the final
syllable position.
Another more recent study was by
Lefiandi (2023) in Indonesia. This study examines
students’ difficulty in pronouncing English
consonant sounds. The goal is to discover and
understand the variables causing incorrect
pronunciation of consonant sounds among
students. A descriptive-qualitative approach was
used to recruit five English department students
from the Aceh Besar region for this study. Data
collection included a vocabulary exam and in-
depth interviews. The study found that students
struggle to pronounce some consonants, including
[b], [d], [g], [v], [ʒ], [z], and [ʃ].
The diversity of the studies’ results
reviewed in this section proves that pronunciation
problems vary by learners’ origin and where they
are from. This is also another motive for the
researchers to explore difficulties faced by foreign
learners of English in their country.
Research Methodology:
This study follows qualitative research
paradigms to gain a comprehensive understanding
Investigating Difficulties that EFL Students Face in English… Sumaya Aoghala & Zaziya Ali
Abhat Journal: Volume. 16, Issue. 2, September 2024 Faculty of Arts, Sirte University
172
of a subject. Two data collection tools were used
in this study: observation and pronunciation test.
The first tool used in this research is
observation. Observation is "the systematic
description of events, behaviors, and artifacts in
the social setting chosen for study" (Marshall and
Rossman, 1989, p. 79, as cited in Kawulich, 2005,
p. 1). Observation is the process of gathering data
without making inquiries. The current study
applied direct observation, in which the students
were observed in the classroom. This strategy
enables the researcher to collect data on the issue
and provides information about when, where, how
frequently, and how long behavior occurs
(IRISCENTER, 2024). The observation took
place in three secondary schools in Ghat: Ghat
Secondary School in Ghat Center, Alfarouk
Secondary School in Albarket, and Umar
Almukhtar in Awenat. There were about 25
students in each class, and their ages ranged from
15 to 17 years old. The students study English as a
foreign language in about four classes a week.
During carrying out the observation, the initial
thoughts and perceptions were written down. In
addition to direct observation and note-taking, the
research was supported by speech data collection.
Understandably, this tool has become increasingly
popular in current research in general. Speech
data collection is the practice of recording speech
for future use, such as in research. This tool is
argued to help academics gain a better
understanding of real-world speech exchanges and
human language ability. In the current study, this
technique was employed to assist in capturing the
speech during the classroom observation so that
the data can be richer with solid evidence, which
will facilitate analyzing and assessing the
participants' pronunciation competency. To reach
this aim, the audio data of the current study was
transcribed later, as pronounced by students, and
compared to the phonetic transcription in the
Cambridge Advanced Learned Dictionary.
The analysis of the study generally
followed the Grounded Theory; its inductive
approach focuses on theory construction rather
than testing (Turner and Astin, 2021). To reach a
conclusion about the most common pronunciation
problems students face at this level, an analysis
was undertaken across several categories of
consonant and vowel sounds and other important
pronunciation issues. Mispronounced sounds were
identified as problematic sounds.
The second research tool in the current
study is the pronunciation test. It contained ten
sentences, which were administered to five
secondary school students who were chosen
randomly from the targeted classes. The test
straightens the observation results and makes the
observation more valid. Again, the students’
speech was recorded and analyzed, as in the
previous tool, to get information about their
English pronunciation faults on consonant and
vowel sounds and other pronunciation issues.
Data Analysis and Discussion:
The data presented throughout this chapter
came from both an observation tool and a test
tool. The data in this study will be analyzed based
on place and manner of articulation:
1) Vowel confusion:
Vowels are often produced with a convex
tongue in the mouth, and they are classified as
front, back, or central based on which part of the
tongue is raised highest in the mouth.
Additionally, vowels are classified according to
the height of the tongue and jaw. When the tongue
is raised closer to the roof of the mouth, the vowel
is considered to be close or high; when the tongue
is lowered and the jaw is as open as possible, the
vowel is called open or low. Midvowels are those
that are uttered somewhere in the middle of two
extreme heights (Revel-Rogerson, P., 2013).
1.1 Front Vowels: /i:/ /ɪ/ /e/ /æ/
Table (1) Vowel confusion in font vowel sounds
The
phoneti
c
symbols
The
Raising of
the Tongue
the
duratio
n of the
sound
Problemati
c vowel
Phonetic
representation
of students’
mispronounce
d speech
i:
High/Clos
e
long
ea/ee (in
the middle
of the
word)
i (in the
beginning
of the
word)
/ɪ /
ɪ
High/Clos
e
short
i (in the
middle of
the word)
/e/
/ aɪ/
e
Mid
short
e (in the
beginning
and middle
of the
word)
/ ɪ/
Investigating Difficulties that EFL Students Face in English… Sumaya Aoghala & Zaziya Ali
Abhat Journal: Volume. 16, Issue. 2, September 2024 Faculty of Arts, Sirte University
173
ӕ
Low/Open
short
A (in the
middle of
the word)
/ ɪ/
The table clearly indicates the students' preference
for using /ɪ/ among other front vowels. In the
words with the alphabet letters combination ea
and ee, which make /i:/ sound, some students
mispronounced them by using the /ɪ/ sound in the
words beach, seat, season, speak reasons, means,
and eighteen. However, with the word sea, the /i:/
sound was pronounced /eǝ/ by one of the students;
the error might be made as both sounds are
produced from these compound letters. The /ӕ/
sound was also replaced with /ɪ/ in the
background and man. The /e/ sound in event,
level, direct, dress, and empty was pronounced / ɪ
/ similar to other front vowels in preferring the /ɪ/.
Yet, when the students mispronounced the /ɪ/
sound in words such as his, him, and thing, the /e/
sound was used. And the sound /ɪ/ in live (v) and
river was mispronounced by some students by
using the /aɪ/ sound instead; conversely, /aɪ/ in
Nile and sign was produced /ɪ/ instead. But among
all these confusions, the sound /ɪ/ was mostly used
in place of other front vowels when they came at
the beginning or middle of the word.
1.2 Central Vowels: /ʌ/ /ə/ /ɜ:/
Table 2: Vowel confusion in central vowel sounds
The
phoneti
c
symbol
s
The
Raisin
g of
the
Tongu
e
of the
duratio
n of the
sound
Problemat
ic vowel
Phonetic
representatio
n of students’
mispronounc
ed speech
ɜ:
Mid
long
o (in the
middle
position of
the word)
/ ɔ:/
/ə/
Mid
short
e, u, o (in
the middle
position of
the word)
/ɪ/
/ɒ/
/ʊ/
/ʌ/
Mid
short
u,o,oo (in
the middle
position of
the word)
/ɒ/
/juː/
/ʊ/
/u:/
During the pronunciation exam, all
students used /ɔ:/ rather than /ɜ:/ in the word
working. It is indicated that some common words
with the /ɜ:/ sound are spelled with the letter o,
and some students may notice this and think it
requires a rounded vowel like [or]. (Lean English
Pronunciation, 2022).
In terms of the /ʌ/ sound, it is clear that
students have some difficulties predicting when to
pronounce the letter /ʌ/. This letter is considered
to be difficult for most second-language English
learners, as many words pronounced with /ʌ/ have
the same spelling as ones pronounced with other,
rounded vowel sounds (Pronunciation Studio,
2024). The following are examples of words
mispronounced by students matched to other
words that have the same sounds as the students’
mispronunciation:
Table 3: Examples of words mispronounced by students
matched to other words that have the same sounds as the
students’ mispronunciation
Examples of words with /ʌ/
mispronounced by students
Examples of words having
the same sounds
mispronounced by
students
Become,
country,
or ceremony
/bɪˈk ɒ m/
/ˈkɒn.tri/
/ˈser.ɪ.mə.ni/
ɒ
comedy
/ˈkɒm.ə.di/
Such but
/sʊtʃ/
/bʊt/
ʊ
Push
/pʊʃ/
blood
/blu:d/
u:
Boom
/buːm/
puzzled
/ˈpjuː z.l d/
juː
Mute
/mjuːt/
Similarly to the /ʌ/ sound, the /ə/ sound can be
spelled in a variety of ways, which may explain
why students continue to make errors when
pronouncing words with this sound, as they may
not know when they use it. In the current study,
errors were made probably because the students
pronouncing the letter as it is written, as the letter
e is pronounced / ɪ / in the words level, favorite,
number, and open, the letter u was pronounced /
ʊ/ in carful, and the letter o was pronounced / ɒ/
in reason, love, and today instead of /ə/.
Investigating Difficulties that EFL Students Face in English… Sumaya Aoghala & Zaziya Ali
Abhat Journal: Volume. 16, Issue. 2, September 2024 Faculty of Arts, Sirte University
174
1.3 Back Vowels: /u:/ /Ʊ/ /ɔ:/ / ɒ / a:/
Table 4: Vowel confusion in back vowel sounds
The
phonet
ic
symbol
s
The
Raising
of the
Tongue
The
durati
on of
the
sound
Problema
tic vowel
Phonetic
representati
on of
students’
mispronoun
ced speech
/u:/
High/clo
se
long
O (in the
middle
position of
the word)
ɒ
/Ʊ/
High/clo
se
short
O (in the
middle
position of
the word)
/ ɒ /
/ɔ:/
Mid
long
a,o (in the
middle
position of
the word)
/ ɒ /
/ ɒ /
Mid
short
/
/
/a:/
Low/ope
n
long
a (in the
middle
position of
the word)
/æ /
The table clearly shows the students’
tendency to pronounce /ɒ/ in place of other back-
rounded vowels. The long /u:/ was replaced with /
ɒ / in cool and food., and the / Ʊ / sound was
replaced with the / ɒ / in the word (look). Besides,
the /ɔ:/ sound in normally, for example, football,
tall, and calling, was replaced with /ɒ/; this
mispronunciation is caused by the length of the
vowel, with /ɔ:/ being longer, tighter, and more
rounded.
It was also noted that one student
mispronounced the word law as / /ləʊ /.
/ɔː/ and /əʊ/ frequently pose challenges for
students and generate difficulty when learning
how to pronounce pairings of words such as low
and law. The two words have no link to each
other (OLA, 2024). The difference in
pronunciation is only one vowel sound, known as
minimal pairs. Law has the /ɔː/ sound, while Low
uses the /əʊ/ sound (as in go and no) (OLA,
2024). The word car, on the other hand, was
pronounced /kær/ by students in the pronunciation
test. The /a:/ sound seems to introduce challenges
to the speaker when he pronounces it. The /a:/
sound is a British sound—typical sound in the
Received Pronunciation Accent. Yet, it might be
replaced with /æ / by native speakers from
different parts of the UK (ETJ English, 2018).
Additionally, this sound does not really exist in
American English and is replaced with the /æ/
sound too (British English Pronunciation, 2020).
Thus, students’ pronunciation of the word car as
/kær/ is acceptable here.
1.4 Diphthongs:
‘‘Diphthongs have similar length to long vowels.
They consist of a glide from one vowel to the
position of another (Revel-Rogerson, P., 2013, p.
79)’’. They are [eɪ], [ɔɪ], [aɪ], [eə], [ɪə], [ʊə], [əʊ],
and [aʊ].
Table 5: Vowel confusion in diphthongs
Phonetic
symbol
eɪ
ɔ
ɪ
aɪ
e
ə
ɪ
ə
ʊ
ə
əʊ
a
ʊ
Problemati
c vowel
a (in
the
middl
e
positi
on of
the
word)
i (in
the
middl
e
positi
on of
the
word)
.
y (in
the
final
positi
on of
the
word)
O (in
the
middl
e
positi
on of
the
word)
Phonetic
representat
ion of
students’
mispronou
nced
speech
aɪ
e
ɪ
ӕ
ɪ
i
u:
In terms of the diphthongs, /aɪ/ among the
diphthongs was the most mispronounced vowel.
Words with letter i in sign, vibrant, direct,
driving, right, and organize that produce the / aɪ /
sound were mispronounced when the /ɪ/ sound
substituted for the /aɪ/ sound. The words with y at
the end of why, by, and identify
are mispronounced again by pronouncing /i/
instead of /aɪ/. The /eɪ/ sound is another sound
with frequent errors in pronunciation. This sound
Investigating Difficulties that EFL Students Face in English… Sumaya Aoghala & Zaziya Ali
Abhat Journal: Volume. 16, Issue. 2, September 2024 Faculty of Arts, Sirte University
175
was replaced with front short vowels /ɪ/ as in
shaking, maintaining, and wake, /e/ as in races,
/ӕ/ as in safely, and /aɪ/ as in favorite. The word
road was pronounced rude by one student in the
reading-aloud activity, which indicates the
students’ confusion in distinguishing between
minimal pairs road and rude with / əʊ/ and /u:/
sounds.
2) Consonant Confusion:
The analysis of students’ mispronunciations is
according to the place of articulation:
2.1 Bilabial /p/ /b/ /m/ /w/:
Table 6: Consonant confusion in Bilabial Sounds
The
phonetic
symbols
Manner of
Articulation
Problematic
consonant
Phonetic
representation
of students’
mispronounced
speech
p
Plosive
P (in any
position of
the word)
/b/
b
plosive
/
/
m
nasal
/
/
w
approximate
w (in the
beginning
position of
the word
one)
/ɒ/
Among the bilabial sounds, /p/ was
constantly mispronounced. Students made an
evident inaccuracy in pronouncing the sound/ /p/
in most, if not all, words with the /p/ sound. They
all pronounced the sound /b/ instead of /p/ in
words such as play, speak, place, puzzle, April,
empty, opened, dropped, happened, people,
computer, speed, important, police, and spending.
This section's results are identical to those
obtained by Adila and Refnaldi (2019). Their
study was conducted in Bukittinggi with first-
grade students from Bukittinggi Senior High
School. The data was acquired through a speaking
test. None of the students made any mistakes with
the /b/ and /m/ sounds, whereas /p/ was replaced
with the /b/ sound. In terms of the current study,
this outcome was expected given that the
participants are Arabic and are known to have
difficulties pronouncing this sound. The study
conducted by Ababneh, I. (2018), aiming to
investigate English pronunciation errors made by
Saudi students, proved the difficulty in
pronouncing the /p/ sound. He states that the /p/
sound is voiceless and created by the lips. The
speaker should push air out of the mouth. Arabs
often confuse the voiceless stop consonant /p/
with the voiced stop /b/ sound, which is available
in Arabic. They adopt this repair approach when
necessary. Jathmi and Alqahtani (2021) also state
that the [P] sound is distinct from other sounds
because it is not a consonant in the Arabic
alphabet and is generated with other comparable
sounds from the same vocal tract.
In addition, many students pronounce one
as /ɒn/ when reading. This confusion occurs
because other nouns beginning with [on] are
frequently pronounced with the vowel sound [o].
This issue was well explained by Rudling (2023).
She clarifies that one and once are problem words
because they are pronounced with a /w/, whereas
the other words with the letter pattern 'on' are not.
She adds that [on] in these words was initially
pronounced the same as the others, and the change
occurred when the /w/ sound was added to them,
which appeared in popular speech sometime
between 1150 and 1476 (Middle English period)
and was first recorded in 1400. Then, in the
seventeenth century, the /w/ in one and once
became standard.
2.2 Labio-dental: /f/ /v/
Table 7: Consonant confusion in Labio-Dental Sounds
The
phonetic
symbols
Manner of
Articulation
Problematic
consonant
Phonetic
representation
of students’
mispronounced
speech
f
Fricatives
f (in the final
position of
the word)
/v/
v
Fricatives
v (in the
final position
of the word)
f
This finding reveals that EFL students
have trouble producing these two sounds. This
was demonstrated by some research, such as one
done by Plailek, T., and Essien, A. (2021), which
attempted to explore EFL students' English
pronunciation problems at a Thai institution. The
study discovered that /v/ and /f/ sounds are among
the English phonemes that cause students
problems when they are in the final syllable
position. The study did not elucidate how these
sounds were mispronounced because it was a
Investigating Difficulties that EFL Students Face in English… Sumaya Aoghala & Zaziya Ali
Abhat Journal: Volume. 16, Issue. 2, September 2024 Faculty of Arts, Sirte University
176
quantitative examination of pronunciation errors.
The current study clearly demonstrates in
examples that /f/ can be substituted for /v/ and
vice versa when inserted at the end of a word. The
current study revealed that many students
pronounced the word f/ɒf/ and some students
pronounced five /faɪv/. Yet, it is generally argued
that pronouncing the word /ɒf/, which sounds off,
is an error frequently made by foreign English
speakers of English (Tarle, J., 2021).
2.3 Dentals /θ/ /ð/
Table 8: Consonant confusion in dental sounds
The
phonetic
symbols
Manner of
Articulation
Problematic
consonant
Phonetic
representation
of students’
mispronounced
speech
/θ/
Fricatives
Th (in any
position of
the word)
/t/
/ð/
Fricatives
Th (in any
position of
the word)
/d/
The /ð/ sound in words like "that," "then," "with,"
and "the’ was frequently pronounced /d/ instead.
And the sound /θ/ in words such as thing,
something, birthday, three, and think was
substituted with /t/. Although we do have the /ð/
and /θ/ sounds in Arabic, many students
mispronounce these two sounds with /d/ and /t/,
respectively. This problem can be because of
students’ mother tongue influences, as Arabic
speakers tend to pronounce some Arabic alphabet
according to their Arabic language variety and not
to the classic Arabic alfushaa. The letters
and with the phonetic descriptions /ð/ and
/θ/ are among the letters that are not pronounced
in the Libyan colloquial language. The letter
/ð/ is replaced with /d/, as in the words
ذ ,ذ , ذ with / ð/ sound, are commonly
pronounced in Libya د ,د , د with /d/ sound
instead; the /θ/ is replaced with the letter /t/
as in words with / θ / sound are
commonly pronounced in Libya as
with /t/ sound. This continually led to the
incorrect pronunciation of words with these
sounds.
2.4 Alveolar: [t] [d] [n] [s] [z] [l]
Table 9. Consonant confusion in alveolar sounds
The
phonetic
symbols
Manner of
Articulation
Problematic
consonant
Phonetic
representation of
students’
mispronounced
speech
/t/
Plosive
/d/
Plosive
/s/
fricative
C (in any
position of the
word)
/k/
/z/
fricative
s (in the
middle
position of the
word)
s
/n/
nasal
/
/
/l/
approximate
/
/
Among all alveolar sounds, the alveolar
fricatives /s/ and /z/ were occasionally
mispronounced. The /z/ sound in easy, easily,
reason, seasons, use, and lose was replaced with
/s/, while the /s/ sound in dancing, ceremony,
accident, and celebration was produced /k/ by
some students, while in converse, it was
pronounced /s/ in traffic. It appears that there is
confusion in expecting what the letter should be
pronounced when the letter has more than one
pronunciation as the letters C and S: the letter C
with /s/ and /k/ sounds, and the letter S with its
common sounds /s/, /z/, /ʃ/ and /ʒ/.
2.5 Palatal: [ʃ] [ʒ] [ʧ] [ʤ] [ʝ] [r]
Table 10: Consonant confusion in Palatal Sounds
The
phonetic
symbols
Manner of
Articulation
Problematic
consonant
Phonetic
representation
of students’
mispronounced
speech
/ʃ/
Plosive
Sh (in the
beginning
position of the
word).
Ci (in the middle
position of the
word).
S (in the sugar)
tʃ
k
s
/ ʒ/
Plosive
/tʃ/
fricative
Ch (in the
beginning
position of the
word)
ʃ
/dʒ/
fricative
G (in any
position of the
word)
g
/r/
nasal
/
/
/ j /
approximate
Y (in the
position of the
word)
i:
Errors in pronouncing these sounds are
common in / ʃ / and /ʧ/. ʃ was pronounced tʃ in
Investigating Difficulties that EFL Students Face in English… Sumaya Aoghala & Zaziya Ali
Abhat Journal: Volume. 16, Issue. 2, September 2024 Faculty of Arts, Sirte University
177
shoes, /k/ in special, and specialist, and /s/ in
sugar. Many foreign speakers of English struggle
to pronounce the fricative /ʃ/ because of two
reasons: the spelling is difficult and may be
confusing; thus, even if the spelling is corrected,
the speaker might involuntarily mispronounce it
(sounds3`1 American, 2018), while /ʧ/ was
substituted by /ʃ/ in words such as research,
choose, and beach.
The confusion also occurs in the
compound consonant letters that result in the
sound /tʃ/, as in temperature, when it was
pronounced with the suffix -ture /t ər/ instead of /
tʃə r /. The letter g was pronounced once by a
student as /g/ instead of /dʒ/ in passenger. The
letter g can cause some problems for foreign
speakers as it has more than one pronunciation:
/g/, /dʒ/, -ing /ŋ/, and /ʒ/. When the letter e comes
after the letter g, it can be pronounced with two
sounds: /g/ as in tiger, and /dʒ/ as in passenger.
Additionally, some Arabic speakers may
mispronounce the sound /dʒ/ of the letter ()
with /g/ because some Arabic dialects pronounce/
/g/ as /dʒ/, but in terms of our participants, this
reason is not being suggested as both sounds are
existing in their accent, and ( is pronounced
/dʒ/ or /ʒ/.
As importantly, the word year was
pronounced with /i:/ instead of /j/, which made the
word sound like ear /ɪə r /. This seems like a like a
common error made by foreign learners. Brunori,
R. (2016) claims that many people struggle to
pronounce these two words differently. However,
/j/ is not identical to /i/ or /ɪ/ because the former is
produced in the center of the mouth rather than
the front, and the tongue is relatively close to the
palate.
2.6 Velars: [k] [g] [ŋ]:
Table 1: Consonant confusion in Velar Sounds
The
phonetic
symbols
Manner of
Articulation
Problematic
consonant
Phonetic
representation
of students’
mispronounced
speech
/k/
Plosive
/
/
/g/
Plosive
/
/
/ ŋ/
nasal
g (in the
middle
position of
the word
angry)
dʒ
In contrast to how the letter g was
pronounced in the last example, it was again
mispronounced in the opposite way, in which it
was pronounced / dʒ / instead of /g/ in angry. This
clearly shows students’ confusion in expecting the
correct sound of a letter that has more than one
pronunciation.
2.7 Glottal: [h]
This sound is produced by reducing airflow via
the open glottis ([h]) or by entirely stopping the
air at the glottis.
Table 12: Consonant confusion in Glottal Sounds
The
phonetic
symbols
Manner of
Articulation
Problematic
consonant
Phonetic
representation
of students’
mispronounced
speech
/h/
velar
/
/
The present investigation discovered no
inconsistencies in this sound among secondary
school students.
3) Silent Letter:
During the reading-aloud session, three
students mispronounced the word hour. They
produced the letter h in hour, which is a silent
letter. The letter H is one of the letters that might
have no sound in certain words. Interestingly, all
three students are from the same school. It is
unclear whether this error by students from the
same school was caused by our general belief that
EFL students tend to pronounce the letters of the
alphabet exactly as they are written or because
they were not corrected by the instructor when
they made this error in a class. Regardless of the
causes, it is believed that there are no patterns or
guidelines for learning the silent letters or when
they occur. Knowing which words contain silent
letters requires years of skill and familiarity
(Language Tool, 2024).
4) Pronunciation Error in Inflectional
Morphemes:
Data collected from both a pronunciation
test and reading-aloud session activity as well as
direct observation indicates the students’
pronunciation errors in pronouncing the
inflectional morphemes.
Investigating Difficulties that EFL Students Face in English… Sumaya Aoghala & Zaziya Ali
Abhat Journal: Volume. 16, Issue. 2, September 2024 Faculty of Arts, Sirte University
178
4.1 Regular plural nouns, third person
singular, possessive-'s morphemes:
The plural ending of a regular noun is
determined by the last sound, which is voiced or
unvoiced. If the word ends in a voiced consonant,
/z/ is added; if it ends in a voiceless sound, /s/ is
added. If the ending of the word is with the /s/, /z/,
/sh/, or /ch/ sound, the /ɪz/ is added. The following
table shows the words with regular plural nouns,
including the accurate pronunciation description
and students’ mispronunciations.
Table 13: Students’ mispronunciations of regular plural
nouns compared to their accurate pronunciations
The
word
The word
Types of
inflection
al
morphem
es
Students
mispronunciat
ion
Type of
error
levels
/ˈlev. ə ls/
Regular
plural
nouns
/ˈlev. ə lɪs/
Insertin
g the /ɪ/
sound
before
/s/
suffers
/ˈsʌf.ə rs /
third-
person
singular
/ˈsʌf.ə rɪs /
Insertin
g the /ɪ/
sound
before
/s/
Dates
/deɪts/
Regular
plural
nouns
/deɪɪtɪs/
Insertin
g the /ɪ/
sound
before
/s/
roads
/rəʊds/
Regular
plural
nouns
/rəʊdɪs/
Insertin
g the /ɪ/
sound
before
/s/
accident
s
/ˈæk.sɪ.d ə
nt/
Regular
plural
nouns
/ˈæk.sɪ.d ə ntɪs/
Insertin
g the /ɪ/
sound
before
/s/
passenge
rs
/ˈpæs. ə
n.dʒə r z/
/ˈpæs. ə n.dʒə
rs /
Replaci
ng the
/s/
instead
of /z
after
voiced
/r/
injuries
/ˈɪn.dʒ ə
r.is/
Regular
plural
nouns
/ˈɪn.dʒ ə r.iɪs/
Insertin
g the /ɪ/
sound
before
/s/+
Replaci
ng the
/s/
instead
of /z
belts
/belts/
Regular
plural
nouns
/beltɪs/
Insertin
g the /ɪ/
sound
before
/s/
compute
rs
/kəmˈpjuː.
tə rs/
Regular
plural
nouns
/kəmˈpjuː.tə
rɪs/
Insertin
g the /ɪ/
sound
before
/s/
drivers
/ˈdraɪ.və
rs/
Regular
plural
nouns
/ˈdraɪ.və rɪs/
Insertin
g the /ɪ/
sound
before
/s/
races
/reɪsɪs/
Regular
plural
nouns
/reɪsɪs/
Insertin
g the /ɪ/
sound
before
/s/
conclude
s
/kənˈkluːd
ɪz/
Third-
person
singular
/kənˈkluːdɪz/
Insertin
g the /ɪ/
sound
before
/z/
starts
/stɑːtɪz/
Third-
person
singular
/stɑːtɪz/
Insertin
g the /ɪ/
sound
before
/z/
The pronunciation errors in the above
table can be divided into two problems. First,
some students pronounce regular plural nouns by
pronouncing the /s/ sound at the end of the word,
even if the preceding phonemes are voiced
sounds. Second, the majority of students insert the
/ɪ/ sound before the /s/ or /z/ sound in plural
nouns, even if the word ends in sounds other than:
(s, z, -ge or dge, x, sh, or ch).
4.2. Regular Past Tense Morphemes:
After the consonants /t/ and /d/, the -ed
form is pronounced /ɪd/; after all other voiced
sounds, the -ed form is pronounced /d/. After all
other voiceless sounds, the -ed form is
pronounced as /t/. The following table presents
the words in past tense, including the accurate
pronunciation description and students’
mispronunciations.
Table 14: Students’ mispronunciations in
regular past tense compared to their accurate
pronunciations
The word
The
word
Students
mispronunciations
Type of
error
dressed
/drest/
/dresi/
Omitting
the
inflectional
Investigating Difficulties that EFL Students Face in English… Sumaya Aoghala & Zaziya Ali
Abhat Journal: Volume. 16, Issue. 2, September 2024 Faculty of Arts, Sirte University
179
morpheme
happened
/hæp.ənd/
hæp.ənɪd
Inserting
the /ɪ/
sound
before the
/d/ sound
dropped
/drɒpt/
/drɒpɪd/
inserting
the /ɪ/
sound
before the
/d/ sound
opened
/ˈəʊ.p ə
nd/
/ˈəʊ.p ə nɪd/
Inserting
the /ɪ/
sound
before the
/d/ sound
looked
/lʊkt/
/lʊkɪd/
Inserting
the /ɪ/
sound
before the
/d/ sound
The table (14) indicates that the problems
in pronouncing some regular past tense words are
caused by students inserting the /ɪ/ sound before
/d/, making the sound /ɪd/ in all words regardless
of the voicing case of their preceding phonemes.
Based on the results, students should practice
pronouncing inflectional morphemes. As a Libyan
teacher, I have noticed that grammar lessons are
heavily emphasized in English classes,
particularly at the preparatory and secondary
school levels from 7th grade and up, with little or
no emphasis on practicing pronunciation in what
students learn in grammar lessons, particularly in
regular plural nouns, third person singular,
possessive -'s morphemes, and regular past tense.
5) Other problems:
In the reading aloud session activity, students face
some difficulties other than those discussed
above. These activities can be classified as
follows:
5.1 Word Stress:
Some words were wrongly pronounced not
because of sound confusion or insertion but
because of where the stress was placed. Placing
stress on the wrong syllable can lead to
mispronounced words and unclear speech.
English is a stress-timed language, which means
that the meaning of a given utterance is dictated
by the proper placement of emphasis in a word
(Karjo, 2016). The following table shows some
words that were mispronounced because of this
sound.
Table (15): Students’ mispronunciations in word stress
compared to their accurate pronunciations
Word
Students’
mispronunciation
The correct
pronunciation
military
/mɪ.ˈl.ɪ.tri/
/ˈmɪl.ɪ.tri/
direct
/ˈdaɪ.rekt/
/daɪ ˈrekt/
Prevent (v)
/ˈprɪ.vent/
/prɪˈvent/
Historically
/hɪstɒˈr.ɪ.kli/
/hɪˈstɒr.ɪ.kli/
5.2 Poor word recognition
Many students in the reading-aloud
session struggled to read some words because
they could not identify or recognize them. They
hesitated when encountering an unknown word.
Some of them used the method of pronouncing
each letter of the alphabet as printed, ignoring
silent letters or the correct sound of the phoneme
within the word, while others sought help from
the teacher when they could not receive it; they
just continued the previous strategy. The majority
of mispronounced words were new or key words
for the lesson; the students are less familiar with
them. The following list includes these words as
well as the title of the passage from which they
are taken.
Health: consciousness, insulin, injection,
diabetes.
Military: military, branches, aeroplanes,
helicopters, aircraft, technical, specialist,
Ghedames: culture, industries, Tuareg.
Conclusion:
This study intends to investigate the
learners' pronunciation challenges at the
secondary school level in Ghat, a city in the
southwest of Libya. The most obvious findings to
emerge from this study are summarized based on
three main points. First, the pronunciation
difficulties in vowel sound confusion. The most
Investigating Difficulties that EFL Students Face in English… Sumaya Aoghala & Zaziya Ali
Abhat Journal: Volume. 16, Issue. 2, September 2024 Faculty of Arts, Sirte University
180
significant students' difficulties in pronouncing
vowel sounds are three. First, students often use
the /ɪ/ sound instead of other front vowels at the
beginning or middle of words, and the /ɒ/ sound
instead of other back-rounded vowels. Second,
students often failed to pronounce the central
vowels; this confusion might be due to difficulties
in predicting when to pronounce these sounds as
the letters producing them can be pronounced
with other sounds too. Finally, the /aɪ/ sound is the
most mispronounced among diphthongs with
words like vibrant, direct, driving, right, and
organize and is substituted with /ɪ/. Second, the
pronunciation difficulties in consonant sound
confusion The students struggled to pronounce
the following consonants: First, /p/ in any word
position was always replaced with the sound /b/,
then /f/ and /v/ in the word's final position. Third,
the /ð/ and /θ/ sounds at the beginning of the
words were frequently mispronounced as /d/ and
/t/. Fourth, the /z/ sound in the middle of words
containing the letter S, which is frequently
pronounced /s/ instead, Finally, the /ʃ/ and /ʧ/
sounds are due to the unusual English
pronunciation of several letters. Third are the
pronunciation difficulties in inflectional
morphemes. Some students make regular plural
nouns by pronouncing the /s/ sound at the end of
the word, even if the preceding phonemes are
voiced sounds. Besides, the majority of students
insert the /ɪ/ sound before the /s/ or /z/ sound in
regular plural nouns and before the /d/ sound in
regular past verbs, regardless of the voicing case
of their preceding phonemes.
The researchers draw two major
conclusions from their current study. The first is
that foreign language learners usually pronounce
the letters of the alphabet as they are written.
Second, the learners often fail to anticipate how
the letter should be pronounced when it has
multiple pronunciations, such as the letters C and
S. The findings of this investigation complement
those of earlier studies, and they have significant
implications for understanding common students'
difficulties in English pronunciation, which can
help our teachers assist their students’ challenges
by planning and improving their teaching.
However, the major limitation of this study is that
it uses only a qualitative approach. Further
research needs to be carried out to identify the
factors contributing to students' difficulties with
pronunciation.
Appendix (1)
Pronunciation Test:
1. My favorite number is five.
2. There are four seasons in the year.
3. Some people love playing football.
4. These shoes are made in China.
5. He thinks of his son.
6. The weather is cool today.
7. She eats Indian food.
8. My car is not working.
9. She speaks English well.
10. You are a tall man.
Investigating Difficulties that EFL Students Face in English… Sumaya Aoghala & Zaziya Ali
Abhat Journal: Volume. 16, Issue. 2, September 2024 Faculty of Arts, Sirte University
181
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182
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