Pronunciation problems of Turkish Learners in English learning

Pronunciation problems of Turkish Learners in English learning

DEMIRCIOGLU, Mehmet Deniz

Key words: pronunciation,voiced,voiceless,intonation,diphthong,Turkish learner ABSTRACT In our modern, digital world, having fluent English is a necessity for everybody from every point of view, such as science, technology, international trade, diplomacy, medicine and so on. Having a competence in English grammar is no longer sufficient for someone who wants to communicate effectively in English, they also need to use skills particularly listening and speaking in an integrated fashion. In the Turkish education system, speaking (accurate pronunciation in particular) and listening have been consistently neglected by not only Turkish teachers who teach English but also Turkish students at the state primary, secondary, and high schools. Most Turkish students reach an intermediate level in English grammar. However, upper intermediate and advanced levels of English are generally thought to be a step too far for Turkish learners to attain owing to problems pronouncing specific vowels and consonants that are not available in Turkish language. Some vowels and consonants that are not available in Turkish language create articulation problems which form a barrier for Turkish learners to overcome easily. These are generally the voiced dental fricative and the voiceless dental fricative sounds. Some diphthongs in English such as the pronunciation of "Cow" or "Show" can also create some articulation problems for Turkish learners to pronounce accurately. In this presentation, I will explain the specific pronunciation problems Turkish learners encounter and demonstrate a number of activities and strategies I have adopted to solve these difficulties.

Article
PeerReviewed

IBU Publishing

2013-05-03

1885