Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 12. Number1  March 2021                                                  Pp.293 -308
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol12no1.20

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English Language Pronunciation Barriers Encountered by the Expatriate Students at
King Saud University, Riyadh 

Kesavan Vadakalur Elumalai
Department of English Language and Literature,
Faculty of English, College of Arts, King Saud University
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Correspondent Author: ekesavan@ksu.edu.sa

Mohammad Sufian Abdullah
Department of English Language and Literature
College of Arts, King Saud University,
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Jayendira P Sankar
College of Administrative and Financial Sciences
AMA International University, Kingdom of Bahrain

Kalaichelvi R
College of Administrative and Financial Sciences
AMA International University, Kingdom of Bahrain

Received: 11/20/2020                Accepted: 2/3/2021                   Published: 3/24/2021

Abstract:
The English language pronunciation is a sub-skill of speaking modules during the learning process of a second language. Accurate pronunciation is not followed enough by Bangladesh students in speaking English It was found that the participants face barriers while pronouncing English. However, it is ignored and even provided the least attention by them. In order to explore the pronunciation barriers of vowels and consonants of Bangladesh expatriate learners and to identify remedial measures, this study stresses about four aspects of pronunciation: vowel confusion and insertion, missing stress sounds, sounds’ errors cause of written form, and absence of fricatives. The study emphasizes on the value and status of pronunciation and overcame the approach of it among Bangladesh expatriate students. A pronunciation test was conducted with 8 Bangladesh expatriate learners with an age range of 20-25 years and the participants were asked to pronounce 7-8 words in every aspect, recorded their voice and documented for analysis along with observation of the Bangladesh expatriate learners at King Saud University. The study reveals that Bangladeshi students have many errors on the way to the correct vocalization of English sounds, which are mainly the influence of their mother tongue. Bangladeshi Learners could not make the distinction between long and short vowels. To overcome this problem, learners need to participate pronunciation practice in the formal assessment process in addition to language lessons and also focus their attention on conversation through multimedia.
Keywords: absence of fricatives, Bangladesh expatriate students, higher educational level, missing stress
sounds, recorded voice, sounds’ errors cause written form, vowel confusion and insertion.

Cite as: Kesavan, V.E., Mohammad, S. A., Jayendira, P. S., & Kalaichelvi, R. (2021) English Language Pronunciation Barriers Encountered by the Expatriate Students at King Saud University, Riyadh.  Arab World English Journal, 12 (1)  .
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol12no1.20

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