English, just any other language, has wide variations in pronunciation, both chronologically and from one dialect to the next. The English phonological system is however similar but not identical in the regional dialects. The language is considered useful all over the world and one of the most used globally. Due to this fact, many individuals seek to speak English for communication. For instance, the United States immigrants whose first language is not English have to learn it the first thing when they land on the American soil. However, the phonology of English creates challenges for the students who learn it as a second language due to the differences it has with their native dialects. This research focuses on the issues that the phonology brings to the learners.
Linguists consider English to be one of the most challenging languages to acquire. There are numerous rules to the way the words in this language can be pronounced. On the other hand, there are other areas where the rules fail to apply. Most learners do not comprehend the different exceptions and think the rules apply equally to every word pronunciation ( Pennington, 2014) . Researchers have determined five different aspects of the English phonology that pose the most difficulty in pronunciation for such individuals. The first part is stress on words. The English language has a tendency of having words that are spelled the same but having different pronunciation based on the stressed syllables. This is based on the meaning the speaker intends to create. For instance, the word “produce” has different stress based on whether one wishes to refer to the noun for a collection of agricultural products or the verb for causing something to happen ( Pennington, 2014) . The disparity makes it difficult for the English learners to comprehend the pronunciation on what they see as they have to look for contextual clues surrounding the word.
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Secondly, the distinction between vowel and consonant sounds is a problem for learners. The basic letter sounds that they learn is not always the way they sound in words. For instance, the letter “t” in the word “time” sounds different from that in the word “this.” Also, the vowel sound of the letter “a” sounds different in words “apple” and “late.” The variation confuses new learners. Thirdly combined words also pose a challenge ( Pennington, 2014) . When some consonants are combined to form a word, the pronunciation may vary and thus confusing. A student would see a “t” and “h” and try to pronounce them separately. Blending these letters to form a single sound is a challenge to non-English speaking learners. Others include “c” and “k” in words “pack,” “back”, and “lack.”
The other problem is the physical attributes of the mouth region during the speech. The native speaking individuals know that some words are pronounced by combining lips for instance in letters “b” and “p.” However, this may not be the same as the leaners who do not know how to say these words and have to teach ( Renaldi et al., 2016) . Finally, the translation between languages is also a great challenge as the students may want to look for comparable pronunciations in other languages to base their studies. In some cases, the syllables in English may not be existent in some languages for instance sounds of “v” and “the.”
As it is now known where the challenge may arise, it is essential to identify the phonological needs in such students. The first is utilizing the parent-filled questionnaire on the ethnic background of the student. This would determine whether the student comes from a family where languages other than English are spoken as first ones. The second strategy is through using standardized test scores. This involves checking on verbal communications ability.
In retrospect, some skills can help the student be able to read and write fluent English. These phonological skills include syllable awareness which involves the blending, tapping, counting or segmenting a word into syllables ( Moats & Tolman, 2009) . The other is phoneme awareness which consists of the identification and matching of the sounds in words based on their positions. It also includes segmenting and separately pronouncing the syllables. The other skill is word awareness, and this involves tracking words in a sentence and is more of a semantic than a phonological ability. Above all, basic listening skills are helpful in making the others possible.
In conclusion, English is a complicated language and has been known as the most difficult to learn. Several aspects of phonology make it so. However, it is essential to identify the needs and help the learners understand the language with ease.
References
Moats, L, & Tolman, C. (2009). Excerpted from Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS): The Speech Sounds of English: Phonetics, Phonology, and Phoneme Awareness (Module 2). Boston: Sopris West.
Pennington, M. C. (2014). Phonology in English language teaching: An international approach . Routledge.
Renaldi, A., Stefani, R. P., & Gulö, I. (2016). Phonological Difficulties Faced By Students In Learning English. Proceedings of ISELT FBS Universitas Negeri Padang , 4 (1), 97-100.
