The research topic was a dive into the impact an individual’s ethnic background had on learning English pronunciation. Several studies have been carried out to determine the factors contributing to the difficulty in learning English by non-English speakers. Shan (2018) discussed the obstacles that English learners faced when learning English. He found that listening skills, psychological states, cultural backgrounds, and pronunciation were the main obstacles. He stated that pronunciation was influenced by ethnic backgrounds and students focusing on other issues such as grammar and vocabulary. The author, however, stated the problem and did not provide a comprehensive analysis of how those two factors impacted learning English pronunciation. Çakir & Baytar (2014) conducted a study on learners' attitudes on the importance of learning pronunciation when studying the English language. They found that learners viewed pronunciation as an essential aspect in enhancing the quality of communication. The learners were also motivated and hopeful about improving their pronunciation skills despite the difficulties due to their ethnic background. This study, however, did not delve much into such challenges.
Several studies conducted have discussed ethnic background as a factor that affects learning English pronunciation. However, none of them have provided a comprehensive analysis of why ethnic background affects learning English pronunciation and some recommended solutions to the problem. This has raised questions that need answering, which is why this research will be conducted. English pronunciation is challenging to grasp because some of the vowel sounds in the English language may be absent in one’s ethnic dialect. For instance, there are around 17 vowel sounds in English, whereas most ethnic languages contain between five and six vowel sounds. Therefore, a double vowel glide (diphthong) “-ou” may sound the same as a single vowel (monophthongs) “-o” for a non-English speaker, even though for a native, the two sound very dissimilar. As a result, the first-time learner will have trouble hearing and understanding differences when such vowels are pronounced, making it difficult for them to learn the English language. For a native English speaker, however, they can comprehend the differences in the sounds. This study, therefore, sought to conduct a comprehensive assessment of some of the factors originating from a person’s ethnic background that impact their learning of English pronunciation.
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References
Çakir, İ., & Baytar, B. (2014). Foreign language learners’ views on the importance of learning the target language pronunciation . Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 10, 99-110.
Shan, R. (2019). Non-English Majors ' Obstacles in Listening and Its Countermeasures in Colleges and Universities of Ethnic Minority Areas. International Conference on Educational Research, Economics, Management, and Social Sciences, 1114-1149. Doi: http://10.25236/erems.2018.240
