This document discusses pronunciation problems faced by non-native English speakers and ways to overcome them. It defines non-native speakers as those whose first language is not English. It identifies some common pronunciation issues speakers of Arabic, Cantonese, French, Hindi, and Spanish may encounter. These include confusing similar sounds like /p/ and /b/ in Arabic or /θ/ and /d/ in Malaysian English. Factors causing problems are a lack of confidence, vocabulary, and focus on pronunciation in teaching. Ways to improve include practicing pronunciation, listening to English extensively, and using audio materials and qualified phonology teachers.

1. PRONUNCIATION PROBLEMS
OF NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS
OF ENGLISH
æl sʌmɪhʌh ʌmnɪ bɪntɪ dɒllʌh @ ʌbdul ʌzɪz

2. Who is a non-native
speaker?
• an individual whose first
language was something other
than English
• someone with little or no
knowledge of the English
language, or someone who
speaks English fluently, but
whose first language was
something else

3. •Contrast with Native Speakers
of English (NSE), they are the
people whose first language is
English
•learned English when they
were children
•think in English
•use it naturally
•Usually they are people from
English-speaking countries like

4. three types of English speakers
according to Kachru’s ‘Circles’
Theory
• Inner circle
• Outer circle
• Expanding circle

5. Inner circle
• represents the traditional bases of English
• English as it originally took shape and was spread
across the world
• United Kingdom, the United States, Australia,
New Zealand, Ireland, Anglophone Canada and
South Africa, and some of the Caribbean
territories.

6. Outer circle
• produced by the second diaspora of English
• spread the language through the colonization by
Great Britain and the US in Asia and Africa
• includes India, Nigeria, the Philippines,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Tanzania, Kenya,
non-Anglophone South Africa and others.
• The outer circle is also where English is
important for historical reasons and plays a part
in the nation's institutions, either as an official
language or otherwise.

7. Expanding circle
• Finally, the “expanding circle” encompasses
those countries where English plays no historical
or governmental role, but where it is
nevertheless widely used as a foreign language
or lingua franca
• includes much of the rest of the world's
population: China, Russia, Japan, most of
Europe, Korea, Egypt, Indonesia, etc.

8. Major languages in the world
• Arabic
• Cantonese
• French
• Hindi
• Spanish

9. • in Arabic language, the speakers may
encounter some difficulties where /p/ and
/b/ are confused, and /b/ is being used for
both
• example ‘Paris’ is pronounced as ‘Baris’.

10. • In Cantonese language the initial position
of /w/ and /v/ are confused, /w/ is being
used for both.
• The example is ‘Venice’ is pronounced as
‘Wenise’.

11. • Some non-native speakers that use French as
their first language would deal with some
difficulties such as /æ/ and /ᴧ/ are confused and
/ᴧ/ is being used for both.
• The example of the word is ‘Canteen’
(/kænᴧtiᴧn/) is pronounced as ‘Kᴧnᴧtiᴧn’.

12. • An English speaker that uses Hindi as a main
language also will have problem in pronouncing
English words. The sound of /d/ are made up
with the extreme edge of the tongue-tip curled
back to a point just behind the alveolar ridge and
this should be avoided.
• For example many of them pronounced ‘But’
with ‘Bud’ pronunciation

13. • The next major non-native speakers of English
are using Spanish as their first language are
having difficulties such as in consonant letters.
• The letter /l/ is always clear and /r/ in Spanish is
a tongue-tip trill.
• Example: “Lord”
• /æ/ and /ᴧ/ are confused but /ᴧ/ is being used
for both.
• Example is ‘Cat’ (kæt) is pronounced as ‘Kᴧt’.
Rhythm in Spanish is like that of French or Hindi.

14. Malaysia
• /θ/ sound is confused with /d/ sound.
• Example of /θ/:
Thing
Path
• Example of /d/ :
Day
Duck

15. • their
Malaysians generally read it as thee-ya. In Oxford or any
English dictionary, the phonetic signs for this word is
similar to the word there.
• debt
Pronounced as det, not debt.
• doubt
Silent b too, hence daut.
• receipt
In this case, the p is silent, hence ri-sit.
• procedure
It's not prou-si-dear for goodness sake, but pre (e as in
water)-si-jer.
• penis

16. Factors that cause the pronunciation
problems:
Lack of confidence
Lack of vocabulary
The teachers did not focus on the pronunciation
Influenced by the surrounding

17. Ways to overcome:
Practice
Listening
Watch the English movies, news in English
Assign the teaching and learning process to
the native speaker
phonology books
Using audio materials
Phonology classes
Qualified phonology teachers