ERRORS IN PRONUNCIATION OF TWO CONSONANTS /θ/ AND /ð/ OF THE SECOND YEAR STUDENTS IN THE CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF CONSTRUCTION

Abstract

Most students meet obstacles in communicating with other people in English because of mispronunciation. With the purpose of helping students to enhance their pronunciation, this article aims to find out common pronunciation errors of two consonants /θ/ and /ð/, the causes and suggestions for some solutions. The data collected from one interview and one survey questionnaire show that when pronouncing these sounds, almost all students made mistakes by replacing them with other sounds or omitting them. The non-existence of the sounds in the mother tongue, insufficient understanding, lacking teachers’ assistance and improper learning methods are regarded as the four most common causes of these mistakes. Lastly, students are suggested some supportive resources for study such as softwares, books or websites and introduced some learning methods like taking a pronunciation course, working in pairs or groups and communicating with native speakers. In addition, higher frequent use of English in lectures, more instructions and practice in pronunciation lessons and different activities to attract students from English teachers are advisable.