From Native Tongues to English Sounds

Examining the Challenges of Pronunciation Acquisition for Tunisian Learners

Abstract

Difficulties in learning English pronunciation by Tunisian speakers have been tackled by several researchers. This study further explores the topic, as it examined the impact of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), Tunisian Arabic (TA), and French on the acquisition of English consonant clusters by native Tunisian speakers. The measurement of English pronunciation difficulty involved identifying instances of mispronunciation that led to communication difficulties or breakdowns. Based on the Lingua Franca Core, thorough assessment of the participants' readings recordings helped in the identification of common challenges with specific vowel sounds and consonant clusters, which had implications for intonation, fluency, and overall comprehension. Despite the various pronunciation challenges that were noted, this study focused on the difficulties of pronouncing consonant clusters. The identification of problematic consonant clusters and the establishment of patterns of errors was based on a comparison between consonant clusters allowed in English and TA as a dialect that allows for clusters of up to three consonants according to Ben Abdallah et al. (2020). To avoid further impediments to learner progress, prioritizing correct pronunciation from the early stages of English language instruction is suggested. The implications are therefore of help for Tunisian teachers and educators, since the current standard classroom learning approach lacks emphasis on pronunciation as a tool for easy and clear communication.