Factors Responsible for Wrong Pronunciation of English Words by Students at Undergraduate Level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan

Abstract

One of the many challenges which ESL/EFL learners face is the issue of incorrect pronunciation of English words. This issue is more serious in ESL contexts like Pakistan where learners get limited or no exposure to authentic language use. This paper attempts to explore the factors contributing to incorrect pronunciation of English words by ESL learners at undergraduate level in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. To this end, a questionnaire was distributed among 72 BS English students of three different colleges. The descriptive analysis of the data highlighted eight factors which appeared to cause incorrect pronunciation by students. These included learners’ weakness in phonetics and phonology, Teacher's wrong pronunciation, first language interference, words related to military discourse, poor oral fluency and inaccessibility to authentic language use. The study recommends learners should improve pronunciation of English words through listening to native speakers of English language, watch YouTube videos and English movies and should own and consult a standardized phonetic dictionary.