PROBLEMS IN PRONUNCIATION: A CASE STUDY OF ESL LEARNERS AT LEADS GROUP OF COLLEGES GUJRANWALA, PAKISTAN

Abstract

                One's pronunciation significantly impacts the ability to get employment. Sometimes, students are graded unjustly if they cannot persuade others of their talents owing to wrong pronunciation or a lack of language proficiency. This is a result of their inability to explain their skills to others. Students must practice pronouncing words correctly, particularly those with poor oral communication skills. They will be able to deliver engaging talks, as a result, impressing prospective employers and enhancing their mobility. Recognizing the challenges students experience pronouncing words is the first step in finding a solution. This research aims to highlight the college students’ problems in pronunciation at Leads Group of Colleges in Gujranwala, Pakistan, which often pronounce incorrectly while pronouncing English words. A sample of 25 students from the Higher Secondary School Certificate program at the Leads Group of Colleges in Gujranwala was purposefully chosen to meet the study's goals. The primary sources of data for this study carried out using the qualitative methodology were the short stories "Button Button" by Richard Matheson and "Clearing in the Sky" by Jesse Stuart, both of which were included in Text Book-1 for college studentsand were published by the Punjab Text Book Board, Pakistan. The results show that various variables, including phonetic ability, native language, previous exposure to English pronunciation, training, and motivation, contributed to the student'sdifficulty in pronunciation. One of these causes was the notion of a sound system difference between English and the mother tongue. The idea of a difference between English and the local language was one of many other reasons. There should be appropriate instructional methods, training, and seminars, and most importantly, students' interests should be piqued to address these pronunciation issues among Pakistani students.