Abstract:
A descriptive survey was conducted on the poor pronunciation of English words by
students in the Ashaiman Senior High School. The research questions that were answered
included what types of pronunciation errors do students of make? What are the factors
that led to the poor pronunciation of English words by the students? And what strategies
and methods could be used to improve the pronunciation of English words among the
students? The study population 1750 out of which 300 students and Five (5) teachers
participated through random and purposive sampling respectively. The study found five
(5) types of pronunciation errors that students often make in the study area that include
errors in Fricative and Plosive Consonants, short pure vowel, Pure Long Vowels and
Diphthongs as problematic to the students. It also found five factors that led to the poor
pronunciation of English words resulting from performance conditions, affective
variables such as self-confidence, and anxiety, students listening ability, topical
knowledge, and feedback during pronunciation activities. The study found strategies and
methods in dealing with the problem and concluded that drilling, chaining, the direct
method of teaching, reading method and teacher facilitation are strategies and methods to
improve the pronunciation of English words among the students as they learn
pronunciation. The study recommended that students should give more attention to their
pronunciation ability during learning and should practice more to improve their
pronunciation. Teachers should give more attention to the student’s pronunciation ability
in teaching and to analyze deeper the problems of pronunciation and more practical
classroom strategies and methods should be used to improve the pronunciation of English
words among students.
Description:
A Dissertation in the Department of Applied
Linguistics, Faculty of Languages, submitted to the school of
Graduate Studies, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the award of
Master of Education
Degree in Teaching English as Second Language
in the University of Education, Winneba
OCTOBER, 2020