English language learning poses various challenges to Arab learners including the transcription of various unfamiliar sounds. This quantitative study examines the challenges faced by English majors in transcribing words that contain the schwa sound /ə/. The prime objective is to identify which positions of the schwa sound poses the greatest difficulty, analyze student performance patterns, and suggest possible solutions. The participants were randomly selected female English majors from Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University (PSAU) during the 2025 academic year. A transcription test was used to collect data that was administered to 68 participants. The SPSS software was used to analyze statistical data. The results showed that schwa sounds in initial positions were the hardest to transcribe, followed by medial and final positions. However, the differences in error rates across positions were relatively small. The findings indicate that the main issue Saudi English majors face in schwa transcription is their difficulty in accurately pronouncing the sound. Based on these results, the study recommends targeted strategies to improve learners’ pronunciation and transcription of the schwa sound. Additionally, further research is encouraged to explore how the Arabic language influences Saudi EFL learners’ ability to recognize and transcribe the schwa sound. The research is significant in the Saudi EFL context to understand the pronunciation issues and focus the weak areas in pedagogy.
Albahlal et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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