A Study of Pronunciation Errors of First Year Students of English Education, Nasarawa State University Keffi, Nigeria

The paper examines pronunciation errors of first-year students of English, Nasarawa State University Keffi, Nigeria, with the view of helping them to improve their spoken aspect of English. A survey research design was employed to carry out the study. The population of the study comprises of 50 randomly selected first-year students of English Education. Oral Production Test (OPT) was the instrument used in carrying out this study. The respondents were asked to pronounce 20 randomly selected words and their speeches were tape-recorded, played and listened to ascertain their pronunciation errors and compare them with the standard pronunciation. Error Analysis is the theoretical framework employed for this study. The results show that the consonant sounds / θ/ was substituted for /t/, /ð/ for /d/, /ʃ/ for /tʃ/, /z/ for /s/, and /v/ for /f/ in words like; ‘there’ /ðeə/ for /dia/, ‘theme’ /θi:m /for /tim/, ‘chagrin’ /ʃa:gri/ for /tʃagin/, ‘things’ /θiŋz/ for /tiŋs/, and ‘of’ /ɔv/ for /ɔf/ respectively. The vowel sounds /ʌ/ was substituted for /ɔ/, /e/ for /i/, /ɜ:/ for /ɔ:/, /a:/ for /æ/ and /ə/ for /æ/. Also, words that have consonant clusters; /stj-/ and /mpts/, and words that have complex spelling systems; ‘ewe’ /ju:/ and ‘ewer’/juə/ posed pronunciation difficulties to the study population. Identifying these areas of pronunciation difficulties will assist curriculum planners, syllable compilers teachers and textbooks writers to map out these areas of pronunciation difficulties for improved pedagogy.