EXERCISE – II

COMMON ERRORS IN PRONUNCIATION- NEUTRALIZATION OF MOTHER

TONGUE INFLUENCE –LISTENING SKILLS

COMMON ERRORS IN PRONUNCIATION:

Proper English pronunciation can be a big problem for some ESL learners and more difficult
for some students than for others. A student’s native language determines, for the most part,
the degree of difficulty and the types of difficulties students will have. ESL students whose native
language is Chinese or Japanese have a much harder time than those whose native language is
Spanish, Portuguese or French. But despite the differences between countries, there are certain
mistakes that are the most common among ESL students all over the world. Here, you’ll see not only
what they are, but also how to help students overcome them.
7 Worst Pronunciation Mistakes ESL Students Make Around the World
Pronouncing the “th”
The “th” is one of the hardest consonant sounds to pronounce. It can be pronounced in three
different ways: as a “d” (/ð/) as in this, that, these, those, they or them; as the voiceless /θ/
in three, thing, thought; or as a /t/ as in Thai or Thames. The pronunciation of the /θ/ is especially
difficult for some - students often say tree instead of three.
How to fix it: Go over the difference between the three types of pronunciation. Don’t forget to
mention that the third one is the least common. As for the difficulty in pronouncing the /θ/, show
students how to place their tongues between their teeth and force air out to make the right sound.
Pronouncing the Schwa
The schwa ([ə]) is a sound that is typical in unstressed syllables, for instance in long words
like mem(o)ry, choc(o)late or shorter ones like th(e) or t(o). The usual mistake is for students to
pronounce the word syllable by syllable: me-mo-ry.
How to fix it: Introduce the schwa to students and give them plenty of examples. Remind them of
the fact that English is a stressed, not a syllabic language, and that unstressed syllables or words in
English often have this sound.
Confusing the “l” and the “r”
The “r” and “l” sounds are the stereotypical mistake Japanese students make – they
say lice instead of rice. But it is also a difficulty that occurs in other Asian languages.

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How to fix it: The problem usually lies in the position of the tongue. To eliminate the confusion we
should focus on practicing one sound – “r” –, then “l”. In both cases, show them and contrast the
position of the tongue and teeth
Pronouncing the Short “i”
The short “i” or [i] as pronounced in words like live, sit, fit, hit usually poses a problem as
students may be inclined to pronounce them as leave, seat, feet, or heat.
How to fix it: Give them plenty of practice with these confusing word pairs: live-leave; sit-seat; fit-
feet, hit-heat, etc… First utter each pair and ask them if they can hear the difference. Next, repeat
each set and have your students repeat. Be sure to either write the words on the board so they can
see the difference in spelling or show them word cards. The more practice you give them, the better
they’ll pronounce these words.
Confusing the “w” and the “v”
This is a typical pronunciation problem in some European nations. Some students have a hard
time pronouncing the “w” sound. Water is pronounced as ‘vater’; west is pronounced as ‘vest’,
and so on.
How to fix it: If you have students who have a hard time pronouncing the “w” show them how to
round their mouths into an “o” and then unround them to produce the right sound, like this.
Pronouncing the Magic “e”
Some students may have a hard time noticing the difference between words
like ‘not’ and ‘note’ or ‘bit’ and ‘bite’. They may be tempted to split them into syllables: ‘no-
te’ and ‘bi-te’.
How to fix it: Once again this is a problem that can be fixed by practicing word pairs. Help them
notice that note is different from not in that it has the extra “e” but it’s still not pronounced. The
effect of the magic "e" is that it changes the pronunciation of the word.
Pronouncing Silent Consonants
This is one of the problems I have personally encountered the most with native Spanish
speakers. They sometimes tend to pronounce consonants that are silent, like the d
in ‘Wednesday’ or the g in ‘foreign’.
How to fix it: In my experience, fixing this problem is as easy as writing down the word on the
board and crossing the silent letter out. It is very important for you to not only verbally correct the
pronunciation and have them repeat, but also write it down. Practise them as many times as you
have to.

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Some of these mistakes are made more often by some students than others depending on their
country of origin.
Once identify the mistakes that we often make, it is vital for us to work on them, Write down those
pairs.. Repeat them. Work with word pairs. Soon enough we’ll be making fewer mistakes.

HOW MOTHER TONGUE INFLUENCE MAKES ENGLISH SPEAKING DIFFICULT:

What is Mother Tongue Influence? Our mother tongue is the language we grew up speaking.
Literally speaking, it means the language our mother taught us: the language we speak since
childhood. It is a popular saying that in India, language changes at every ten miles. This makes it
difficult for us to speak in a standard accent as all of us have our own way of speaking English. This
is what is called Mother Tongue Influence- when the effect of mother tongue on English becomes
evident.Some examples are: ‘iskool’, ‘istudent’, ‘plezar’, ‘requesht’ and other such words. In fact, I
got the idea to write on this topic only after a student told us that he wanted to speak
‘bheryphluentEnglis’.
How does it develop?
This problem arises because of vernacular medium schools, which are larger in number in India.
Since, majority of Indians suffer from MTI. Another reason could be that children are introduced to
English at a later stage in childhood. Studies show that those children who begin to learn a second
language in their childhood, learn it faster. Learning at a later stage makes it difficult because by then
child has already internalised the sounds of his/her mother tongue and applies the same to English,
this is where the problem starts. Lastly, it could also be attributed to a lack of exposure to English.
Effects of Mother Tongue Influence
People have a good laugh at the expense of those who speak with strong MTI. It is not right to do so
because people who speak English with MTI know that they speak wrong. They know that people
make fun of them when they speak English and so, they refrain from speaking English altogether.
How to get rid of MTI
It is difficult to get rid of something you have internalised. However, it is not impossible. You can
get rid of it by investing time and effort into it: practice with dedication and you shall succeed!
Ways to remove MTI:
1. Practice tongue twisters to improve focus while speaking English.
2. Read text aloud and note down the words that you pronounce incorrectly to practice later.
3. Listen to podcasts to observe and understand the correct sound of each syllable.

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 4. Listen to an English news channel every day to improve pronunciation.
5. Watch English movies and listen to English songs to find out how native English speaker
speak English.
6. Join Spoken English classes and have your trainer correct you on the spot as you speak.
7. Record and find out which words you pronounce incorrectly.

In conclusion, I’d like to say that we need not be ashamed of how we speak. But, we need to
neutralise our MTI in order to achieve a standard Indian accent that will be universally acceptable.

LISTENING SKILLS:
Introduction
Listening is a language modality. It is one of the four skills of language i.e. listening, speaking,
reading and writing. It involves an active involvement of an individual. Listening involves a sender,
a message and a receiver. It is the psychological process of receiving, attending to constructing
meaning from and responding to spoken and/or non verbal messages.

Listening comprises of some key components, they are:

• Discriminating between sounds

• Recognizing words and understanding their meaning
• Identifying grammatical groupings of words,
• Identifying expressions and sets of utterances that act to create meaning,
• Connecting linguistic cues to non-linguistic and paralinguistic cues,
• Using background knowledge to predict and to confirm meaning and
• Recalling important words and ideas.

Importance of Listening Skill

Good listening skills make workers more productive. The ability to listen carefully will allow a person
to:

 Understand assignments in better way and find and what is expected from him.
 Build rapport with co-workers, bosses, and clients;
 Show support;
 Work better in a team-based environment;
 Resolve problems with customers, co-workers, and bosses;
 Answer questions
 Find underlying meanings in what others say

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Process of Listening

The process of listening occurs in five stages. They are hearing, understanding, remembering,
evaluating, and responding.
HEARING It is referred to the response caused by sound waves stimulating the sensory receptors of
the ear; it is physical response; hearing is perception of sound waves; you must hear to listen, but you
need not listen to hear (perception necessary for listening depends on attention).
UNDERSTANDING
This step helps to understand symbols we have seen and heard, we must analyze the meaning of the
stimuli we have perceived; symbolic stimuli are not only words but also sounds like applause… and
sights like blue uniform…that have symbolic meanings as well. For successful interpersonal
communication, the listener must understand the intended meaning and the context assumed by the
sender.
REMEMBERING
Remembering is important listening process because it means that an individual has not only received
and interpreted a message but has also added it to the minds storage bank. In Listening our attention is
selective, so too is our memory- what is remembered may be quite different from what was originally
seen or heard
EVALUATING
Only active listeners participate at this stage in Listening. At this point the active listener weighs
evidence, sorts fact from opinion, and determines the presence or absence of bias or prejudice in a
message, it can be started when the listening process ceases.
RESPONDING
This stage requires that the receiver completes the process through verbal and/or nonverbal feedback;
because the speaker has no other way to determine if a message has been received, this stage becomes
the only overt means by which the sender may determine the degree of success in transmitting the
message.
Types of Listening
Based on objective manner in which the Listener takes and responds to the process of Listening,
different types of Listening are identified:

1. Active listening-- Listening in a way that demonstrates interest and encourages continued
speaking.

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 2. Appreciative listening - Looking for ways to accept and appreciate the other person through
what they say. Seeking opportunity to praise. Alternatively listening to something for
pleasure, such as to music.
3. Attentive listening-- Listening obviously and carefully, showing attention.
4. Biased listening- Listening through the filter of personal bias i.e. the person hears only what
they want to listen.
5. Discriminative listening--Listening for something specific but nothing else (eg. a baby
crying).
6. Empathetic listening-- Seeking to understand what the other person is feeling.
(demonstrating this empathy)

Barriers to Listening

Listening is not easy and there are a number of obstacles that stand in the way of effective listening,
both within and outside the workplace. These barriers may be categorized as follows.

1. Physiological Barriers: Some people may have genuine hearing problems or deficiencies that
prevent them from listening properly. Some people may have problems in processing
information or retaining information in the memory.
2. Physical Barriers: These barriers are referred to distraction in the environment such as the sound
of an air conditioner, cigarette smoke, or an overheated room. It can interfere the Listening
process. For example, if you are in meeting with your manager and the phone rings and your
mobile beeps at the same time to let you know that you have the message. It is very hard to
listen carefully to what is being said.
3. Cultural Barriers: Accents can be barriers to listening, since they interfere with the ability to
understand the meaning of words that are pronounced differently. The problem of different
accents arises not only between cultures, but also within a culture. For example, in a country
like India where there is enormous cultural diversity, accents may differ even between regions
states.
4. Gender Barriers: Studies have revealed that men and women listen very differently and for
different purposes. Women are more likely to listen to the emotions of a speaker’s words,
whereas men listen more for the facts and the content.
5. Lack of Training: Listening is not an inborn skill. People are not born good listeners. It is
developed through practice and training. Lack of training in listening skills is an important
barrier.

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 EXERCISE – II
(ACTIVITY SHEETS 1-7)

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ACTIVITY SHEET-1
PRONUNCIATION oF ‘s’ as ‘z’
Circle the words where‘s’ is pronounced as ‘z’. E.g. Please / pli:z /

PLEASE PASSES ROSE

CASUAL OCCASION BOYS

PLAYS VISION CATS

CREASE IS MISSION

FUSION USUAL POISON

KEYS CEASE EROSION

CLOSURE PRISM CURIOSITY

GOES TREASURE JEALOUSY

BOOKS NOISE CASUAL

WAS MUSCLE DISSECT

HOUSE SINGS MASON

MOTHS NAMES LICENSE

LAUGHS VISION TWISTED

PULLS DESCEND BECAUSE

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ACTIVITY SHEET-2
PRONUNCIATION OF ‘th’ as /ð/
Circle the words where ‘th’ is pronounced as / ð /.

THINK TENTH THIS

THANK LENGTH THAT

THICK CLOTH THEN

THREE STRENGTH THOU

THIRD THIS BATHE

TENTH LOATHE BREATHE

THOUGHT BREATHE THIEF

THRILL CLOTH THOSE

THREAD THE RHYTHM

THIRD SOUTHERN THEMSELVES

THEREBY THIRTY WEATHER

THERE FEATHER WITHSTAND

BREATH FATHER STRENGTH

THURSDAY THERMAL THEIR

EITHER THIMBLE WORTHY

THROUGH ALTHOUGH WITHDRAW

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ACTIVITY SHEET-3
PRONUNCIATION OF ‘r’

Write at least twenty words each where ‘r’ is pronounced and ‘r’
is silent.

E.g. CARRY (‘r’ is pronounced) and CART (‘r’ is silent)

‘r’ is pronounced ‘r’ is silent

STRIKE /straɪk/ PART /pa:t/

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ACTIVITY SHEET-4
ODD PRONUNCIATION
Pronounce each word separately and check the pronunciation with the dictionary and correct
them.

1. SWORD ______________

2. SUITE ______________
3. ENVIRONMENT ______________
4. ENTREPRENEUR ______________
5. ENNUI ______________
6. ABATTOIR ______________

7. CASTLE ______________
8. SACHET ______________
9. CHAUFFEUR ______________
10. ENTOURAGE ______________
11. ENROUTE ______________
12. CIRCUIT ______________
13. MEMOIR ______________

14. CLICHÉ ______________

15. OCTROI ______________

16. ONION ______________

17. PIZZA ______________

18. ONION ______________
19. TIER ______________
20. RESERVOIR ______________
21. TORTOISE ______________
22. RENDEZVOUS ______________

23. SEW ______________

24. SULTAN ______________

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ACTIVITY SHEET-5
HOMOPHONES: Homophones are two or more words having the same
pronunciation but different meanings.
Write the word that is similar in pronunciation to the given word.

1. STATIONERY / S_________________

2. KNIGHT / N_________________

3. SWEET / S_________________

4. KNEW / N_________________

5. WRITE / R_________________

6. WEAK / W_________________

7. STEEL / S _________________

8. ONE / W_________________

9. HEAR / H_________________

10. SALE / S_________________

11. PEACE / P_________________

12. REAL / R_________________

13. WHOLE / W_________________

14. BUY / B_________________

15. SEE / S_________________

16. PLAIN / P_________________

17. POUR / P_________________

18. PREY / P_________________

19. FLOWER / F_________________

20. SOW / S_________________

21. ALMS / A_________________

22. HEARD / H_________________

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ACTIVITY SHEET-6
OFTEN MISPRONOUNCED WORDS
The following words are often pronounced incorrectly. Can you pronounce them correctly,
and transcribe the words.

1. APPLE __________
2. BANK __________

3. ABACUS __________

4. EXAMINATION __________

5. EXIST __________

6. APRON __________

7. EQUIPMENT __________

8. ACOUSTICS __________

9. EXAMPLE __________

10. EMIT __________

11. ENGINEER __________

12. CHAOS __________

13. CAFÉ __________

14. CABBAGE __________

15. CAPTAIN __________

16. CAREER __________

17. DEITY __________

18. DELIVER __________

19. CORPORATE __________

20. COURAGE __________

21. AESTHETIC __________

22. ENGAGEMENT __________

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ACTIVITY SHEET-7
SPELLATHON : Spellathon is a spelling bee competition which requires students
to identify words and spell them out in different conditions with varying difficult
levels.
Write the correct spelling for the following transcribed words.
1. /buːtiːk/ __________ 23. /kjuː/ __________
2. /bʌfit / __________ 24. /keɪɒs/ __________
3. /brəʊʃjʊə/ __________ 25. /wuːm / __________
4. /rɪə/ __________ 26. /leftenənt/ __________
5. /bɪzɑː/ __________ 27. /pærədaɪm/ __________
6. /bæleɪ/ __________ 28. /ɪliːt/ __________
7. /ɒnɪst/ __________ 29. /dɛbriː/ __________
8. /həʊks/ __________ 30. /ɪpɪtəmi/ __________
9. /kreɪən/ __________ 31. /fəsɑːd/ __________
10. /dæmɪʤ/ __________ 32. /niːʃ / __________
11. /kə rɪə/ __________ 33. /kʌbəd / __________
12. /kɑːpɪt/ __________ 34. /kuː/ __________
13. /kədɛt/ __________ 35. /læm / __________
14. /kwaɪə/ __________ 36. /ɔːtəm / __________
15. /ʧælɪnʤ/ __________ 37. /ɪnhɑːns / __________
16. / kliːk/ __________ 38. / rɒŋ / __________
17. /sɜːkəs/ __________ 39. /riːθ / __________
18. /ɪˈdɪʃən/ __________ 40. /aɪl / __________
19. /juːnək/ __________ 41. /mɔːgɪʤ / _________
20. /ælʤiː/ __________ 42. /æmətə / __________
21. /iːʤɪs / __________ 43. /æstərɪsk/ __________
22. /buəʒwɑː/ __________ 44. /ʃəʊfə / __________

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