 A description of the literature relevant to a particular field or topic. It is also a summary of past researches to show the relationships of the topic chosen and also show the contrasting views of the authors.

The Prominent Errors in Vowel Sounds Committed By Lower Secondary School Learners In Malaysia Difficulty in pronouncing vowels Elkhair, 2014 Garcia-Perez, 2005 Liang, 2014 Eman, 2011 Reasons of mispronunciatio ns Rajadurai, 2006 Hiew, 2012 Lord, 2008 Phoon, 2010 Prominent errors by ESL learners in Malaysia Sakiyama, n.d. Agus, 2013 Case Studies Saigh & Shmitt, 2012 Case Studies Abdul, Goh & Wan, 2004 Nik Murni, 2011

 In terms of vowels, some Chinese learners are unable to discriminate vowel contrasts (Liang, 2014)  If L1 has fewer vowels than L2 then new phonetic categories will be established for the new vowels depending on the perceptual distance between the L2 vowel and its closest L1 vowel (Eman, 2011)

 The results suggested that Arabic speakers process English short and long vowels in a way similar to their first language, which affected their ability to spell and recognize English words (Saigh & Shmitt, 2012)

 During the process of developing their spoken English, learners might find problems in their pronunciation. For example, the problems could be on the differences between the spelling and the pronunciation of the words (Agus, 2013)  Malaysian English pronunciation is quite different from Standard English in a lot of ways and varies from the Standard British English. They tend to pronounce short vowels instead of long vowels, for example: food: [u:] → [u] and leave: [i:] → [I] (Sakiyama, n.d.)

 The Malay language is neutral in length as there is no distinction of vowel length in the language. However English has five long vowels making non-native speakers have difficulties in distinguishing long and short vowels. (Phoon, 2010)  Students have difficulty speaking fluently due to unfamiliarity with some English vocabulary (Hiew, 2012)

 Students demonstrate commendable mastery of certain aspects of English pronunciation when engaged in classroom tasks and later switch to semi- intelligible conversation with friends a few minutes later (Rajadurai, 2006)  Most language instructors struggle to include the necessary grammar, vocabulary, culture, and four skills practice in their classes without worrying about including pronunciation (Lord, 2008)

 ESL learners who have perfect pronunciation that do not match their native norm may be called as an outsider and may lead to a lack of confidence. This is proved by a survey done by Nik Murni (1988). The results state that Malaysian speakers are reluctant to communicate in English due to several personal reasons such as lack of self-confidence.

 A study conducted by Ahmad, Goh & Wan (2004) concludes that Chinese learners in Malaysia tend to spell the way they pronounce their words. Thus, in that way, they are simplifying the spelling of the words based on the sound system that they practice and articulate.

 Abdul Rashid Mohamed, Goh, L.L. & Wan Rose Eliza. (2004). English errors and Chinese learners. Sunway College Journal, 1, Retrieved February 22, 2015, from 20learners.pdf 20learners.pdf  Agus Riadi. (2013). Students’ problems in pronouncing short and long English vowels. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from &title=STUDENTS%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%E2%84%A2%20PROBLEMS%20IN%2 0PRONOUNCING%20SHORT%20AND%20LONG%20ENGLISH%20VOWELS &title=STUDENTS%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%E2%84%A2%20PROBLEMS%20IN%2 0PRONOUNCING%20SHORT%20AND%20LONG%20ENGLISH%20VOWELS  Elkhair Muhammad Idriss Hassan. (2014). Pronunciation problems: a case study of English language students at Sudan University Of Science and Technology. English Language and Literature Studies, 4(4). Retrieved April 2, 2016, from  Eman Saadah. (2011). The production of Arabic vowels by English l2 learners and heritage speakers of Arabic. Retrieved April 2, 2016, from  Garcia Perez, G. M. (2005). Perception of English vowels by native speakers of Spanish in a regular classroom setting, 3(5). Retrieved February 22, 2015, from ve_speakers_of_spanish.pdf ve_speakers_of_spanish.pdf

 Hiew, W. (2012). English language teaching and learning issues in Malaysia: learners’ perceptions via Facebook dialogue journal. International Refereed Research Journal, 3(1). Retrievied from June 28, 2015, from  Liang, E. (2014). Pronunciation of English consonants, vowels and diphthongs of mandarin- Chinese speakers. Studies In Literature and Language, 8(1), Retrieved April 2, 2016, from / /5586  Lord, G. (2008). Podcasting communities and second language pronunciation. Foreign Language Annals, 41(2), Retrieved March 11, 2015, from  Nik Murni Nik Mustafa. (2011). Students’ perception of learning pronunciation in ESL classroom. Retrieved February 22, 2015, from _7f8e6c36ad bd d9.pdf _7f8e6c36ad bd d9.pdf  Phoon, H.S. (2010). The phonological development of Malaysian English speaking Chinese children: a normative study. Retrieved April, 2, 2016, from sionid=39285C10B18E45B6F607A9D8B5DCD5D0?sequence=1 sionid=39285C10B18E45B6F607A9D8B5DCD5D0?sequence=1  Rajadurai, J. (2006). Pronunciation issues in non-native contexts: A Malaysian case study. Malaysian Journal of ELT Research, 2. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from

 Saigh, K. & Schmitt, N. (2012). Difficulties with vocabulary word form: the case of Arabic ESL learners. Retrieved November 10, 2014, n-(2012)-difficulties-with-vocabulary-form-the-case-of-arabic-esl- learners-system pdf n-(2012)-difficulties-with-vocabulary-form-the-case-of-arabic-esl- learners-system pdf  Sakiyama, Y. (n.d.). Pronunciation and grammar of English in Malaysia. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from Downloads\sakiyama (2).rtf