1. Critical Analysis of Pronunciation Errors in English Produced by Slovak Learners Michal Bodorík Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra

2. General Information  The following presentation and article for publishing discusses the partial results from the research of the author’s dissertation thesis under the title:  Pronunciation Difficulties in Slovak Learners’ Oral Production in English  The whole process and findings were supported by the following projects: KEGA: 055UKF-4/2016 UKF: UGA V/2/2016

3. Research Procedure Recording of learners’ speech in English 20 respondents – 9th grade learners 2 elementary schools Reviewing process – (2 native speakers + 2 non-native professionals) Error Analysis Summarizing Research Findings Suggestions for Teaching Practice

4. 1st Reviewer (sheet with marked pronunciation errors)

5. 2nd Reviewer (sheet with marked pronunciation errors)

6. Codes for Pronunciation Errors (based on the reviewers’ opinions when listening to the recordings) 1. Substitution of a Consonant Sound 2. Substitution of a Vowel Sound 3. Substitution of a Diphthong or Triphthong 4. Lengthening or Shortening of a Vowel Sound 5. Incorrect Placement of Stress 6. Pronunciation of Silent Letters 7. Mispronunciation of a Word

7. Substitution of a Consonant Sound ( most frequented pronunciation errors within the code )  most frequented: /ð/ → /d/ in words such as: other, than, that, the, there, this.  2nd frequented: /ŋ/ → changed for combination of sounds /ng/ or /nk/ in words such as: becoming, doing, playing, reading, Viking, watching, young.  3rd frequented: /w/ → /v/ in words like: everywhere, Norway, we, were, words, world.  4th frequented: /θ/ → /t/ or /f/ in cases like: things, thousand, three.  5th frequented: English phoneme /r/ pronounced as Slovak trilled ʻ r ʼ

8. Substitution of a Vowel Sound ( most frequented pronunciation errors within the code )  Replacement of schwa sound /ə/ by / ʌ /, /e/, / ɪ /, / ɒ /, / ʊ /, /i:/, /u:/, /e ɪ /, /eə/ etc.; like in words: German /d ʒ erm ʌ n/, difficult /d ɪ f ɪ k ʊ lt/, Saxons /sæks ɒ nz/.  Substitution of phoneme / ʌ / for / ɒ / in words like becoming /b ɪˈ k ɒ m ɪ nk/, front /fr ɒ nt/.  Phoneme /æ/ was changed either for / ʌ / or /e/ as in the example: Anglo-Saxons / ʌ ŋ ɡ l ɒˈ seks ə nz/.  The vowel sound / ɪ / was substituted by phoneme /e/ in words such as: English /eŋ ɡ l ɪʃ /, enough /e ˈ n ʌ f/.

9. Substitution of a Diphthong or Triphthong ( most frequented pronunciation errors within the code )  Various forms of substitution were present as shown in the chart below. /a ɪ ə / → /a ɪɒ / violence /a ɪ / → / ɪ / by, satellite, Vikings / ə ʊ / → / ɒ / most, programmes /e ɪ / → /e/ change, teenager /e ɪ / → / ʌ / came /e ɪ / → / ɒ /became

10. Lengthening or Shortening of a Vowel Sound ( most frequented pronunciation errors within the code )  Phoneme / ɪ / was pronounced longer as /i ː / in the word this.  Long vowel / ɑː / sounded shorter as / ʌ / in the case of word Denmark.  Phoneme /i:/ was shortened in the case of these /d ɪ z/.  Long vowel sound / ɔː / was pronounced shorter as / ɒ / in words such as according, Norway.  Phoneme /u ː / was pronounced as / ʊ / in the word groups /gr ʊ ps/.

11. Incorrect Placement of Stress ( most frequented pronunciation errors within the code ) The respondents put stress on inappropriate syllables as shown in the examples below. (all of the words are transcribed also with errors as originally pronounced by learners) always - / ɑːˈ we ɪ z/ aristocracy / ˈ ær ɪ st ɒ kres ɪ / developed / ˈ devel ɒ pt/ enough / ˈ en ʌ f/ Saxons /s ʌ k ˈ s ɒ ns/

12. Pronunciation of Silent Letters ( most frequented pronunciation errors within the code ) Within the recordings, reviewers found pronounced letters that should have been silent. answer hours know talk

13. Mispronunciation of a Word ( most frequented pronunciation errors within the code ) Some words were completely garbled which affected the intelligibility. almost / ʌ lm ɒ st/, also / ʌ lz ɒ / or / ʌ ls ɒʊ /, experiences /eksper ɪ ents ɪ s/, began /b ɪ k ʌ n/, brought /br ɒ gt/, conquered /k ɒ ŋkw ɪ red/, health /h ɪ lt/ Europe /e ʊ r ɒ p/, France /frents/, know /kna ʊ /, ordinary / ɒ r ɪ d ʒɪ nər ɪ /, prove /pr ɒʊ /, tribes /tr ɪ bes/ to /d ʊ /, young /d ʒɒ ŋg/ or /d ʒɒʊ nk/, studies /st ʊ d ɪɒ /, us /j ʊ z/, used /j ʊ set/, word /v ɒ rt/. Other were pronounced as similar words, examples below. Original Word → Pronounced as: withwhichwordsworlds whatwatchADaid live /l ɪ v/live /la ɪ v/ ouror bebywhenwhere

14. Suggestions for Further Research and Teaching Practice  Informing the academic public about the research findings.  Cooperation with researchers abroad, exchange of experience and knowledge.  Design of textbook material suitable for Slovak learners’ needs with regard to pronunciation aspects.  Survey aimed at the observation of contemporary English classes at elementary schools → how and what Slovak teachers practice throughout the lessons.  Improvement of university courses that prepare future teachers for their profession.  Provision of opportunities (conferences, exchange programmes, seminars, stays abroad, workshops, etc.) for educators to improve their pronunciation and teaching skills.

15. Thank you for your attention "To have another language is to possess a second soul." Charlemagne