Impact of English Orthography on Learning English Sounds and Spelling

Abstract

In order to learn or study English as a foreign language, the learner must be aware of pronunciation skills besides other skills which are of great importance for studying it. In Sudan, there is a large number of people who are interested in learning English as a foreign language. Among them are the students of English language at the University of Gezira. Many studies have demonstrated that the errors made by the speakers of other language who speak English, are systematic rather than random. For instance, scholars and linguists demonstrated that Arab learners of English face problems in pronunciation of sound which they are not familiar with. The present study is limited to the University of Gezira, Faculty of Education – Hassahisa English Department, students during the academic year 2015-2016 and the teachers who teach at University of Gezira-Faculty of Education Hantoub-English Department. The researcher followed the analytical descriptive method to carry out the study. The tools used by the researcher were i) a test for students of 3^rd Semester at the University of Gezira, Faculty of Education, Hassahiesa ii) a questionnaire for teachers at University of Gezira, Faculty of Education-Hantoub. Correct pronunciation and spelling have been always a great challenge for the EFL learners. The present research is at attempt to find that how English orthography affects the learning of English sounds and spelling. Moreover, the research may benefit syllabus designers as well as English students who are specialized in the field of English Language by providing lights and hints in the scope of how to write in correct spelling.

Keywords: orthography, pronunciation, EFL, University of Gezira, descriptive method