إدراك وإنتاج طلاب اللغة الإنكليزية في جامعة حمص للتغيرات التي تطرأ على الوحدات الصوتية

الملخص

English as a Foreign Language learners encounter challenges in acquiring spoken English, largely due to their limited ability to perceive English produced by native speakers. They often struggle with producing many words, particularly those involving allophonic variations. Insufficient exposure to native speech, combined with interference from their first language, contributes to various errors in both the perception and production of allophones. This study affiliated to the field of phonetic perception and pronunciation, aims to investigate how English language students at Homs University perceive and produce allophonic variations. To achieve this, two main instruments were utilized. The first was a perception test designed to assess the ability of thirty students to recognize allophonic variations after listening to recordings by native speakers. The second was a production test, which evaluated the students’ ability to articulate words and phrases containing allophonic variations. The analysis of both tests provided insights into the students' areas of weakness and the possible causes behind their poor performance in both perceiving and producing these variations. The findings clearly indicate that the students struggle with recognizing allophonic variations and fail to produce native-like pronunciation when the words or phrases contain allophonic variations. Moreover, the results highlight the significance of contextual cues in accurate perception, and emphasize the role of frequent exposure to native speech in improving production. Notably, a strong correlation was found between the students’ perceptual skills and their production abilities. The study concludes with several recommendations that aim to enhance learners' perception and production of English allophones.