An Examination of Incorrect English Pronunciation in Communication at Mozambique Island Secondary School in the grade 12th syllabus

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to analyse factors and effects affecting students’ inaccurate pronunciation in communication. To achieve the objective, four data collection instruments were used: questionnaire, interview, observation, and document analysis. The study had 91 participants, of which eighty-eight (88) were students of three (3) streams of grade 12th, and two (2) were teachers of English Subject Teaching grade 12th. Therefore, eighty-one (81) students were administered a questionnaire, whereas seven (7) students and two (2) teachers were interviewed. Moreover, the three (3) streams were observed having English lessons. It employed pragmatic philosophy, a mixed approach, and a qualitative and quantitative approach, and the study opted for descriptive design. The study’s findings reveal that inaccurate pronunciation emerges through two educational factors: ignorance of teaching pronunciation in the classroom and a lack of motivation for students to achieve accurate pronunciation. Therefore, teachers ignore teaching pronunciation in the classroom, alleging that the content does not appear in the grade 12th syllabus. Additionally, they spent a lot of time speaking students’ native languages, which blocked students’ intrinsic motivation to improve their pronunciation. Moreover, the effect was an obvious one, which was a lack of intelligibility. Both teachers and students agreed that mispronunciation of words causes communication breakdown. Thus, among the recommendations given were the following: teachers should teach pronunciation content in the classroom.