Common Problems in English Pronunciation Among Chinese Learners and Teaching Implications

Abstract

In the process of learning any languages, pronunciation is an important part of language acquisition because pronunciation may influence a listener’s comprehension of one’s expression. An example is the classical mistake of pronouncing “sink” and “think.” Because Germans cannot pronounce /s/, the rescue worker cannot understand why a man who is “thinking” needs help. In China, English learners are also facing the problems of pronunciation. Gimson, a famous professor of linguistics in Britain, pointed out that when learning a language, one should understand 50%-90% of its grammar and 1% of its vocabulary, but it is necessary to fully master the pronunciation, thus highlighting the importance of pronunciation.^[1] However, pronunciation is a difficult part of a second language acquisition. This article analyzes the problems of pronunciation and discuss some methods on how to resolve them.