Title: Challenges In Teaching English Speech Sounds To Non-Native Speakers Using British Dictionaries
Authors: Chukwuma Livinus Ndububa
Volume: 9
Issue: 4
Pages: 74-86
Publication Date: 2025/04/28
Abstract:
Naturally, a speaker's misproduction of speech sounds not only reaches but disorients the listener. If the listener has to struggle to understand the construct, they might miss the message-leaving the speaker's intended impact lost. Every speaker aims to achieve the objective of their speech, which drives the need to communicate effectively and seek learning. For every learner, there is a teacher. Thus, this study sought to examine how British dictionaries assist non-native learners in mastering English speech sounds, analyze these dictionaries' effectiveness in helping non-native speakers acquire accurate pronunciation, and identify the specific challenges non-native speakers face when using the dictionaries. Framed in Sweller's (1988) Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) and Lado's (1957) Contrastive Analysis Theory (CAT), the study used a comparative qualitative research design to analyze 27 screenshots from six notable British dictionaries, categorized into six themes. Findings revealed ways various British dictionaries present phonemic transcriptions, the inclusion of new phonemes in their vowel systems, and their approaches to marking prosody. It was also found that formatting is disrupted in some (of the) dictionaries, and there are instances of non-correspondence between offline mobile and online versions. The researcher concludes that dictionaries serve different lexicographic purposes and target specific users, so some lexicographic features are pedagogically intentional rather than errors. Teachers are advised to recognize this and review dictionary contents to determine which to use and how. The researcher recommends that dictionary makers maintain consistency in lexicographic entries to reduce cognitive load on both teachers and learners.