Identifying the Pronunciation Errors due to Silent Letters committed by ESL learners in Pakistan: A Case Study

Abstract

In this paper it is discussed that how pronunciation errors occur among students due to silent letters in English language. What type of errors are made by the learners? The research participants were twenty students. These students were selected from elementary level of public schools.This is a descriptive study based on qualitative and quantitative mode of research. A reading test was designed to collect the data for the study. This reading test contains 30 underlined words based on silent letters. The data was collected through recording voice of students while reading. As the learners are not familiar with the rules of silent letters in English language, so they endeavor to read words as they are written. This paper reveals that the students made pre-systematic errors. They need to be familiarized with some basic silent letters’ rules. They need to be made aware that English words are not necessarily pronounced as how they are written.