Exploring Patterns and Challenges in English Word-Final Consonant Pronunciation among Southern Thai EFL Learners
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48048/ajac.2026.77Keywords:
Southern Thai EFL learners, Word-final consonants, L1 transfer, English pronunciation, Dialectal variationAbstract
English pronunciation can be a challenge for Thai learners due to phonological differences between their first language (L1), Thai and English. This paper analyses the difficulties in pronouncing English word-final consonants among Southern Thai EFL learners. The participants were 27 undergraduate students at a university in southern Thailand who use Southern Thai as their L1. Data were gathered through a word list task and semi-structured interviews. The findings broadly support previous studies, regarding the pronunciation of fricatives and voiced consonants that do not occur in Thai. Nevertheless, the participants’ tendency to omit final stops (/p/, /t/, /b/, and /d/) likely reflects transfer from their Southern Thai pronunciation. This pattern differs from Standard Thai, where final consonants are generally pronounced more clearly. These results enhance our understanding of how regional dialects influence L2 phonology. This leads us to reconsider L1 transfer as a homogenous process among speakers of the same L1 background. Interview responses indicated that there was a lack of exposure to pronunciation instruction in previous education, which highlights the necessity to integrate pronunciation into English curricula, preferably at earlier stages of learning. The research has significant implications for EFL teaching practices, especially in the regional setting of Thailand.
Highlights
- Final stop omission was notably frequent and reflected the unique features of the Southern Thai dialect.
- Voiced final consonants were consistently mispronounced or omitted by most participants.
- Due to the lack of formal pronunciation instruction, learners often turned to digital tools for self-directed improvement.
- L1 regional dialect features had a considerable influence on L2 pronunciation.
- Pronunciation deviations among Southern Thai EFL learners suggested that L1 transfer was not uniform across dialects.
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