 The most common problems students in Turkey face when learning English. As defined through the units of the course and through many linguistic books, pronunciation is to say a word in a language in the correct way. Although the correct pronunciation of words and even the correct intonation in sentences in English is thought through coursebooks all over the world and thanks to media students are exposed to the national and correct pronunciation, numerous mistakes are observed inside the classroom and outside. The reasons for the problems in pronunciation might vary depending on the country. I have been teaching English in Turkey for a while and have witnessed many problems with the students which will be explained through this essay. Turkish is a phonetic language. Considering that Turkish is a phonetic language and English is not, one of the biggest problems that occur during a lesson in pronunciation is saying the silent letters in words. As the Turkish students are used to pronounce every consonant and vowel that they see in the written form of the word, this sort of mistakes rise. This might vary from very simple words to more advanced ones depending on the level of the student. It can be a word as simple as walk which the correct pronunciation is slash w, k slash and mistakenly it is pronounced slash w, lk slash. Or it can be a more difficult word such as comfortable which is correctly pronounced slash question mark k, mft, bel slash and is often pronounced as slash question mark k, mf, art, bel slash. There are many other examples, but it is important to notice that the case is more severe regarding the vowels. To give some examples these words can be mentioned, several, average, country, etc. Pronunciation difficulties with vowels One of the biggest pronunciation difficulties with Turkish students in the difference between the sounds slash ash slash and slash e slash since in Turkish the letter e almost stands for both sounds. Due to that the student's ability to distinguish the two sounds is very low and while speaking it is often hard to understand which sound they are trying to produce. And even when explained they show difficulty taking it in. This pronunciation mistake is revealed through words such as man and man or bat in bat. This problem seems to be almost impossible to fix especially with adult learners. Pronunciation difficulties with consonants The pronunciation problem with Turkish students goes further than vowels and it includes consonants as well. One of the noticed problems of the students is the clear pronunciation of the sound slash d slash and slash t slash, especially if they are placed at the end of the word. Normally they are both pronounced as slash t slash. Some examples of this issue could be the words, had, bad, hard, etc. And the problem is very common with pronouncing the past form of some regular verbs such as drilled or played. The reason for the problem could be the fact that both these sounds are alveolar and plosive. The solution might be having the students produce the sounds out of words and in words repeatedly. Missing sounds One other pronunciation problem that is worth mentioning is regarding the sounds that do not exist in Turkish language and students usually show difficulty coping with them. Most obvious ones are the sounds slash f slash and slash w slash. The sound slash f slash is normally produced as slash t slash, slash f slash, slash s slash or slash z slash depending on the word and the student's ability to hear. And the sound slash w slash is almost always produced as the sound slash v slash. The latter is easier to be fixed by drilling and repeating some examples, but the sound slash f slash takes more dedication and practice by both students and the teacher. Two consonants in a row The most common problem with pronunciation happens when there are two consonants in a row. Since in Turkish the order of letters in a word is normally having vowels and consonants following each other one by one, students have problems with pronouncing two consonants after each other therefore they add one vowel in the middle to say the word in the manner that they are accustomed to. To make it more clear with a few examples the word student slash question marks do. D. Nt slash is normally pronounced as slash question marks do. D. Nt slash or the word ski slash ski question mark slash is normally pronounced as slash s ski question mark slash. There are even words in Turkish that are borrowed from other languages which follow the same spelling as the mother language, but the pronunciation is changed to clarify the word film could be mentioned which even in Turkish should be pronounced slash f l m slash but it is pronounced slash file e m slash. This problem seems to be easier to be fixed with younger learners, but with adults takes a considerable amount of time and effort. Other problems with pronunciation. There are some other problems with pronunciation to which are less extreme than the ones mentioned like the wrong intonation in WH questions. They are normally asked with a rising intonation with Turkish students. Another common mistake is the stress on the wrong syllable of the words which is usually corrected by repeating the words. The problems in pronunciation exist as long as there are students trying to learn a language and in this case to be more specific students learning English. There might be a countless number of reasons for Turkish students to have difficulties in English pronunciation, but there is no problem that cannot be solved by investing enough time and energy. Are you ready to teach English abroad? Speak with an ITTT advisor today to put together your personal plan for teaching English abroad. Send us an email or call us toll free at 1-800-490-0531 to speak with an ITTT advisor today.