Investigating Problematic Consonants and Vowels for Sudanese University Students Majoring in English: A Case Study of Third Year Students at Khartoum University, Faculty of Arts, English Department

This study intended to investigate which of the English consonants and vowels are difficult to pronounce for Sudanese university students majoring in English. The researcher hypothesized that some of the English consonants and vowels that do not have equivalents in Arabic are considered problematic for the respective learners. The study adopted descriptive analytical method. The participants of the study were third year students of Khartoum University, Faculty of Arts, English department in addition to 20 teachers of the field. Two tools were used for collecting the required data. The first tool was an oral test introduced to 50 of the students. The second instrument was a questionnaire presented to the teachers. The validity and reliability of the research tools were confirmed. The analysis of the collected data revealed that the students have a problem with certain English consonants and vowels that have no counterparts in Arabic.