The applications of phonemic contrasts and their implications for oral english teaching in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper focuses on the applications of phonemic contrasts in the utterances of forty final-year Yoruba-English bilingual University undergraduates and the implications of their applications on pedagogic practices in, especially, the English as a second language (ESL) environment. This subject is rarely studied in Nigeria, yet, it might be significant for shaping the effective teaching of oral English in especially the ESL environments. The respondents, twenty of whom were students of English and the other twenty, students of Yoruba, were tested based on the framework of traditional phonemic theory. The results indicated that only 40% of students of Yoruba were able to apply phonemic contrasts in the rendition of English words whereas 60% of the students of English did. The study establishes application or otherwise of phonological rules as a vital dimension of investigating phonological variation and proficiencies in ESL and suggests the need to pay more attention to the area in ESL teaching and learning operations, especially for students in other disciplines.