Phonological Competence in ESL Classrooms: An Analysis of Segmental Features in the Speech of Nigerian Public Secondary School Teachers of English

This article is published in AL-QALAM Journal of Languages and Literary Studies, Vol. 1, Issue 1, December 2025 (A Publication of the Department of English and Literature, Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, Nigeria)

PHONOLOGICAL COMPETENCE IN ESL CLASSROOMS: AN ANALYSIS OF SEGMENTAL FEATURES IN THE SPEECH OF NIGERIAN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ENGLISH

By

TOKI, Oludayo Hezekiah

Department of English, Faculty of Arts, University of Abuja, Nigeria

Corresponding Author’s Email and Phone No.: oludayo.toki@uniabuja.edu.ng +2348066137136

Abstract

This study specifically examines segmental features in the speech of Nigerian Public Secondary School Teachers of English (NiPSSTE), with a view to identifying the extent of approximation to Standard British realisation. Some existing studies have generally addressed the pronunciation problems of users of English as a second language in Nigeria but not adequately paid special attention to teachers of the English language, who the students and society model after. This study adopted a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative research designs and chose the conceptual frameworks of Generative Phonology. Thirty (30) participants were chosen for this study. SFS/Praat sound recorder was used to record the participants’ reading of the already typed 19 sentences, with the target sound segments embedded in them. Questionnaire, which aims at extracting information on certain variables, was also administered. To vividly present findings, tables and statistical calculations were employed. The paper found that majority of the NiPSSTE scored below average, except only two (2) female NiPSSTE representing (6.7%) that scored above average for correct articulation of the test sounds. The pronunciation of the consonant phonemes – /ʧ, ʒ and h/ pose some challenges for the participants. The central vowels /ʌ, ɜ: and ə/ presents a greater problem for the NiPSSTE. The RP diphthongs /əʊ/, /eə/ and /ʊə/ constituted the bulk of pronunciation problems. It was also discovered that the female NiPSSTE performed better with 38.74% than the male counterparts who scored 29.84% The overall performance of the NiPSSTE in all the tested items 33.3% clearly showed that they do not approximate closely to SBE pronunciation. The pedagogical implication of this is that there is tendency for students to model themselves after their teachers.

Key words: Nigerian public secondary school teachers of English, sound segments, approximation, performance.

Introduction

The pivotal role English plays in Nigeria as the official language and the primary medium of instruction in schools, especially at the secondary and tertiary levels, cannot be overemphasised. Although language policy on education (NPE) in Nigeria recognises the importance of the mother tongue (L1) as the medium of instruction for pre-primary education and early primary education, while English would assist the L1 ‘at a later stage’ in the primary school when it is believed that the resources of mother tongues may not be sophisticated enough to expose certain concepts and for teaching other subjects (Akindele and Adegbite, 2005). But today, English is introduced as subject and still the medium of instructions from primary school through secondary and to tertiary educations. Even in private schools apart from cosmopolitan areas, children are taught in English from kindergarten.

Despite the widespread use of English, it is a second language (L2) to most Nigerians, who acquire it after their first language (L1), which varies depending on their ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. As such, the English spoken in Nigeria is influenced by indigenous languages, leading to distinct phonological patterns that differ from native or standard varieties of English.

One of the most affected aspects of English language use in Nigeria is pronunciation, particularly at the segmental phonology level, which deals with the individual sounds of speech—vowels and consonants. Segmental features are central to intelligibility and effective oral communication. However, due to L1 interference, Nigerian speakers often produce English sounds in ways that reflect the phonological systems of their native languages. This influence is often noticeable among teachers, whose speech serves as a linguistic model for students.

Public secondary school teachers in Nigeria, especially those who teach English or other subjects in English, are crucial stakeholders in language transmission. Their spoken English, consciously or unconsciously, impacts how students acquire and internalise pronunciation patterns. If these teachers exhibit non-standard segmental features influenced by their L1, such features are likely to be passed down to students, potentially affecting learners' phonological competence and oral intelligibility in English.

Statement of the Problem

Despite the importance of teachers’ spoken English, there has been limited focused research on the segmental phonological features of Nigerian secondary school teachers' speech. Most phonological studies in Nigeria have concentrated on educated elites, undergraduates, or media speakers. Notable among them are: Jibril, (1986), Bamgbose (1995), Banjo (1995), Jowit (1991), Akinjobi (2004 and 2005), Akindele and Adegbite (2005), Eno et al (2012), Akinjobi and Aina (2013), Mahmud (2014), Idowu (2019), Fasunon (2020), Martins et al (2022), Ezeani (2024), etc. This leaves a research gap concerning the everyday spoken English of public schools’ teachers, particularly how their L1 background shapes the way they produce segmental features of English. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the segmental phonology of Nigerian public secondary school teachers’ speech, with a view to identifying common patterns of L1 interference, deviations from standard forms, and the potential pedagogical implications.

Research Questions

i. Do the selected teachers of English approximate the specific phonemes: /θ/, /ð/, /ʒ/, /ʧ/, /h /, /ʌ /, /ə /, /ɜ:/, /eə/, /ʊə/ and /əʊ/, that have been identified in the previous researches to be problematic for Nigerian users of English, closely to Standard English pronunciation or not?

ii. Do the teachers depend seriously on spellings of English words for pronunciation or not?

Methodology

This study adopts a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative research designs. It is empirical research in nature, which attempts to survey the competence of selected Nigerian public secondary school teachers of the English language (NiPSSTE). In doing this, thirty (30) participants were chosen from eight senior secondary schools in four different Local Government Areas of Lagos state. There was an equal number of male and female respondents, hence fifteen (15) male teachers and fifteen (15) female teachers. Only the segmental features of phonology were tested with reference to specific sounds presumably difficult for Nigerian speakers of English. The Longman talking Dictionary was used as control, which gave us the Standard British pronunciation of the test phonemes.

Method of Data Collection

The data to be analysed comprises speech samples that were collected from the teachers. A prepared text, containing nineteen sentences with the target phonemes embedded in them, was given to the thirty (30) selected teachers to read aloud. The participants’ responses were recorded on SFS/Praat sound recorder, which was then saved on WAV file, in order to avoid the interruption of spectrogram. The recording was done either in the office or staff room within the schools’ premises.

Questionnaire, which aimed at extracting information on the respondent’s gender, origin, L1, educational background, highest qualifications, and so on, was also administered. The importance of the questionnaire is to see how the above variables have affected the teachers’ performance in spoken English.

Theoretical Framework

This study employed the Generative Phonological model as proposed by Chomsky and Halle (1968) in The Sound Pattern of English (SPE) as its theoretical framework. The model posits that phonemes are mental representations that undergo systematic phonological rules to yield surface phonetic realisation. This approach is well-suited to analyse how Nigerian public secondary school teachers of English produce segmental phonemes, especially in relation to the standard varieties. In the view of Chomsky and Halle (1968)’s SPE, phonemes should be seen as elements that can be further broken down using a bundle of binary features.

Figure 1

Input: Phonemic (Mental Lexicon) Representation of Words in a Sentence - Underlying Representation (UR)}

 Phonological rules (P-rules)

Output: Phonetic Representation of Words in a Sentence –

{Surface level of Representation (SR)}

 (Adapted from Fromkin et al. 2011 with modification).

Empirical Review

Akinjobi and Aina (2013) focused on graduates Nigerian English Language Teachers (NELTs), in both private and public schools but with emphasis on English stress. The study investigated the extent to which NELTs were able to assign and reassign stress to twenty (20) English disyllabic and polysyllabic words as well as words with suffixes, using Prince and Liberman’s (1977) Metrical Theory. Chomsky's (1965), which specifies language Competence and Performance, adapted as Academic Competence and Linguistic Performance by Akinjobi (2012), served as ancillary framework for the study. The statistical and metrical analyses of the forty private and forty public English language teachers revealed that only 45% of the them were able to appropriately assign stress to disyllabic and polysyllabic words while an insignificant 21.5% were able to assign stress appropriately to words with suffixes. The study concluded through the overall performance (20.8%) that NELTs do not model word stress assignment because they do not approximate to standard use of stress which makes them unsuitable models. The influence this research has over the present study is that it studies suprasegmental feature while this study adopts segmental phonology with a view to ascertaining the level of competence in English pronunciation of teachers who teach the English language in Nigerian public secondary schools. There is therefore no doubt that our study may replicate similar results.

In 2014, Mahmud Abubakar analysed a study titled Pronunciation Problems of Hausa Speakers of English: A Case Study of Nigerian Students in North Cyprus. To achieve the goals of this research, sixty native Hausa speakers of English from the Near East University (NEU), Cyprus International University (CIU), and Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), all in Northern Cyprus, participated in the study. A list of English words and sentences as well as a short paragraph were given to the participants to pronounce while being tape-recorded. Moreover, some pictures containing English problematic sounds were shown to the participants to name. The study revealed that Hausa speakers face problems in pronouncing certain English vowels (i.e., /ᴧ /, /ᴐ :/ and /з:/) and some English consonants (/f/, /v/, /ϴ / and /ð/). The findings of the study indicate that Hausa speakers of English acknowledge the importance of native-like pronunciation in communication with native and non-native speakers of English.

Idowu Fiyinfolu (2019) on her part, studied phonological intelligibility of Nigerian Speakers of English by specifically investigating the extent to which segmental features in the speech of Nigerian Speakers of English affect the intelligibility of speakers from different contexts. 100 evaluators - international listeners made up of non-Nigerian speakers transcribed six speech samples from audio podcasts, which Nigerian speakers delivered. The transcription of the different speech samples served to assess intelligibility at pronunciation level. Results revealed that using vowel realisations distinct from the central vowels [ʌ], [ɜ:], and [ə] and [ɪ] caused intelligibility problems for international listeners. Apart from the quality of vowels mentioned, this study also found that the length of vowels contributed to intelligibility breakdown. The non realisation of consonant such as the glottal fricative [h], the velar plosive [k], and dark (velarized) [l], or [ɫ] contributed substantially to the occurrence of intelligibility breakdown. The results also indicate that using consonant realisations distinct from the voiceless palato-alveolar affricate /tʃ/; voiced palato-alveolar fricative /ʒ/; and voiced alveolar fricative /z/ contributed to the presence of intelligibility problems.

The findings of the work have significant implication for the current study as it creates awareness among teachers of the critical problems hindering intelligible pronunciation by Nigerian speakers of English, which will be the primary focus in teaching and learning. Hence the current study is simply teachers-centered approach.

Fasunon (2020) investigated the pronunciation of the regular plural morpheme (-s) or (-es) by selected Nigerian English teachers in Southwestern Nigeria using Optimality theoretical framework. This study used a total number of twenty-four randomly selected English language teachers from public and private secondary schools. The data for the study were fifteen regular words embedded into isolated sentences and a reading passage. The study found that the participants used faithfulness constants more than markedness constraints in realising the plural marker ‘s’ or ‘es’ of the test words. The participants’ realisations of the regular plural marker, expected in words whose bases end with a voiceless non-sibilant sound, vary from what is obtainable in the Received Pronunciation (RP). Some of the teachers also omitted the regular morpheme completely in pronouncing the targeted words, which led to a case of no allomorph. Making a comparison between this study and our current work, there is therefore no doubt that our paper will be a replication of similar findings with an examination of segmental phonology in the speech of selected Nigerian public secondary school teachers of English.

Martins Ojo, et all. (2022) carried out research on teachers’ social skills as predictors of effective teaching of Phonetics and Phonology in Sandwich programmes of South-West, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was used. The study population comprised, English Language students of Sandwich programmes of Colleges of Education in South-West, Nigeria. The sample size of the study was Four hundred and eighty (480) respondents selected from ten colleges of Education in South-West, Nigeria. The research instrument was modelled on four liker rating scale: strongly agree (SA), agree (A), strongly disagreed (SD), disagreed (D). Data collected on the research question was analysed, using descriptive statistics (frequency counts, simple percentages and mean), while data collected on research hypothesis analysed through inferential statistics (spearman ranking correlation coefficient). Based on the findings of the study, the researchers made a conclusion that teachers of English Language possessed skills for the teaching of sound, articulation and also effective mentors, while teaching words stress. This conclusion creates a sharp divergence with the study of Akinjobi and Aina (2013) who see teachers as unsuitable models because they do not approximate English words stress to standard use of stress.

The more recent study was done by Ezeani Chidera et al. (2024). The study describes the various spoken varieties of the English language that are a product of the Ebonyi dialects by examining and exploring the interference of Ebonyi dialectal vowels in articulating the English pure vowels. This paper examines the interference of Ebonyi dialectical vowels in the articulation of English pure vowels amongst students of 400-level English and Literary Studies. This study focuses on five Ebonyi dialects: Afikpo Eza, Izzi, Ikwo and Ohaozara. The method of data collection was oral interviews and participant observation. A passage from the Declaration of American Independence by Thomas Jefferson was given to them to read out, and they were recorded. The study found that the participants reduced long vowels to short vowels and the substitution of vowels. For instance, /u:/ was reduced to /u/. Since it is obvious from this study that the researchers were interested in examining the interference of Ebonyi dialectal vowels in the articulation of English pure vowels among students of 400-level English and Literary Studies, we are interested in teachers who are seen as role models for learners.

Having reviewed the above scholarly studies, it is obvious that most of the contributions were geared towards discussions on deficiencies in articulation of English sounds by Nigerian speakers of English with teachers and students inclusive but with much emphasis on English stress. However, not much attention has been paid to teachers on segmental phonology. This study therefore seeks to fill that gap by examining those specific sounds: /θ/, /ð/, /ʒ/, /ʧ/, /h /, /ʌ /, /ə /, /ɜ:/, /eə/, /ʊə/ and /əʊ/ that have been identified in the previous researches to be problematic for Nigerian users of English if they are approximated closely to RP by teachers of English in public secondary schools.

Finding

Table 1: Analysis of Each Participant’s Performance in all the Test Items by Percentage

S/N	Gender	Correct Articulation	Correct%	Incorrect Articulation	Incorrect%	Total Frequency
1	Female	81	35.7	146	64.3	227
2	Female	89	39.2	138	60.8	227
3	Female	105	46.3	122	53.7	227
4	Female	55	24.2	172	75.8	227
5	Female	136	59.9	91	40.1	227
6	Female	80	35.2	147	64.8	227
7	Female	122	53.7	105	46.3	227
8	Female	48	21.1	179	78.9	227
9	Female	61	26.9	166	73.1	227
10	Female	105	46.3	122	53.7	227
11	Female	83	36.6	144	63.4	227
12	Female	70	30.8	157	69.2	227
13	Female	74	32.6	153	67.4	227
14	Female	67	29.5	160	70.5	227
15	Female	46	20.3	181	79.7	227
16	Male	58	25.6	169	74.4	227
17	Male	80	35.2	147	64.8	227
18	Male	73	32.2	154	67.8	227
19	Male	68	30	159	70	227
20	Male	81	35.7	146	64.3	227
21	Male	96	42.3	131	57.7	227
22	Male	77	33.9	150	66.1	227
23	Male	85	37.4	142	62.6	227
24	Male	62	27.3	165	72.7	227
25	Male	81	35.7	146	64.3	227
26	Male	71	31.3	156	68.7	227
27	Male	77	33.9	150	66.1	227
28	Male	90	39.6	137	60.4	227
29	Male	59	26	168	74	227
30	Male	77	33.9	150	66.1	227

 Each Participant’s Performance in all the Test Items by Percentage

Table 1 above shows the result of how the individual participants performed in all the test items by percentage. It also reveals gender as well as the total number of frequencies of occurrence of all the sound segments tested.

Column 4 shows the total number of sound segments that were correctly articulated according to SBE while column 6 is the total number of deviations from SBE.

From the above table, it can be seen that majority of the NiPSSTE scored very low percentage on the test on phonemes.

 Only two (2) female NiPSSTE: number 5 and 7 representing (6.7%) scored above average 59.9% and 53.7% respectively for correct articulation of the test items while the rest of the NiPSSTE scored below average.

The message that the results above send to us is the undisputable fact that the test on segmental phonology consistently proves to be difficult to handle by the NiPSSTE under consideration.

Table 2: Analysis of all NiPSSTE Performances in the Realisation of Each Word that Contains the Tested Sounds

S/N	Phonemes	Measurement	No of NiPSSTE	Percentage
1	/θ/ author	Correct Pronunciation	13	43.33
	/θ/ author	Deviation	17	56.67
2	/ð/ mother	Correct Pronunciation	22	73.33
	/ð/ mother	Deviation	8	26.67
3	/ʒ/ division	Correct Pronunciation	6	20.00
	/ʒ/ division	Deviation	24	80.00
4	/ʧ/ Christian	Correct Pronunciation	3	10.00
	/ʧ/ Christian	Deviation	27	90.00
5	/h/ dropping honoured	Correct Pronunciation	10	33.33
	/h/ dropping honoured	Deviation	20	66.67
6	/h/ realised house	Correct Pronunciation	25	83.33
	/h/ realised house	Deviation	5	16.67
7	/ʌ/ touch	Correct Pronunciation	1	3.33
	/ʌ/ touch	Deviation	29	96.67
8	/ə/ apart	Correct Pronunciation	2	6.67
	/ə/ apart	Deviation	28	93.33
8	/ɜː/ nurse	Correct Pronunciation	10	33.33
	/ɜː/ nurse	Deviation	20	66.67
9	/eə/ parent	Correct Pronunciation	1	3.33
	/eə/ parent	Deviation	29	96.67
10	/ʊə/ tour	Correct Pronunciation	3	10.00
	/ʊə/ tour	Deviation	27	90.00
11	/əʊ/ close	Deviation	30	100.00

 The table above presents the summation scores and percentage for correct articulation and deviation from the RP realisation by all the 30 participants used in this study. To present the table, eleven different words with the targeted sound segments were extracted from the data collected and analysed.

/θ/ in Author /ɔ:θə/ is maintained in underlying representation. It could be deduced from the summation table above that 13 NiPSSTE (43%) produced the SE sound segment /θ/ in the word author while the remaining (17) deviated from the Standard realisation by replacing /θ/ for [t]

/ð/ in Mother /mʌðə/ is predictable in intervocalic position. As can be seen from the table, majority, 22 of the NiPSSTE, representing 73.3% correctly pronounced /ð/ in the word mother.

/ʒ/ in Division /dɪvɪʒn/: The applied rule is Post-Stress Sibilant Voicing /s/ → [ʒ] / V__ion → division: /dɪvɪs-ion/ → [dɪvɪʒən]. It is discovered here that only six (20%) NiPSSTE got right the RP realisation of /ʒ/ in division. The majority 80% deviated by substituting /ʒ / for [ʃ] in division.

/ʧ/ in Christian /krɪsʧən/: The Phonological Rule here is

Palatalisation /t/ → [ʧ] / __j → Christian: /krɪstjən/ → [krɪstʃən]. The statistics above shows that majority 90% of the NiPSSTE found it difficult to adequately realise /ʧ/ in the given word. It was discovered that they depended largely on the letter ‘t’ for the realisation of the word Christian. Only three (10%) NiPSSTE approximated it to SBE pronunciation.

/h/-dropping in honoured /ɒnəd/: What happens here is the rule of /h/ Deletion in Unstressed Syllables: /h/ → ∅ / [–stress]__
→ honoured: /hɒnəd/ → [ɒnəd]. The table above also reveals that ten subjects (33.3%) dropped /h/ in honoured while twenty (66.7%) NiPSSTE aspirated /h/ in honoured.

/h/ in house /hаʊs/ is retained in stressed syllable. The majority (83.3%) produced /h/ in house according to SE pronunciation. However, five (16.8%) dropped /h / in house.

Lexical Vowel Realization

/ɜː/, /eə/, /ʊə/, /əʊ/ → retained in Underlying Representations URs; no productive rule derivation.

/ʌ/ in touch /tʌʧ/: This is central stressed vowel. One surprising revelation from the table above that is worth taking note of as regard /ʌ/ sound is the fact that all the participants, except only one, found it very difficult to approximate /ʌ/ to SBE realisation. Just a negligible 3.3% produced the SE /ʌ/ in touch while 29 NiPSSTE (96.7%) replaced /ʌ/ for [ɔ:] such that there is no difference in the articulation of touch and torch.

/ə/ in apart /əpа:t/: This is schwa in unstressed prefix. Previous researches have established that /ə/ is a reduced vowel sound that occurs frequently in Standard English. Scholars have observed that /ə/ is very rare and not used in Nigerian English. This might probably be responsible for why a negligible 6.6% NiPSSTE got the correct production of /ə/ in apart while 93.3% deviated.

/ɜ:/ in nurse /nɜ:s/: As can be seen from the table, ten (33.3%) NiPSSTE produced the RP /ɜ:/ in the tested word nurse correctly while twenty respondents (66.7%) deviated from the RP realisation and substituted /ɜ:/ for /ɔ: / as in [nɔ:s].

/eə/ in parent /peərənt/ is a centering diphthong in stressed syllable. What is discovered in the table is that majority (96.7%) of the NiPSSTE replaced the RP diphthong /eə/ for /еɪ/ in the word parent, and realised it as [pеɪrent] while only one subjects representing a negligible 3.3% approximated /eə/ in parent closely to Standard English pronunciation.

/əʊ/ in close /kləʊs/ is a diphthong in open syllable. Another observation that is worth taking note of is that the RP /əʊ/ persistently proves to be difficult to pronounce by the NiPSSTE participants as none of them approximated /əʊ/ in the word close to SE realisation; rather they all substituted /əʊ/ for [o] in their mother tongue and produced [klos].

/ʊə/ in tour /tʊə/: The percentage table above also reveals that only three (10%) NiPSSTE participants articulated correctly the RP /ʊə/ in the word ‘tour’. The rest of the subject (90%) realised it as [tɔ:].

Table 3. Overall Performance by Genders

GENDER	AVERAGE CORRECT ARTICULATIONS	OVERALL % CORRECT ARTICULATIONS	OVERALL %DEVIATIONS
FEMALE	87.93	38.74	61.26
MALE	67.73	29.84	70.16

 

Above table 3 shows that Female NiPSSTE have a higher average of correct articulation (87.93%) and overall percentage of correct articulation (38.74%) compared to male NiPSSTE who scored (67.73%) and (29.84%) respectively.

Male NiPSSTE scores show a higher overall percentage of deviation (70.16%) compared to their female counterparts (61.26%), indicating more errors on average.

This trend suggests that female NiPSSTE outperformed male NiPSSTE in this articulation task, though individual performance varies. Deviation analysis shows a wide range, suggesting varied levels of understanding or skill.

Conclusion

Having carried out an analysis on specific English segmental features in the speech of Nigerian public secondary school teachers of English (NiPSSTE), the message that the results of the findings send to us is the undeniable fact that the test on segmental features of phonology consistently proves to be difficult to handle by Nigerian speakers of English, with particular interest on teachers of English in Nigerian public secondary schools. As this is the case, the question is how would they be able to handle suprasegmental aspects?

Despite the information obtained via questionnaires that majority of the participants have undergone training in spoken English, phonetics and phonology, it has not made significant impact in their performances as the overall performance of the NiPSSTE in all the tested items was 33.3%. It is on this note that this study therefore concludes that:

· Nigerian Public secondary school teachers of English language (NiPSSTE) do not appropriate English phonemes correctly in their English speech productions to Standard English pronunciation as they scored 33.3% failure.

· NiPSSTE depends on spellings of some English words for pronunciation.

· {Therefore, NiPSSTE are not competent in segmental phonology in ESL classrooms.}

The pedagogical implication of this is that there is tendency for students to model themselves after their teachers and other speakers of English in Nigeria who believe that the teachers already have mastery of the language.

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