Phonological transfer in a spoken corpus of English by Iranian EFL Students

One of the evident kinds of L1 interference is the area of pronunciation. EFL learners tend to transfer pronunciation features of their L1 to the L2 sound systems. The aim of the present study is two-folded: first, it seeks to examine the common phonological transfer by Iranian college-level EFL students. Second, it attempts to explore the relationship between program level and pronunciation proficiency. To this end spoken data were collected from two groups of university students (35 BA-level students of English Language and 35 MA-level students of TEFL). The results showed that substitution of Persian /z/ or /d/ for English [δ]; elimination of the diphthongization feature of English; interpretation of English velarized /l/ as non-velarized are the most common kinds of transfers by Iranian EFL students. Also no significant difference was found between proficiency and academic degree. The pedagogical implications of the study are discussed.