INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GENERAL STUDIES EDUCATION (VOLUME 7, ISSUE 1, 2026)
Home / Archive /  INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GENERAL STUDIES EDUCATION (VOLUME 7, ISSUE 1, 2026)

MOTHER TONGUE INTERFERENCE AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE PRONUNCIATION AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OYO METROPOLIS, OYO STATE

Fatiloro, Oluwayemisi Florence, Uthman Qudus Olayinka & Fatiloro, Oluwadamilola Grace
1Department Of Language And Communication Education, School Of General Studies Education, 2Department Of English Language, School Of Secondary Programmes (Languages), 3Baptist Secondary Academy, University Of Ibadan, 1, 2Federal College Of Education (Special) Oyo

Keywords:
Mother Tongue Interference, English Language Pronunciation, Segmental Features, Suprasegmental, Impact

 DownLoad Article


PUBLISHED
5/11/2026
ABSTRACT
The research work was geared towards the study of the Impact of Mother Tongue Interference on English Language Pronunciation: A Case Study of Oyo State. The study was conducted using descriptive research design. The study comprised 100 respondents in four (4) public senior secondary schools in Oyo metropolis, Oyo State. The results from the respondents were carefully analyzed using tables and frequency count percentage, mean scores and standard deviation, and each result obtained was presented, discussed and interpreted. Results indicated that the mother tongue interference is at a medium level for the learners' articulation of English sounds. The most pronounced differences were seen in the pronunciation of vowels, intonation and rhythm, with the pronunciation of consonants being comparatively little affected, respondents unanimously agreeing that it was affected by the mother tongue. Additionally, the results indicated that some teaching methods were effective for reducing the impact of the mother tongue interference. The researchers made some recommendations according to the results. Learners should be actively involved in oral English activities like debates, speeches, drama presentation, discussions, public speaking etc. to improve their fluency and confidence. Second, the English language teachers should put more emphasis on pronunciation, use the mother language with the learners as a teaching aid in the classroom so that the learners can break through the interference of the mother language.