Misplacement of stress by Sophomore and Junior Jordanian Students Case Study: The University of Jordan/ Aqaba

Abstract

Stress is considered one of the most essential speech tools used by English speakers to communicate meaning. Some English speakers, especially non-native speakers of English encounter difficulties in assigning stress accurately. Therefore, this study purports to explore the effect of native language (L1) stress properties on the second language, i.e., EFL, which is the study of English by persons who reside in regions where it is not the primary language of communication. To gather the data of the study a descriptive qualitative method is used. The study's population is the second and third-year English department students for the academic year 2022_2023.The sample of the study included 30 male and female students. The researchers designed an oral test to collect the data of the study through asking the student to pronounce words to observe where the students place stress on the words. The findings showed that there were statistically significant disparities among the students in placing stress on words, due to their gender, and their level of university study experience. One of the most important findings that the students transfer the stress rules from their mother tongue language. This study also showed that it is possible to predict Arabic word stress placement from the word's syllabic structure. Additionally, the findings showed Jordanian students have difficulty placing word stress on the right syllable. The misplacement in assigning stress to the correct place in words is attributed to the influence of the mother tongue and students' lack of awareness of the importance of stress in the English language. This study is distinguished study because it developed a model in the importance of assigning stress in English words. The findings of this study suggest that further studies in the reasons of misplacement of stress could be conducted to clarify the main reasons for misplacement of stress among non-native speakers of English.