Name : Ammar Maulana Sayyid

Nim : G2Q122018
Link : https://journals.scholarpublishing.org/index.php/ASSRJ/article/view/678

ARTICLE # 9

Xinguang, S. (2015). A Study of Fossilization in Chinese College Students’ English

Learning. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 2(1).
https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.21.678

Purpose
The purpose of this article is to investigate the phenomenon of phonetic fossilization in second
language acquisition, with a specific focus on Chinese learners of English. The study aims to
identify the causes of phonetic fossilization and propose solutions to alleviate this phenomenon.
The article emphasizes the importance of English teachers' role in improving learners'
pronunciation and suggests strategies for English pronunciation teaching. The study also aims to
contribute to the study of second language fossilization and improve English pronunciation
teaching in China.

Method
Subjects. The subject of this article is the phenomenon of phonetic fossilization in second
language acquisition, with a specific focus on Chinese learners of English. The study aims to
identify the causes of phonetic fossilization and propose solutions to alleviate this phenomenon.
The article emphasizes the importance of English teachers' role in improving learners'
pronunciation and suggests strategies for English pronunciation teaching. The study also aims to
contribute to the study of second language fossilization and improve English pronunciation
teaching in China. The article presents a case study of a 46-year-old Chinese woman who has
lived in the UK for 18 years and analyzes her pronunciation using both quantitative and
qualitative methods. The study identifies the causes of phonetic fossilization, including native
language transfer, lack of communicative needs, insufficient feedback, and low acculturation
ability. The article suggests that systematic phonetic training and timely feedback can prevent
interlanguage fossilization. Overall, the subject of this article is the phenomenon of phonetic
fossilization in second language acquisition and its implications for English pronunciation
teaching.

Procedure. The procedure of this article involves conducting an experiment and an interview to
investigate the phenomenon of phonetic fossilization in second language acquisition. The
experiment involves recording the English pronunciation of a 46-year-old Chinese woman who
has lived in the UK for 18 years and analyzing her pronunciation using Praat program. The
required vowel segments were extracted, and the formant data of each segment was analyzed.
The interview was conducted to investigate the causes of phonetic fossilization, and the interview
contents were recorded and transcribed by iFLYTEK voice transcription software. The
transcribed content was checked and modified several times. The study mainly uses Excel
software to calculate the average formant data of each vowel. The instruments used in this study
include the Clear Speak Adult Pronunciation (CAP) Test, which evaluates English pronunciation
and identifies phonetic errors, and the computer program Praat, which is utilized to distinguish
the fossilized pronunciation. The procedure of this article involves analyzing the data collected
from the experiment and interview and presenting the results and discussions.
.
 Results
The results of this article are presented in Chapter 4, which offers the results of the experiment
and interview, as well as discussions for the targeting research questions. The study analyzes the
formant data of the front vowels of a 46-year-old Chinese woman who has lived in the UK for 18
years and compares the average value with the vowel data of Received Pronunciation (RP). The
study identifies the causes of phonetic fossilization, including native language transfer, lack of
communicative needs, insufficient feedback, and low acculturation ability. The study also
suggests that systematic phonetic training and timely feedback can prevent interlanguage
fossilization. The article presents a case study of a Chinese learner of English and analyzes her
pronunciation using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The study finds that the participant
has produced phonetic fossilization in her English pronunciation, and the causes of fossilization
are identified through the interview. The article suggests that English teachers should pay more
attention to the pronunciation teaching of Chinese learners of English and provide more
systematic and effective training to prevent phonetic fossilization. Overall, the results of this
article contribute to the study of second language fossilization and provide insights into English
pronunciation teaching for Chinese learners of English.

Conclusions
In conclusion, this article investigates the phenomenon of phonetic fossilization in second
language acquisition, with a specific focus on Chinese learners of English. The study identifies
the causes of phonetic fossilization, including native language transfer, lack of communicative
needs, insufficient feedback, and low acculturation ability. The article suggests that systematic
phonetic training and timely feedback can prevent interlanguage fossilization. The study also
proposes solutions to alleviate phonetic fossilization, including improving the quality of input,
studying possible errors, and motivating students. The article emphasizes the importance of
English teachers' role in improving learners' pronunciation and suggests strategies for English
pronunciation teaching. The study contributes to the study of second language fossilization and
provides insights into English pronunciation teaching for Chinese learners of English. Overall,
this article highlights the importance of addressing phonetic fossilization in English pronunciation
teaching and provides practical solutions for English teachers to improve learners' pronunciation.

Implications
The implication of this article is that phonetic fossilization is a common phenomenon in second
language acquisition, and it can have negative effects on learners' pronunciation and
communication skills. The study suggests that English teachers should pay more attention to the
pronunciation teaching of Chinese learners of English and provide more systematic and effective
training to prevent phonetic fossilization. The article proposes solutions to alleviate phonetic
fossilization, including improving the quality of input, studying possible errors, and motivating
students. The study also emphasizes the importance of English teachers' role in improving learners'
pronunciation and suggests strategies for English pronunciation teaching. The article contributes to
the study of second language fossilization and provides insights into English pronunciation
teaching for Chinese learners of English. The implication of this article is that English teachers
should be aware of the causes and effects of phonetic fossilization and take appropriate measures
to prevent and alleviate it. By doing so, learners' pronunciation and communication skills can be
improved, and their integration into the second language society can be facilitated.