An Examination of Assimilation in the Pronunciation of ESL Speakers among Selected NCE 1 Students of Isa Kaita College of Education, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State

Assimilation is something which varies in extent according to speaker rate to style commonly found in rapid or casual speech which becomes a problem due to the inability to realize how some sounds change their character and take the features of other sounds. This problem is manifested in terms of the students’ pronunciation and their inability to use assimilation appropriately. It is against this background that this study examines the effects of assimilation in the pronunciation of ESL speakers among students of Isa Kaita College of Education, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State. Error Analysis developed by Corder and Colleagues in 1960s was employed as the theoretical framework of the study. The study used stratified proportionate random sampling to select 48 participants out of 55 from whom data was collected through Oral Test. The data were presented and analyzed using simple percentage and frequency techniques. The study reveals that ESL students use little or no assimilation as a result of mother tongue interference and inadequate knowledge of phonological processes especially assimilation noticeable in rapid speech. The study concludes that assimilation which can occur within word boundaries or within a word is a phonological process in which one sound becomes more like a nearby sound due to the involvement of several articulators in producing a speech sound which are not capable of moving instantaneously.