Speech Errors in English as Foreign Language: A Case Study of Bachelors Students

Abstract

This case study investigates speech errors in English as a foreign language (EFL) among six Bachelor’s students from Fatima Jinnah Women University. Using Levelt’s (1983) speech production and self-monitoring model, the study classifies and analyses errors occurring during a spontaneous narrative task. Participants watched a short Urdu-language cartoon and then described it in English, with their speech recorded, transcribed, and examined for lexical, grammatical, and phonological errors. Findings reveal frequent lexical issues, including L1 intrusions and misuse of phrasal verbs; grammatical errors, notably subject–verb agreement issues, article omission/misuse, and wrong word order; and phonological errors, primarily articulatory clumsiness and mispronunciations influenced by L1 phonetic patterns. Evidence of self-monitoring and repairs was also observed, though often delayed. The results highlight persistent challenges in L2 oral production despite extended exposure to English, supporting the view that speech production is a multi-layered cognitive process vulnerable to disruptions at various stages. The study underscores the pedagogical importance of targeted instruction to improve real-time monitoring, morphological accuracy, and phonological precision in EFL learners.