An Empirical Exploration into the Pedagogical and Cognitive Challenges of Phonetics: A Case Study of Fourth-Semester Students at the Faculty of Languages, Benghazi University

Abstract

This study titled “An Experimental Study of Educational and Cognitive Challenges in Learning Phonetics: A Case Study of Fourth-Year Students at the Faculty of Languages, University of Benghazi” aimed to identify and analyze the main difficulties faced by students in learning phonetics from both pedagogical and cognitive perspectives. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach, supported by a field survey method, where data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered to a sample of 100 fourth-year students selected through simple random sampling.

The research relied on both primary data (students’ responses) and secondary sources such as books, scientific references, and previous studies related to phonetics learning difficulties. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods, including frequencies and percentages, to determine the level and nature of the challenges.

The findings revealed that a large proportion of students experience significant difficulties in understanding phonetics content, mainly due to the dominance of theoretical teaching methods, limited use of modern instructional aids, weak classroom interaction, and insufficient feedback. In addition, cognitive challenges such as difficulty in pronunciation, sound discrimination, and language interference were found to strongly affect students’ performance. Overall, phonetics was perceived as a difficult subject compared to other language courses.

The study concluded that both educational and cognitive factors contribute to the challenges in learning phonetics and emphasized the need for improving teaching strategies. Based on these findings, the study recommended strengthening practical training, integrating modern audio-visual tools, enhancing classroom interaction, providing continuous feedback, and supporting the use of language laboratories and digital learning applications to improve phonetics instruction.