Most non-native speakers do have difficulty in developing native-like oracy due to vast differences in pronunciation between L1 and L2, adult ESL learners in particular. As Peter and Susan pointed in Teaching American English Pronunciation(1992), there are specific problem syllables with different language groups. As an ESL teacher from China, I assume it necessary to find out whether these sounds really trouble Chinese students in the ESL class I observed. I am going to pick out the most frequently occurred problem sounds and take notes how the teacher deal with them in class. In this paper, based on classroom observation and interviews, I analyzed problematic English vowels and consonants from Chinese learners, and the corresponding mediations for ESL teacher.
