Abstract
In contemporary Uzbekistan, English has become increasingly important due to academic mobility, international employment, and growing global interconnectedness. As a result, mastery of spoken English especially accurate and intelligible pronunciation has become a critical component of communicative competence for high school students. Despite strong motivation to learn English, many learners face persistent challenges in producing natural pronunciation because of structural differences between English and Uzbek, limited access to authentic input, and insufficient phonetic instruction. This article examines the significance of pronunciation within second language competence, identifies the major difficulties encountered by Uzbek learners, and evaluates effective pedagogical strategies, including recent advancements in AI-supported pronunciation training tools.