The Undergraduate Students’ Pronunciation Difficulties of English Fricatives Based on Letter-Sound Relationship

Tri Angkarini

doi:10.33541/jet.v9i2.4726

Tri Angkarini Universitas Indraprasta PGRI Jakarta

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33541/jet.v9i2.4726

Keywords: Pronunciation, English Fricatives, Letter-sound relationship

Abstract

This study aims to identify the pronunciation issues with English fricatives that undergraduate students encounter as a result of the intricate link between the English letter and sound. The purpose of this study is to gather comprehensive data regarding students' pronunciation difficulties in terms of the degree of difficulty associated with each English fricative sound, as well as the types of words in which they occur (monosyllabic words, disyllabic words, and multisyllabic words). In order to explain the English sounds that were contributing to the students' pronunciation issues, a descriptive qualitative method was adopted in this study. The information was gathered by recording students speaking 48 words with English fricatives. The results showed that sound /θ/ accounts for 93,9% of the challenges, followed by sound /v/ at 81,8% and sound /ð/ at 60,6%. The main cause of the students' difficulties is the irregularity of the letter-sound relationship and this can be prevented by altering the teaching strategy and making use of listening practice.

References

Ali, E. M. T. (2015). The Elimination of Pronunciation Problems of English Vowels of Saudi Students of English Resulting from Complex Letter-Sound Relationship. International Journal of Language, 3(1), 35–41. https://doi.org/10.15640/ijll.v3n1a5

Andi-Pallawa, B., & Fiptar Abdi Alam, A. (2013). A Comparative Analysis between English and Indonesian Phonological Systems. International Journal of English Language Education, 1(3). https://doi.org/10.5296/ijele.v1i3.3892

Antaris, I., & Omolu, F. A. (2019). FACTORS AFFECTING PRONUNCIATION DIFFICULTIES OF 8 th GRADE STUDENTS OF MTSN PALU BARAT. Journal of Foreign Language and Educational Research, 2(2), 10–19.

Brown, D. (2011). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language PedagogyNo Title (2nd ed.). Pearson Education Limited.

Charpentier-Jiménez, W. (2019). University students´ perception of exposure to various English accents and their production. Actualidades Investigativas En Educación, 19(2), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.15517/aie.v19i2.36908

Enxhi, S. Y., Tan, B. H., & Yong, M. F. (2012). Speech disfluencies and mispronunciations in English oral communication among Malaysian undergraduates. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 1(7), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.7575/ijalel.v.1n.7p.19

Ezzeldin, M. T. A. (2013). Pronunciation problems: Acoustic analysis of the English vowels produced by Sudanese learners of English. International Journal of English and Literature, 4(10), 495–507. https://doi.org/10.5897/IJEL12.031

Fauzi, F. (2020). Error Analysis of Sundanese English Pronunciation on Fricatives Sound. Buletin Al-Turas, 20(1), 199–218. https://doi.org/10.15408/bat.v20i1.3756

Frankel, J. R. and N. E. W. (2009). How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education (7th editio). McGraw Hill.

James, C. (2013). Error in language learning and use (C. N. Catlin, ed.itle. Pearson Education Limited.

Kosasih, M. M. (2017). Native Language Iinterference in Learning English Pronunciation: A Case Study at A Private University in West Java, Indonesia. International Journal of Education and Research, 5(2), 135–150.

Marzá, N. E. (2014). A practical corpus-based approach to teaching English for tourism. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 3(1), 129–136. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.3n.1p.129

Maysarah, Andi Idayani, B. S. (2023). STUDENTS’ ABILITY IN PRONOUNCING ENGLISH FRICATIVE CONSONANTS AT ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION OF FKIP UIR. 44(12), 2–8.

Mulyadi, W. W., Ansar, F. A., & Kholid, I. (2018). An Analysis of Pattani’s Students Pronunciation in Pronouncing English Fricative Consonants at Uin Lampung. Jurnal Smart, 4(1), 61–72.

Pardede, P., & Indonesia, U. K. (2007). The Production of English FricativesbBy The Freshmen of The English Department of FKIP-UKI Jakarta: An Error Analysis. Paper presented at Conference: FKIP-UKI English Department Bimonthly Collegiate Forum, UKI Jakarta, 1–24.

Pourhosein Gilakjani, A. (2011). A Study on the Situation of Pronunciation Instruction in ESL/EFL Classrooms. Journal of Studies in Education, 1(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.5296/jse.v1i1.924

Putra, F. P. (2019). An Error Analysis of English Plosive and Fricative Consonants at Vocational High Schools. Wanastra: Jurnal Bahasa Dan Sastra, 11(2), 141–150. https://doi.org/10.31294/w.v11i2.6213

Ramelan. (2003). English Phonetics. Publication.

Saadah, F., & Ardi, H. (2020). The Analysis of Students’ Pronunciation Error on English Diphthong Made by Fifth Semester of English Language Education Program Universitas Negeri Padang. Journal of English Language Teaching, 9(1), 188. https://doi.org/10.24036/jelt.v9i1.107829

Situmeang, I. T., & Lubis, R. F. (2020). Students’ difficulties in pronouncing fricative consonant. English Journal for Teaching and Learning, 08(01), 38–46.

Sucihati, T. B., & Pd, M. (2022). An Analysis of Fricative Consonants of English Reading Used by the Fourth Semester of Manajemen Program Universitas PGRI Madiun. 5(2), 157–163.

Sukarni, S., Setiyono, J., & Nurhadi, R. (2020). Suprasegmental Errors of Students with Javanese Mother Tongue: A Case at a Private Islamic University in Purworejo. Ta’dib: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 25(2), 83–95. https://doi.org/10.19109/td.v25i2.6084

Titah Madriyanthi Utama, L. G., Mas Indrawati, N. L. K., & Udayana, I. N. (2018). The Pronunciation of English Fricatives in the Speech by a Non Native Speaker. Humanis, 22, 118. https://doi.org/10.24843/jh.2018.v22.i02.p17

Zafary, A. (2021). Afghan EFL Students’ Perceptions about English Pronunciation. 21(4), 63–80. www.languageinindia.com