Fransiska Diah Ayuningtyas, 2201416111 (2021) STUDENTS’ ABILITY IN PRONOUNCING MINIMAL PAIRS OF ENGLISH CONSONANT AND ITS EFFECT TO THE CLARITY OF THEIR SPOKEN LANGUAGE A CASE OF THE 12TH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMK KRISTEN 1 MAGELANG. Under Graduates thesis, Universitas Negeri Semarang.

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Abstract

Having competency in English is important when we start to seek a job and enter higher education after finishing high school. However, Indonesian students find difficulties when learning English as Foreign Language. Moreover, there are many differences between Bahasa Indonesia and English, especially the phonological systems between the two languages. The research aims to test the vocational high school students in distinguishing and pronouncing English fricative sounds ([f], [v], [s], [z], [θ], [ð], and [ʃ]). This research is also aimed to find the students’ level of ability and clarity in pronunciation and gender which mostly make errors. This research was used a qualitative approach – case study using pronunciation test as a medium to reveal the students’ ability in pronouncing those English fricative sounds. The subjects of this research were 30 students of 12th grade Office Administration of SMK Kristen 1 Magelang; 16 female students and 14 male students. This research was conducted via Zoom apps due to the PPKM (Pemberlakuan Pembatasan Kegiatan Masyarakat) in Magelang regency because of the pandemic of Covid-19 which hitting Indonesia. The students were given 70 words in a list of minimal pairs which contain English fricative sounds and students had to record it using the voice recorder in their mobile phones. The recording was collected through WhatsApp Messenger. This research revealed that the students of 12th grade Office Administration of SMK Kristen 1 Magelang could not distinguish and pronounce well the sound [θ], [v], and [ð] yet, with the percentage of each sound 88.3%, 85%, and 56%. The level of ability of all students is categorized as good. The male students are more dominant to make errors in pronunciation test. Teacher plays an important role in improving students’ English spoken language skill. Drilling exercise using minimal pair’s method is so effective to train the students in pronunciation. In this pandemic era, teachers could utilize various educational platforms on the internet to develop learning methods used. The teacher also should have know about English sound systems and the way it’s pronounced and learn it well.

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