PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PRONUNCIATION OF … · English language that should be learned by pre-service English teachers of ELESP. One of important elements is pronunciation

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PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS’

PRONUNCIATION OF DIPHTHONGS

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Ririn Cahyowati

Student Number 111214114

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2016

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

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PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS’

PRONUNCIATION OF DIPHTONGS

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Ririn Cahyowati

Student Number 111214114

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2016




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THE BEST WAY

TO PREDICT

YOUR FUTURE

IS TO

CREATE IT

~Abraham Lincoln~

I DEDICATE THIS THESIS TO

ALL PEOPLE WHO NEVER GIVE UP WITH THEIR LIVES




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ABSTRACT

Cahyowati, Ririn. (2016). Pre-Service English teachers’ pronunciation of

diphthongs. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program. Faculty of

Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

The study aims to investigate the students’ pronunciation of diphthong

sounds by English teacher candidates. The research was conducted because there

were many students of English Language Education Study Program in Sanata

Dharma University who found difficulty to pronounce diphthong sounds

correctly. Therefore, the researcher conducted a research regarding students’

pronunciation of diphthong sounds.

To answer the problem above, there are two questions formulated. The

research questions are: (1) To what extent can pre-service English teachers

pronounce diphthongs? Moreover, (2) What difficulty do pre-service English

teachers face in pronouncing the English diphthongs?

In order to solve the research questions that were already formulated, the

researcher applied survey research. There were three instruments used in this

research, which were test, questionnaire, and interview. Test and questionnaire

used to answer the first research question. The interview used to answer the

second research question. The subject of this research was the 40 students of

ELESP in Sanata Dharma University who had taken microteaching class.

Based on the data analysis, the students were still in learning of knowing the

importance of having good pronunciation as pre-service English teachers. This

could be seen in the result that most of the students were unsuccessful in

pronouncing diphthong sounds. Some of them also were not serious in learning

pronunciation. They considered that pronunciation was important. However, they

found difficulties in learning pronunciation, especially in pronouncing diphthongs.

The examples are they are difficult to memorize diphthong sounds and they are

influenced by their mother tongue. There are also some suggestions to English

teachers who face those students.

Keywords: diphthongs, pronunciation, pre-service English teachers


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ABSTRAK

Cahyowati, Ririn. (2016). Pre-Service English teachers’ pronunciation of

diphthongs. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris. Fakultas Keguruan

dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengucapan diftong oleh

calon guru Bahasa Inggris. Penelitian ini dilakukan karena banyak mahasiswa

Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris di Univeristas Sanata Dharma yang kesulitan

mengucapkan kata yang mengandung diftong dengan benar. Karenanya peneliti

melakukan penelitian mengenai pengucapan mahasiswa untuk kata-kata yang

mengandung diftong.

Untuk menjawab permasalahan diatas, maka dibuatlah dua pertanyaan.

Pertanyaan pertama pada penelitian ini adalah sejauh mana calon guru Bahasa

Inggris dapat mengucapkan diftong. Pertanyaan kedua adalah apa saja kesulitan

yang mereka hadapi dalam mempelajari pengucapan diftong.

Untuk menjawab pertanyaan yang sudah dibuat, penelitian ini menggunakan

metode survei. Ada tiga instrumen yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini, yaitu tes,

kuisioner dan wawancara. Subjek dalam penelitian ini adalah 40 mahasiswa

Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris di Universitas Sanata Dharma yang sudah menempuh

kelas microteaching.

Berdasarkan analisa data, para mahasiswa masih dalam pembelajaran

mengetahui pentingnya memiliki pengucapan atau artikulasi yang baik bagi calon

guru Bahasa Inggris. Ini dapat terlihat dari hasil akhir penelitian yaitu banyak dari

mahasiswa tidak berhasil dalam mengucapkan diftong dengan benar. Beberapa

dari mereka juga tidak serius dalam mempelajari pengucapan Bahasa Inggris.

Mereka menyadari bahwa belajar pengucapan itu penting. Tetapi, mereka

menemukan kesulitan dalam belajar pengucapan, terutama pengucapan diftong.

Penelitian ini juga memberi masukan untuk guru Bahasa Inggris yang menghadapi

mahasiswa seperti itu.

Kata Kunci: dipthongs, pronunciation, pre-service English teachers


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to Allah for His

guidance and blessing so that I can complete my thesis as well as my study. I

thank Him for always giving me strength when I encounter difficulties.

My deepest gratitude goes to my advisor, Concilianus Laos Mbato,

M.A., Ed.D., for his guidance and patience during the process of writing this

thesis. His advice and encouragement from the beginning until the end has

become my spirit. I thank Fidelis Chosa Kastuhandani, S.Pd., M.Hum. for

being my academic advisor batch 2011 in ELESP. His support and help during my

study in ELESP make me realize that I am lucky to have him as my academic

advisor. Further, I would like to thank all of ELESP lecturers and staffs for all

the knowledge, help, assistance, and guidance during my study. I also thank all

PBI students in Sanata Dharma University who helped me to conduct my

research. Without them being my subjects, I could not finish my thesis.

A special thank goes to my family. I thank my father, Sukirman, who

never stops supporting me in everything I choose. I thank my mother, Linawati,

who always stands by me and gives me her warm hugs whenever I need it. I thank

my younger sister, Bella Isnara who always supports me during my study in

ELESP. I also thank my little sister, Evelyn Sekar Jingga who always cheers me

up with her smiles and laughs whenever I feel tired. They are the reason why I

never stop and keep going. They always believe in me, stand by my side, and

never feel tired to support me.


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Special thanks are addressed to my best friends with whom I always share

happiness and sadness. We struggle together in ELESP from the beginning;

Widanti Septiyani, Agnes Mega Oktaviana Kusuma Dewi, Fransiska Deni

Purnamasari Nugraha, Maria Godeliva Rettob, and Devita. I thank them for

always standing by my side since the very beginning. I also thank all of my

friends in ELESP batch 2011, especially class B who have given unforgettable

memories during my study in Sanata Dharma University.

I send my gratitude to someone special in my life who believes in me and

always supports me, Rahmawan Ade Putra. He always cheers me up and gives

endless support whenever I feel tired.

Last but not least, I would like to thank everyone who has given me their

hands throughout my life. I would like to say “Thanks” for the precious time,

endless love, sincere care, and wonderful experience. Nothing can express my

gratitude. I would be grateful forever for their care and love

Ririn Cahyowati


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE .......................................................................................................... i

APPROVAL PAGES.... ......................................................................................... ii

DEDICATION PAGE ........................................................................................... iv

STATEMENT OF WORK‟S ORIGINALITY ...................................................... v

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI .......................................................vi

ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... vii

ABSTRAK ............................................................................................................ viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................. ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................... xi

LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. xv

LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................. xvi

LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................... xvii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 1

A. Research Background......................................................................................... 1

B. Research Problem............................................................................................... 4

C. Problem Limitation ............................................................................................ 5

D. Research Objectives .......................................................................................... 5

E. Research Benefits .............................................................................................. 6

F. Definition of Terms ............................................................................................ 7


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CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ................................ 9

A. Theoretical Description ..................................................................................... 9

1. Linguistics ..................................................................................................... 9

2. Pronunciation ................................................................................................10

3. Phonetics and Phonology............................................................................. 11

4. Diphthongs .................................................................................................. 12

5. Foreign Language ........................................................................................ 14

B. Theoretical Framework ................................................................................... 15

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY .................................................................. 18

A. Research Method ............................................................................................. 18

B. Research Setting .............................................................................................. 19

C. Research Participants ....................................................................................... 19

D. Research Instruments and Data Gathering Technique .................................... 20

1. Test…………………………………...………………………...…………. 21

2. Questionnaire ............................................................................................... 22

3. Interview ...................................................................................................... 24

E. Data Analysis Technique ................................................................................. 24

1. Test .............................................................................................................. 25

2. Questionnaire ............................................................................................... 26

3. Interview....................................................................................................... 27

F. Research Procedure ..........................................................................................27


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CHAPTER IV RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ....................... 30

A. Results ............................................................................................................. 30

1. The extent pre-service English teachers of ELESP could pronounce

diphthongs from the test ............................................................................. 30

2. The extent pre-service English teachers of ELESP could pronounce

diphthongs from the questionnaire ............................................................. 33

3. The difficulties they found in learning pronunciation from the interv......... 35

B. Discussion ........................................................................................................43

CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ................................. 46

A. Conclusions ..................................................................................................... 46

B. Suggestions ...................................................................................................... 47

REFERENCES ..................................................................................................... 49

APPENDICES ...................................................................................................... 52


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LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

Table 1 : The students’ agreement about pronunciation........................................37

Table 2 : The Result of Pre-service English teachers’ pronunciation test ........... 59


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LIST OF FIGURE

Page

Figure 1 : British English Diphthongs...................................................................14


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LIST OF APPENDICES

Page

A. The Blueprint of The Questionnaire..........................................................53

B. The List of Diphthong Sounds for The Test..............................................54

C. The Summary of The Interview................................................................ 56

D. The Result of The Test...............................................................................57

E. The Samples of Questionnaire Result....................................................... 59


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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides introduction of the research. There will be six parts in

the introduction chapter, namely background, research problem, problem

limitation, research objective, research benefit, and definition of term. The first

part, the research background, provides the information related to the issues and

concerns. The second part, research problem, formulates the questions raised after

the research background is presented and the problems are identified. The third

part, problem limitation, limits the scope and the focus of the study in relation

to the problems that have been formulated. The next, research objective,

discusses the objective or to emphasize the finding of the problem from the

research problem. The next part, research benefits, identifies the contribution of

the study and the parties that may make use of the study results. The last part,

definition of term, defines key words or phrases specifically used in the study.

A. Background

One of the important concerns of being an English teacher is that pre-

service English teachers of English Language Education Study Program (ELESP)

in Sanata Dharma University should master English language well, not only

understand the language well, but also master it. It is one of the important

requirements that is needed to be an English teacher. There are many elements of


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English language that should be learned by pre-service English teachers of

ELESP. One of important elements is pronunciation.

Based on the researcher’s experience, pronunciation for English teachers is

very important. This can be seen that ELESP Sanata Dharma has two classes

pronunciation. There are Pronunciation 1 and Pronunciation 2. Learning

pronunciation does not only make students aware of different sounds and some

features, but can also improve their speaking immeasurably Harmer (2007, p.

280).

The students should pay attention more on their pronunciation. It is

important for them because it is useful to communicate with their students or

other teachers when they become a teacher later. Pronunciation is really needed to

make learning instructions go well. A teacher is one of the models who the

students believe, no matter whether the teacher is right or not. The students will

pretend that the teacher is very good example for them.

As teacher candidates, they must have not only a good grammar, but also

good pronunciation. It is to avoid mispronunciation in explaining the materials for

the students. Therefore, there will be no misunderstanding between the teacher

and the students later. Another reason is pre-service English teachers will be a

good model for the students. Therefore, students will follow and believe the

teachers. Pronunciation is not only how the students can mention the word, but it

is how the students can pronounce the word clearly. One of the important aspects

is that they should learn how to pronounce the English diphthongs correctly.


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Diphthongs can be learnt in pronunciation class. British English language

has eight diphthongs, namely /eɪ/ /əʊ/ /aɪ/ /ɔɪ/ /aʊ/ /ɪə/ /eə/ /ʊə/. Some of those

diphthongs are difficult to be pronounced. Students should learn and master this

material. There are so many words containing diphthong sounds and it used to be

pronounced by the pre-service English teachers. If they are often to make mistake

in pronouncing those words, pre-service English teachers cannot give good

examples for their students.

In this research, the researcher investigates the students of English

Language Education Study Program (ELESP) in Sanata Dharma University who

had taken microteaching class as the Pre-service English teachers whether they

can pronounce diphthongs correctly or not. The researcher chooses students who

had taken microteaching class because they prepare to be a teacher. They should

be ready to be a teacher. Therefore, they should have good pronunciation. Since

they get knowledge to pronounce some English words correctly through their

pronunciation classes they should be able to pronounce all words correctly. By

doing so, it will help them in their roles as English teachers later. Being an

English teacher is not an easy thing. They have to prepare everything to teach

well. As Pre-service English teachers, they have to consider that English teachers

should have good skills, one of which is pronunciation. Therefore, the students

can get the point clearly and understand the words that are spoken by the teachers.

The students will believe the teachers as a good modal for them.

This research will show the extent pre-service can pronounce the English

diphthongs and the difficulty in pronouncing the English diphthongs. In the end,


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this research will show the pre-service English teachers’ ability in pronouncing

the English diphthongs. As a result, they can consider of having good

pronunciation.

The researcher analyzes the ways the students of ELESP pronounce the

diphthong sounds. Based on the researcher’s experience in microteaching class

that so many students found difficulties in learning pronunciation especially

diphthong sounds, therefore, the researcher conducts this research to know more

pre-service English teachers of ELESP pronunciation of diphthongs and know the

difficulties they face in learning pronunciation. In the end, this research will

present the students’ ability in pronouncing English diphthongs and difficulties

they found in learning pronunciation.

The researcher believes that this research will be very useful for English

learning, especially for students of ELESP Sanata Dharma University. This

research will present data of the extent pre-service English teachers can pronounce

diphthongs and their difficulties in learning pronunciation.

B. Research Problem

Based on the background of the research, two research questions are

formulated as follows.

1. To what extent can the pre-service English teachers of English

Language Education Study Program pronounce diphthongs?

2. What difficulties do they face in pronouncing the English

Diphthongs?


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C. Problem Limitation

This research is limited only for ELESP students in Sanata Dharma

University who had taken microteaching class. This research aims at analyzing

those who can pronounce diphthongs correctly and those who cannot pronounce

diphthongs correctly. The researcher chooses them because now they must be

ready to be English teachers soon. They must prepare themselves, to be a

professional teacher. Therefore, this research will analyze whether students

ELESP already have good English pronunciation skill or not. The researcher only

focuses on the pronunciation skill. The problem is about students’ ability in

pronouncing the English diphthongs.

This research is conducted using survey. Thus, the research is done by doing

test, questionnaire, and interview the participants. The subject of this research is

pre-service English teachers of ELESP Sanata Dharma who had taken

microteaching class.

D. Research Objectives

This research is conducted in order to find out ELESP students’ ability in

pronouncing the English diphthongs and the difficulties they found in learning

pronunciation. The students are limited for those who had taken microteaching

class.


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E. Research Benefits

The writer believes that the research provides benefits that will be useful for

the certain area:

1. English Teachers

This research will be very beneficial for English teachers. It gives good

information and knowledge about diphthongs and pronunciation. They will

understand the difficulties and the students’ ability in pronouncing diphthong

sounds. English teachers can support and help the students to learn diphthongs

and pronunciation well.

2. Pre-service English Teachers

It will help them to prepare their needs to be a teacher. They can learn from

this research about pronouncing diphthongs correctly. Therefore, they will be

ready to teach their students. They can explain the materials well. They can

communicate with the students and other teachers fluently. They can be a good

model for their students to pronounce diphthongs sounds correctly. They give a

good example of having good pronunciation.

3. Readers

This research will give new information for the readers in general. It is

useful to learn English in general, not only for Pre-service English teachers, but

also for the second language learners. It helps the readers to learn about


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pronunciation. The readers can learn the basic knowledge of learning English. If

the readers are parents, they can get information of this research results and teach

their children about English language well.

The grammar of English language is important, but then pronunciation is

also important. Sometimes, when children learn about English language as the

second language, they will learn how to mention the word first rather than the

grammar.

F. Definitions of Terms

In order to avoid misunderstanding and misinterpretation, the researcher

defines some terms that will be used in this research. The definitions are as

follows.

1. Diphthongs

Diphthongs are other types of vowel. They refer to a sequence of two

sounds. Those are vowel and glide (Fromkin, Rodman, & Hyams, 2007).

According to Java and Ahmad, there are eight sounds of British English

diphthongs. There are /ɪə/, /eə/, /ʊə/, /eɪ/, /ɑɪ/, /ɔɪ/, /əʊ/, and /aʊ/ (Java and Ahmad,

2014). This research will show the students’ ability in pronouncing some words

that contain diphthong sounds. Therefore, in the end of this research presents the

extent of pre-service English teachers can pronounce the English diphthongs.


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2. Pre-service English Teachers of ELESP in Sanata Dharma University

The researcher chose pre-service English teachers of English Language

Education Study Program as the participants. It is because they prepare to be a

teacher and should be ready became a teacher soon. The researcher chose students

of Sanata Dharma University who had already taken microteaching class because

they done a process of being a teachers. They learnt pronunciation a lot. The

researcher chose 40 students of ELESP students as the research participants. The

researcher chose 40 students to get firm and detail research results. As a result,

this research presents pre-service English teachers’ ability in pronouncing the

English diphthongs. Then, the difficulties they face in learning pronunciation.


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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter consists of two main parts, namely theoretical description and

theoretical framework. Theoretical description will explain about the theories that

are used in this research to answer the research questions. The theories are about

linguistics, pronunciation, phonetics and phonology, diphthongs, and foreign

language.

Meanwhile the second part will explain about theoretical framework.

Theoretical framework will synthesize all the theories elaborate in theoretical

description in order to make correlation between the theories and recent study.

A. Theoretical Description

1. Linguistics

Linguistic is the study about language. According to Poole, Language is

generally considered as a form of communication between human beings by

means of a system of symbol, which are principally transmitted by vocal sounds

(Poole, 1999). Another expert also emphasizes that communication as function of

the language. Mastery over learning pronunciation of a target language has

become a crucial prerequisite while learning EFL. The communicative approaches

have revolutionized the field of the English language teaching (Pennington, 1996).


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Those references mean that pronunciation is very important in learning

foreign language especially English language. People will understand what EFL

learners are going to say if they can pronounce the words clearly rather than their

grammar. When they can pronounce or mention the words clearly, people will

understand their goals no matter how bad their grammar is.

Learning pronunciation is not only learning how to mention the words, but

also learning to pronounce diphthongs correctly. The English diphthongs are a

part of linguistics and pronunciation. Linguistics has some branches such as

phonetics, phonology, stress, placement, diphthongs, morphology, syntax, and

other aspects. This research focuses on diphthongs only.

2. Pronunciation

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word ‘pronounce’ is defined as

‘make the sound of (a word or part of a word) in the correct or a particular way’.

Pronunciation can be defined as a way in which a language is spoken, especially

the way in which it is generally accepted or understood.

Pronunciation means production of utterances of sounds of a language.

English pronunciation has various components, such as sounds, stress, and

variation in pitch. English learners need to understand the functions of those

components as well as the forms. The foreign language teaching always deals

with changing of learner’s pronunciation as learners find it difficult to pronounce

the English diphthongs.


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It is very important for second language learners to pronounce the language

correctly and follow a particular accent. Kenworthy (1987) states that learner

needs to develop concern for pronunciation. They must recognize that poor

unintelligible speech will make their attempts at conversing frustration and

unpleasant both for themselves and for their listeners.

Most English learners do not know how to produce acceptable sounds. They

also speak what they hear. Therefore, the English teachers need to concentrate

their efforts in teaching acceptable pronunciations to the learners who ultimately

might seek admissions in the English speaking countries. Attitude and motivation

shall intermittently guide the learners to produce the sounds, which are acceptable

to the native learners. That is why English teachers must have the knowledge of

phonetics of English and they should know different techniques to teach

pronunciation.

The main problem of English pronunciation is to build a new set of boxes

corresponding to the sound of English, and to break down the arrangement of

boxes which is the habits of our nature language have so strongly built up. We do

this by establishing new ways of hearing, new ways of using our speech organs,

and new ways of habits ( O’Connor, 1980).

3. Phonetics and Phonology

According to Poole, phonology is the study of sounds in the context of

language and other varieties of language (Poole, 1999). It is the theory about how


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sounds are organized. According to Clark (1990), phonetics and phonology are

concerned with a speech with the ways in which humans produce and hear speech.

The term phonology is often associated with the study of the “higher” level

of speech organization Yallop and Clark (1990, p. 123). They are known as

individual sounds in the phonetic distinctions. According to the International

Phonetic Association (IPA), there are 44 sounds in the British English language

sound system, out of which 24 are consonant and, 12 (7 short and 5 long) are

vowels Roach (1983, p. 40).

As regards the present research, both the segmental phonology and supra-

segmental phonology are considered. The sound system of the English language,

in linguistics, is studied under these two aspects Gimson and Ramsaran (1970, p.

214). Chu (2006, p. 372) states that phonetic system is more effective in term of

pronunciation learning and instruction.

4. Diphthongs

Diphthongs are other types of vowel. They refer to a sequence of two

sounds, vowels and glide Fromkin, Roman, and Hyams (2007, p. 208). This

research focuses on the diphthongs. It is important for Pre-service English

teachers to know about diphthongs. The most common mistake in pronunciation

that is visible is the production of pure vowels where a diphthong should be

pronounced. It is a part of pronunciation. Learning English is not only about the


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grammar, but also about the pronunciation. Language is a way to communicate

with other people, so pronunciation is important. It is to cover misunderstanding

in communicating with other people.

Yallop and Clark (1990, p. 90) states, diphthongs seem to be another

instance of two phonetic segments functioning as one. They are, in a sense, two

vowels forming a single entity and are analogous to affricates or prenasalized

plosives in that they are generally regarded as single but complex segments Clark

and Yallop (1990, p. 90).

The term diphthong is reserved for a glide between two vowel qualities,

neither of which dominates. The categorized of glide is based on the major of

auditory distinction that divide the continuum of articulatory timing.

According to Javed and Ahmad (2014), the combination of two vowel

sounds rapidly gliding from one sound to another is called a diphthong. There are

eight (3 centering and 5 closing) diphthongs in the British English language sound

system. Three sounds such as /ɪə/ (hear), /eə/ (wear), and /ʊə/ (tour) are called

centering diphthongs ending at /ə/ (schwa sound).

Three sounds ending at /ɪ/ such as /eɪ/ (day), /ɑɪ/ (my), /ɔɪ/ (boy) are known

as closing diphthongs and lastly two sounds that culminate at /ʊ/ such as /əʊ/ (go),

/aʊ/ (how) are also called closing diphthongs (Javad and Ahmad, 2014).

One can also classify diphthongs into rising diphthongs, narrow diphthongs,

and wide diphthongs. A rising diphthongs is a diphthong in which the end part has


14

greater prominence than the beginning part. A narrow diphthongs is in which the

movement of the tongue is relatively small, for examples the diphthongs /ei/ and

/ou/. A wide diphthong is in which the movement of the tongue is relatively great,

for examples /ai/ and /au/.

Figure 3.1 British English Diphthongs according to Java and Achmad (2014,

p. 56)

DIPHTHONGS

5. Foreign Language

Generally, students learn how to produce a word by imitating and following

what they have listened in their daily lives. Pre-service English teachers learn

English as a second language after their mother tongue. They must understand

English as the second language for their target education. Second/foreign

language (L2) learning is more complicated as compared to learning L1. Celce-

Murcia, Brinton, and Goodwin (1996, p. 115) claim that non-native speakers of

Centering Closing

Ending in /ə/

ə

/

ɪə eə

ʊə

Ending in

/I/

eɪ

aɪ

ɔɪ

Ending in/ʊ/

əʊ aʊ


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English need to achieve a threshold level of pronunciation to be understood and to

minimize oral communication problems.

It is also observed that the learning of receptive skills is easier than the

productive skills. The students cannot get the mastery over these skills like native

speakers, in spite of learning it for many years. This problem is experienced

severely in learning English as a foreign language (EFL) as the learners have

difficulty in getting natural exposure to the target language. Furthermore, EFL

learners cannot learn the native accent perfectly in spoken English Richard and

Schmidt (2010, p. 457).

In learning English as Foreign Language, there is a term, namely

Communicative Competence. In the context of foreign language education,

intercultural competence is linked to communicative competence in a foreign

language. Communicative competence refers to a person’s ability to act in a

foreign language in a linguistically, socio-linguistically and pragmatically

appropriate way Byram and Phips (2005, p. 55). Students cannot leave their

mother tongue accent. They cannot learn English accent perfectly.

B. Theoretical Framework

The research particularly aims at analyzing the extent of pre-service English

teachers’ can pronounce the English diphthongs correctly and the difficulties they

found in learning pronunciation. The researcher summaries and synthesizes all

theories related to the research to answer the two formulated research questions.


16

This research presents the pre-service English teachers’ ability in

pronouncing the English diphthongs to answer the first research question; “To

what extent can the pre-service English teachers of English Language Education

Study Program pronounce diphthongs?” Diphthongs pronunciation theory is used

as the basis theory as it provides the benefits of learning diphthongs

pronunciation. As a result, the researcher presents the pre-service English teachers

pronunciation of diphthongs words. Then, show the benefits of having good

pronunciation. Kenworthy (1987, p. 5) states that learner needs to develop

concern for pronunciation. They must recognize that poor unintelligible speech

will make their attempts at conversing frustration and unpleasant both for

themselves and for their listeners.

In learning pronunciation, pre-service English teachers found difficulties.

However, pronunciation is one of important elements to be learnt by pre-service

English teachers. Celce-Murcia, Brinton, and Goodwin (1996, p. 56) state that

pronunciation needs to be taught and deserves more attention in a language

course. The researcher applies those theories to answer and support the second

research questions; “What difficulty do they face in pronouncing the English

Diphthongs?

Moreover, Celce-Murcia, Brinton, and Goodwin (1996, p. 120) claim that

non-native speakers of English need to achieve a threshold level of pronunciation

to be understood and to minimize oral communication problems. Pronunciation is

very important to be learnt. The students should master it well. Harmer (2007, p.

250) states that pronunciation is very important. Learning pronunciation not only


17

makes students aware of different sounds and some features, but can also improve

their speaking immeasurably. This theory is used as it provides sufficient

information to support the result of this research related to learning pronunciation.


18

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methodology that is used to obtain the data. There

are four parts in this chapter. Those are research method, research subject,

research instruments, and data gathering technique. The research method will

discuss about the definition of the appropriate research type that is chosen by the

researcher to do this research in brief. The research subject will show the

elaboration of the subject research as the sampling method. The last part, the

research instruments and the data gathering, will explain the instrument that the

researcher used to gather and develop the data.

A. Research Method

The researcher of this research focused on pre-service English teachers’

ability in pronouncing the English diphthongs and the difficulty they found in

learning pronunciation. The research method was employed in order to

answer the two research questions. Those were briefly formulated as follows.

1. To what extent can the pre-service English teachers of English

Language Education Study Program pronounce diphthongs?

2. What difficulty do they face in pronouncing the English Diphthongs?

In this research, the researcher applied survey research as the research

method. According to Arikunto (2009) A survey is a method of collecting data


19

from people about who they are, how they think, and what they do (behavior)

Arikunto (2009). Groves (2009) states that survey methodology seeks to identify

principles about the sign, collection, processing, and analysis of surveys in

connection to the cost and quality of survey estimates.

This research applied survey study to get information deeper about pre-

service English teachers’ behavior in pronouncing the English diphthongs and the

difficulty they found in learning pronunciation.

B. Research Setting

The researcher spent ten months in analyzing the extent of pre-service

English teachers can pronounce diphthongs and their difficulty in learning

pronunciation. The process included compiling the pronunciation theories, doing

the survey or the test to the participants, analyzing the diphthong sounds test,

summarize the interview, and writing up the report f this research.

This research was conducted in Sanata Dharma University. It was to find the

participants, who had taken microteaching class. There were 40 students chosen.

The test was done at Self Access Center and other places around campus.

C. Research Participants

In this research, the researcher used purposive sampling. According to


20

Latham, purposive sampling was selecting a sample on the basic of the

researcher’s knowledge of the population, its elements, and the nature of the

research aims. The population was randomly selected based on a particular

characteristic Latham (2007, p. 512).

The researcher chose students of English Language Education Study

Program in Sanata Dharma University. This research focused on students who had

taken microteaching class. It was because they prepared to be a teacher soon. The

participants were 40 pre-service English teachers. According to Arikunto (2009,

p. 11) states that a minimum sample size of 30 subjects. This is based on

calculations or testing requirements that are commonly used in statistics.

Therefore, the researcher chose 40 students to get more data and accurate data. 40

students done a test and filled the questionnaire. 10 students done the interview.

D. Research Instruments and Data Gathering Techniques

To gain the data, the researcher used three instruments, namely test, close-

ended questions, and Interview. Those instruments were used to obtain the data in

order to get answers of the research questions. Those three instruments were

commonly used in a survey to collect data from selected sample to which the

findings of the data analysis could be generalized (Gall, Gall, and Borg; 2007).


21

a). Test

According to Arikunto (2010, p. 193), test is a set of questions of exercise or

other instrument used to measure the skill, knowledge intelligent or attitude of an

individual or group. In addition Margono (2010, p. 170) states that a test is a set of

stimuli given to someone to get answer as a basic of score determination.

The researcher collected the data from the test in order to analyze the

extent of pre-service English teachers can pronounce diphthongs. A test was

chosen because it was easy and accurate for the researcher in collecting the data.

In this research, the test was done to show the students’ pronunciation directly.

The participants will pronounce the diphthongs words and record it. The test was

easy to differentiate between students with good pronunciation and not. The test

was made to get clear data. It was about pronunciation, so the test would be a very

good instrument to collect the real data.

The researcher used content validity to make the test valid. Sukardi (2007,

p. 115) states that an instrument so-called valid if the instrument that is to be use

can measure what will measurability. The validity of instrument is standard was

indicated where is instrument of test what will measurability. Content validity is a

kind of validity, which depends on careful analysis of the language being tested

and the particular test. A test is said to have content validity if its contents

constitutes a representative sample of the language skill, structure, etc, being

tested Sukardi (2007, p. 117). The researcher made this test based on the words

that they usually pronounce in daily life. Therefore, this test is valid in term of

content validity. The content validity in this research can be showed as follow:


22

Table 3.1 Content Validity

No. Competence Indicator Test Item

1. Pre-service English teachers are able to

pronounce diphthong sounds /ɪə/

1,2,3,4,5


pronounce diphthong sounds /eə/

6,7,8,9,10


pronounce diphthong sounds /ʊə/

11,12,13,14,15


pronounce diphthong sounds /eɪ/

16,17,18,19,20


pronounce diphthong sounds /ɑɪ/

21,22,23,24,25


pronounce diphthong sounds /ɔɪ/

26,27,28,29,30


pronounce diphthong sounds /əʊ/

31,32,33,34,35


pronounce diphthong sounds /aʊ/

36,37,38,39,40

b) Questionnaire

The questionnaire was chosen because it helped the researcher to collect the

data cheaply and quickly. The first advantage was the cost of sampling

respondents over a wide geography was lower and the second advantage was the


23

time required to collect the data typically was much less (Gall, Gall, and Borg

2007).

The questionnaire was distributed in order find the pre-service English

teachers’ awareness of the important of learning pronunciation. The questionnaire

is made to gain the data quickly. The participants would have only one type of

question in the questionnaire. It was close-ended questions. Close-ended question

was question, which was easy to administer. It was straightforward to code and

did not discriminate unduly based on how articulate the respondents were (Wilson

and McLean, 1994).

On the other hand, according to Oppenheim (1992) close-ended questions

also had its advantages. Close-ended questions did not enable participants to add

any remarks, qualifications, and explanations to the categories, and there was a

risk that categories might not be exhaustive and that might be bias (as cited in

Cohen, Manion, and Marrison, 2011, p. 382).

In this research, the researcher used likert-scale as there were six questions

with five choices of answer. Those are strongly agree, agree, undecided, strongly

disagree, and disagree. Likert-scale was a set of statements offered for a real

situation under the study Joshi, Kale, Chandel, and Pal (2015). The participants

were asked to show their level of agreement with the statements given. The

questionnaire is done to show the students agreement about their pronunciation

learning.


24

c) Interview

Arikunto (2006, p. 227) states that an interview is a dialogue done by

interviewer, to gain information as many as possible from an interviewee. In this

research, the interview consisted of direct questions and was answered directly by

the research participants. The aim of the interview in this research was to get

deeper data from the participants. The interview would allow the researcher to get

more data about the pre-service English teachers’ difficulties in learning

pronunciation.

The semi-structure interview involved asking a series of structured-

questions and the probing more deeply with opened-form questions to open

additional information Wilson and McLean (1994, p. 228). Arikunto (2006, p.

229) states that there are some advantages using interview in gathering the data.

The examples are the researcher is able to takes into account the attitude of

participants when coming, the attitude when sitting, facial attitude, gesture

attitude, and all the attitudes done by the participants during the interview.

E. Data Analysis Technique

According to Moelong (2006, p. 104) states that Data analysis is a process

of categorizing, systematizing data into pattern, category, and basic easy unit to

find out the theme and to formulate the hypothesis as suggested by data. In this

research, the data was collected from three instruments namely, test,

questionnaire, and interview.


25

a). Test

In the test, the researcher prepared 40 diphthongs words. The participants

should mention the words based on their understanding. The participants would

record their pronunciation.

The first step to get the data was listening the recorder from the participants.

Then, the researcher would calculate the recorders based on their pronunciation.

The researcher would make percentage from the data between students who could

pronounce diphthongs correctly and for those who could not pronounce

diphthongs correctly.

In order to find out the result in number, the research was going to calculate

the total respondents. Then, the researcher changed it into percentage and put it in

a table. The formula was;

Ʃ𝑝

Ʃ𝑥 𝑋 100% = 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒

Notes:

Ʃp was the number of participants based on pronounce diphthongs

correctly or not

Ʃx was the number of all participants in this research


26

b). Questionnaire

The researcher also used questionnaire. It was close-ended questions. In the

questionnaire, the researcher made six close-ended statements. For each

statement, the degree of agreement and disagreement were classified as strongly

agree, agree, undecided, disagree, and strongly disagree.

The first step to gain the data was the researcher calculated the amounts of

the responses from the students who answered strongly agree, agree, undecided,

disagree, and strongly disagree. After knowing the total number, the writer put the

data on the table to make it clear.

The result was based on the participants’ answers. In order to know the

result in number, the researcher calculated the total respondents and the data

obtained, and changed it into percentage. The formula was;

Ʃ𝑦

Ʃ𝑝 𝑋 100% = 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒

Notes

Ʃ𝑦 was the number of participants based on the degree of agreement

Ʃ𝑝 was the number of participants in this study

Percentage was the result.


27

c). Interview

In order to answer the research problems, the researcher analyzed and

presented the data from the interview. The interview was conducted to get data for

the research problems, which were the pre-service English teachers’ difficulties in

learning diphthongs pronunciation. After the researcher had conducted the

interview, the researcher had to summarize the data. Based on the data, the

researcher would tell the difficulties from the participants as the result for the

second research problem. The researcher would describe and explain the result

into descriptions.

E. Research Procedure

In this research, the researcher conducted the following research steps to

make the research effective. There were six steps that should be followed which

were; planning, defining the participants, constructing the instruments, conducting

the survey, processing the data, and reporting the data.

1. Planning

The first step that should be followed by the researcher was planning the

research. The researcher started this research from the topic that would be used for

this research. The researcher also explained the reasons why the researcher chose

the topic and the background of the topic chosen. The researcher formulated the


28

research problems for the research. Last, the researcher gathered all theories to

support the researcher in conducting the research.

2. Defining the Participants

The next step that the researcher had to conduct was to define the

participants of the research. The target population of this research was pre-service

English teachers of ELESP in Sanata Dharma University who had taken

microteaching class. The writer chose 40 students as the participants for this

research.

3. Constructing the Instruments

In this step, the researcher already had the sampling. Therefore, the

researcher needed to make an instrument to conduct the research. The researcher

constructed a test. In the test, the researcher prepared 40 English diphthongs

words. The researcher also used interview as the instrument. In the interview, the

researcher had to record the interview to gain the data.

The researcher would take five students with good pronunciation and five

students with bad pronunciation. The interview was going to be done in five days,

with three students each day and would take 15 minutes for each student the most.


29

4. Conducting the Survey

The researcher distributed the test to the participants of the research. After

the test, the researcher conducted interviews with some of the participants who

had either good or bad pronunciation. As a result, the researcher chose 10 students

to be interviewed. Five of those were good in pronouncing diphthong sounds and

the others were not.

5. Processing the Data

After conducting the research, the researcher should gather the data from the

test and the interview. Then, the researcher analyzed the data to be processed.

This step was done to find out the results of the research.

6. Reporting the Data

The last step of the research was to report the data. The result of this

research was used to explain the research result and also the discussion. In the end

the result would be used to support the conclusions of the research.


30

CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In this chapter, the researcher presents and discusses the data obtained from

the test and the interview to answer the research question, which are to what

extent can the English students as teachers pre-service pronounce diphthongs? In

addition, what difficulty do they face in pronouncing the English diphthongs?

The test, questionnaire, and interview are the instruments used by the researcher

to obtain the data from the research participants.

A. Research Results

In this part, the researcher would present the data results that were already

obtained from the research. Those were data from test, questionnaire, and data

from interview. The data from test, questionnaire, and interview were divided into

one part only.

1. The extent to which pre-service English teachers of ELESP could

pronounce diphthongs from the Test.

This part presents the findings to answer the research questions formulated.

The research question was about the extent to which pre-service English teachers

ELESP in pronouncing the English diphthongs. This section shows the percentage


31

between students who can pronounce diphthongs correctly and those who cannot.

The data is gathered using a test consisting 40 diphthong sounds for 40 students.

The researcher found out the percentage between the students who can pronounce

diphthongs correctly and those who could not pronounce diphthongs correctly.

Table 4.1 in the appendix presents the data of the test results.

Based on the table 4.1, the result for the first diphthong /ɪə/ was most of the

students could pronounce all five words that contain diphthong /ɪə/ correctly.

However, there were 45 % or 18 students out of 40 students who pronounce the

word “fear” incorrectly. It had bigger percentage than other four words that

contain diphthong /ɪə/. It showed that there were still most of students who found

difficulties in pronouncing diphthong /ɪə/ in several words.

The second diphthong was /eə/, there were three words, could be

pronounced correctly by all of the participants. Those words were “wear, bear,

and care.” There were 40 out of 40 students or 100% of participants could

pronounce those words correctly. However, 23 students could not pronounce the

words “pear” correctly. Then, 13 students mentioned the word “rare” incorrectly

and doubtfully.

The third diphthong sound was /ʊə/. There were two words that was

difficult to be pronounced by most of the participants. There were 34 students or

85% could not pronounce the word “cure.” Moreover, there were 31 students

could not pronounce the word “pure” correctly. However, most of students could

pronounce the words “poor, tour, and sure” easily. They pronounced those words


32

clearly. The next diphthong was /ei/. Five words were pronounced correctly. The

result was 100% students could pronounce the words “day, may, and weight”

correctly. Those were easy examples because they used to hear those words in

their daily life. On the other hand, 10 students or 25% pronounced the word “lay”

incorrectly. Then, 70 % or 28 students could not pronounce the word “rate”

correctly.

The diphthong number 5 was /ai/. The best result was 100% or 40 students

out of 40 could pronounce all the five words provided correctly and clearly. The

words were “find, my, right, light, and fight.” No one of them made mistake in

pronouncing those words word. It concluded that the students were familiar with

the words and were able to mention the words that contain the diphthong /ai/.

The sixth diphthong was /ɔɪ/. The result was 100% participants could

pronounce the words “boy, joy, and boil” correctly and clearly. They were able to

pronounce those words easily because they often mentioned those words.

However, there were 24 students could not pronounce the word “enjoy” correctly.

They were doubtful and tried to repeat the word twice. Therefore, the researcher

put them in to incorrect one.

The next diphthong sound was /əʊ/. The big percentage was from the word

“go.” It was a word, which students commonly used to mention in their daily

lives. They were very familiar with this word. However, only eight students who

could pronounce this word correctly and clearly. The rest 34 students or 85%,

they could not pronounce this word correctly. The second word was “home.” The


33

result for this word was almost the same. There were 80% or 32 students could

not pronounce this word correctly and clearly. Some of the students pronounce

this word unclearly. They repeated it two until three times.

The last diphthong sound was /aʊ/. There were five words if contained the

diphthong sound /aʊ/. There were “house, how, mouse, and doubt.” Almost all

participants could pronounce those words correctly and clearly. The problem was

on the word “frown.” 70% or 28 students could not pronounce this word correctly.

Only several of them could pronounce it clearly.

As the result above, the researcher concluded that some of the students

found difficulties in pronouncing many words that contain diphthongs sounds. It

meant that they had to pay attention more on their pronunciation. They had to

improve their pronunciation skill. However, some of them could not pronounce

those words easily. They could pronounce every word clearly.

2. The extent to which pre-service English teachers of ELESP could

pronounce diphthongs from questionnaire.

The researcher found the result of the first research problem from the

questionnaire. The researcher provided six closed-ended questions. Table 4.2

shows the following data.

As presented in table 4.2, the result of statement 1 was 29 out of 40 students

or 72.5% students chose strongly agree, and the rest 11 students or 27.5% chose

agree. No one chose disagree, undecided, or strongly disagree. It could be seen


34

that the highest percentage was calculated. Therefore, it concluded that most of

the students thought that learning English pronunciation is very important as

English teacher candidates.

Table 4.2 The students’ agreement about pronunciation

No

Statements

Frequencies of Responses

SA A UD D SD

N % n % N % N % N %

1 Learning

pronunciation is

important for

English teacher

candidates

29 72.

5

11 27.

5

0 0 0 0 0 0

2 Learning

diphthongs is

difficult

18 45 3 7.5 0 0 15 37.

5

4 10

3 I find difficulties

in learning

diphthongs

24 60 4 10 5 12.5 7 17.

5

0 0

4 I increase my

ability by

practicing often

15 37.

5

7 17.

5

1

0

25 8 20 0 0

5 I understand the

knowledge about

phonetic

transcription

6

15 10 25 1

5

37.5 9 22.

5

0 0

The statement 2 had this following result. It was 45% students strongly

agreed with the statement and 7.5% students agreed with the statements. On the

other hand, 37.5% students disagreed with the statement and the 10% strongly

disagreed with the statement. No one chose undecided. The result showed that 21

students thought that learning diphthongs pronunciation was difficult.

Next, statement number 3, the result was 17.5% or 7 students disagreed with

the statement, 60% or 24 students strongly agreed with the statements, and 10% or

4 students agreed with the statement. However, 12.5% or 5 students chose


35

undecided with the statement. It meant that 28 students found difficulties in

learning diphthongs pronunciation. Seven students could learn diphthongs easily.

Then, five students were doubtful with their answers.

As for statement number 4, the result was the majority of the students

strongly agreed with 37.5%. Meanwhile 20% students chose disagree, 25%

students chose undecided, 17.5% students chose agree, and 0% students chose

strongly disagree. It showed that most of the students increase their pronunciation

ability by practicing often. However, there were also students who did not know

what they should do to increase their pronunciation skills.

The last, the result of the statement number 5 was 37.5% students chose

undecided, 22.5% students chose disagree, 15% students chose strongly agree,

and 25% students chose agree. It could be concluded that most of the students

were doubtful with the statements. Most of them were not sure whether they

understood the knowledge well or not. However, 22.5% students who were sure

that they did not understand the knowledge of phonetic transcription. While there

was 15% plus 25% students were sure that they mastered the phonetics

transcription.

3. The difficulty they found in learning pronunciation from the interview.

In this part, the researcher presents the data gathered from open-ended

question part in questionnaire. There are six questions, which the students need to

answer in order to gather data.


36

a. What do you think about learning pronunciation?

The researcher chose ten students to be interviewed in order to answer the

question. This first question, the researcher already chose three best answered

from the participants.

The first best answer was students thought that learning pronunciation was

very important. It was one of their responsibilities to learn pronunciation as

English language students. They considered that English students should learn

pronunciation. Some of them said that they chose to study in English language; it

meant they had to learn everything related to English language. They also said

that there were so many things should be learnt to be an English teacher.

Pronunciation was one of the most important aspects that they should master as

the English teachers candidates.

The second point was pronunciation was a difficult lesson to be learnt.

Some of the students said that pronunciation was one of difficult lessons in

learning English language. They got pronunciation lesson twice. It was

Pronunciation 1 and Pronunciation 2. Some of the students shared that they got C

in both lessons. There were so many aspects that they should learn in

pronunciation. Sometimes, they could not follow the English accent. They were

still influenced by their own mother tongue. They had to memorize every word

and the way to mention the word correctly.

The last point was pronunciation was easy and fun to be learnt. There were

some students enjoyed in learning pronunciation. This was new thing for some

students. Several students were fun to learn new knowledge. They could follow


37

the lesson well. The researcher found some students had very good pronunciation.

They could mention every single word correctly.

b. What are you doing when you find difficulties in learning

pronunciation?

The researcher concluded the answer for this question into three interesting

points. The researcher would describe the answers one by one.

The first interesting point was by opening English dictionary. It was a usual

answer, but some students answered that. They said that although opening the

dictionary was a usual thing, but it was a simple thing they could do to find the

word. On the other hand, some students did not understand we how they would

read the phonetics transcription. Therefore, they opened online dictionary to listen

the sound of the word. Nowadays, there were some types of dictionary. It was not

only a book but also electronic or online ones. They could download it from their

mobile phones and brought it everywhere. They could learn everywhere and

whenever it was.

The second was just waiting until the next class of pronunciation came.

They said that they were aware that so many things should be learnt in

pronunciation. It was not only about mentioning the words, but also understanding

the concept too. Sometimes, they thought that they did not understand when they

only listened to the lecturers’ explanation. Therefore, they tried to practice

speaking more. They tried to speak often in class. They also added their

vocabularies list.


38

The third point was reading a lot. There were only three out of ten students

answered that. They said that they loved reading a lot. No matter it were

magazines, newspapers, novels, or comics. Everything was in English. They told

that it helped them to improve their vocabularies. When they read that and found

new words, they tried to find it in dictionary. After that, they would know the

meaning and the way to read the words correctly.

In addition, the researcher concluded that actually there were so many

things that they could do in solving their difficulties. Those three answers were

only the most examples that most participants could do when they found

difficulties in learning pronunciation. It was simple thing, but it had big meaning

for English teacher candidates.

c. How important pronunciation for pre-service English teachers is?

In this question, the students answered with almost the same points. They

said that pronunciation was very important for students. It was a soul for English

teachers’ candidates. Pronunciation was the important thing in teaching. It was

one of tools to communicate to the students. Every single word that the teacher

said would be an example for the students. No matter whether the teacher said

was correct; students would believe in what the teacher said. Therefore, teacher

should have good pronunciation as a good model for the students.

Having good pronunciation could avoid misunderstanding between the

teachers and the students. Sometimes, when the teachers pronounced the wrong

words, the students would misunderstand what teachers meant. They said that


39

being a teacher was not easy. It faced many responsibilities. A good English

teacher should master grammar and pronunciation. Those two important aspects

were needed as an English teacher.

d. Are you familiar with diphthongs? In addition, what do you think

about learning diphthongs pronunciation?

Ten students were interviewed to answer this question. The researcher

summarized the result into three best points.

The first best answer was they were familiar with the diphthongs. They

learned diphthongs in phonetic and phonology class. Diphthong was one aspect

that they should learn in pronunciation class. Their understanding about

diphthongs was that diphthong had some words that had double phonetics

transcription. Some words were difficult to pronounce. It was also difficult to

memorize the words that contained diphthongs words. This result showed that

they were aware that they learnt diphthongs, but it was difficult to pronounce

correctly.

The second answer was they were familiar, but they forgot the theory. Some

students said that they had learnt diphthongs in pronunciation class. However,

they forgot the theory of the diphthongs. They forgot the knowledge about

diphthongs. There were also students who could not mention the examples of

diphthongs words. It meant that some of students were not seriously in learning

pronunciation. They said that they pronounced the words based on what they

listened.


40

The third answer was they did not remember about diphthongs at all. There

were three students did not answer this question. They just said that they really

forgot about this knowledge. They said that pronunciation was very difficult to be

learnt. There were some aspects in pronunciation that was difficult to understand

and to memorize. Sometimes, it made students afraid to speak a lot. It was

because they were afraid of making mistakes in pronouncing some words.

e. What do you know about phonetic transcription? Do you understand it

well?

This question showed the students’ understanding about how they could

mention every word correctly. The researcher chose two best answers for this

question.

The first answer was that phonetics transcription was one of theories in

pronunciation. It was about the way they read or mentioned the words correctly.

Some of the participants said that phonetics transcription was difficult to

memorize. Students should memorize the sound of the words, which was different

from the sound. They understood the concept well, but they found difficulties to

memorize the phonetics itself. Sometimes, when they had to take a test about

phonetics transcription, they got C for that reason.

The second answer was that phonetics transcription was knowledge that

could improve their pronunciation. It could help the students to know the sounds

of the words correctly. When they started to learn English language, they just

considered that they got so many new vocabularies. They said that so many


41

vocabularies they did not know how to pronounce correctly. Learning phonetics

transcription was very beneficial for those students. It was new knowledge for

them. As English teachers’ candidates, they had to memorize as many as possible

new vocabularies. Therefore, they would not repeat the same words when they

were teaching or doing public speaking.

Based on those answers, the researcher concluded that in fact students knew

a lot about phonetics transcription. They also knew the benefits of learning

phonetics transcription. However, they had to study hard to understand the

knowledge well. Therefore, they could master and memorize the phonetics easily.

As English teacher candidates, it was very important to mention every single word

correctly. It was also very important for them to have many vocabularies.

Therefore, the students should have strategy to learn pronunciation effectively.

f. What important factors that needed to be an English teacher?

This part presents about the important factors that are needed to be an

English teacher. Being an English teacher was not easy. Therefore, English

teachers candidates should know the important part to support their jobs as

English teachers. The researcher concluded that there were four important factors.

The first factor was an English teacher should have good pronunciation and

clear articulation. Students said that it was very important for good teacher to have

good pronunciation. When they became a teacher, speaking was the only one way

to communicate with the students. If the teachers had good pronunciation and

clear articulation, it would make the communication easy to be understood. It


42

could avoid misunderstanding between teachers and students. Teaching English

language was difficult. Therefore, if the teachers did not have good pronunciation,

it would make learning English language becomes more difficult.

The second factor was English teachers should have good grammar. English

teachers should master grammar knowledge. Later, they would teach about

grammar too. Therefore, teachers should have good grammar first, so they would

be a good model for the students. Grammar was the basic knowledge for the

teachers. Sometimes, some students found difficulties in learning grammar.

Therefore, if the teachers had good pronunciation, students would understand the

materials and instructions well.

The third factor was attitude to be professional teachers. An English teacher

should have good attitude. It was to show that they were a professional teacher.

Good attitude meant that teacher should be patient, smart, and wise in facing the

students. Some of the participants shared that they often found a teacher who did

not have good attitude as a teacher. It would make the students were not interested

to study with that teachers. They said that they wanted to be a nice teacher. They

wanted to be teachers who could make the students comfortable and fun in

studying English with them. The participants also showed that they would be

interested to the teacher who could dress appropriately. If the teachers had good

looking or appearance, it made students comfortable in the class.

The last factor was creativity. In their opinion, to be an English teacher

should be more creative than other teachers should. As we know, that English

language had so many theories. Therefore, teachers should be more creative in


43

teaching the students. Teachers should prepared interesting and fun methods to

teach their students. It would make the students were eager to learn English.

Otherwise, teachers should also think that the method would make the students

easy to understand the knowledge that was given by the teachers.

Based on the interview above the researcher concluded that being an

English teacher was not easy. They had to try hard to be a good English teacher.

They had to study hard in mastering every theory of English language. Moreover,

the answer showed that pronunciation was very important for English teacher

candidates. It was the important requirement that they should prove to be a good

English teacher.

B. Discussion

This part presented the discussion of the data analysis in order to answer the

research questions, which were related to the pronunciation of diphthongs sounds

by students of ELESP. The researcher would combine the data findings with the

supported theories to draw conclusions.

Based on the first research problem, it was to the extent to which the

students of ELESP could pronounce diphthongs. There were three important

points from the participants’ responses. First, some students were aware that

learning pronunciation was important but it was difficult. Second, other students

were not aware of the importance of learning pronunciation. Last, some of

students forgot the knowledge of pronunciation.


44

The first result was learning pronunciation for students of ELESP was

very important. The example was in table 4.2, the result of statement 1 was 29 out

of 40 students or 72.5% students chose strongly agree, and the rest 11 students or

27.5% chose agree. No one chose disagree, undecided, or strongly disagree. The

second example was that they had two pronunciation classes in University. It was

not only about learning but also they should master pronunciation well. The

importance of pronunciation was shown by the two pronunciation classes they had

as students of ELESP. They had to pay attention more in learning pronunciation.

Celce-Murcia, Brinton, and Goodwin (1996) state that pronunciation needed to be

taught and deserved more attention in language course. This statement showed

that pronunciation was very important aspect to be learned, especially for students

of ELESP. Harmer (2000, p. 183) states that for all people, being made aware of

pronunciation issues would be of immense benefit not only to their own

production, but also to their own understanding of spoken English.

The second was the students of ELESP were not aware the importance of

learning pronunciation. Some of them said that learning pronunciation was just

obligatory lesson that they should past as students of ELESP. Therefore, they just

followed the whole class without learnt it deeper. After this class done they will

forget the lesson. Even if they only got C for this lesson. On the other hand, Yates

(2009) states that pronunciation is best taught as an integrated part of language

learning from the very beginning lesson. Therefore, students should focus on

those two pronunciation classes. They would learn pronunciation from the basic

knowledge in those classes.


45

It was supported by Dalton (1998, p. 6) by stating about the importance of

the students to be aware the pronunciation elements. When it comes to a language

teaching, it is important to note that there is a difference between what is effective

as appoint of reference or set of bearings for learning (let us call this a modal) and

what is presented as an attainable behavioral target (let us call this a norm). The

task of pronunciation learning, as in the teaching of any other aspect of language,

is to establish models for guidance, not norms for imitation

The last result was that students forgot the knowledge of pronunciation after

finishing the pronunciation classes. Based on the interview result, some students

shared that they forgot some theories in pronunciation class. It showed that

students of ELESP were lazy to continue study pronunciation individual after

those classes finished. Some students felt pessimistic with their pronunciation

ability. They said that they did not have good pronunciation. Therefore, they did

not want to learn it deeper. They were afraid of trying and making mistake in

pronouncing diphthongs. Students should believe their own pronunciation ability.

They had to keep learning pronunciation, not to forget it. They did not need have

good pronunciation like native speaker, but they just have to keep practice.

Abercrombie (1991, p. 93) states that the learner works at developing a

pronunciation style, that is clear and understandable to both native and non-native

speakers, but not necessarily native like.


46

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

In this chapter, the researcher presents the conclusions from the discussion

in chapter IV and the suggestions. The researcher divides this chapter into two

parts. The first past is the conclusions, which is the summary of the research

findings. Meanwhile the second part is the suggestions for the future researches.

A. Conclusions

There are two research problems in this research. Those are (1) to what

extent can the pre-service English teachers pronounce diphthongs? (2) Moreover

what difficulty do they face in pronouncing the English diphthongs?

After conducting the research, the researcher found that as English teachers’

candidates, from 40 students most of ELESP students in Sanata Dharma

University could not pronounce diphthongs correctly. They were not aware the

importance of having good pronunciation as English teachers candidates. They

also found difficulties in learning pronunciation. Therefore, this research provided

suggestions for the pre-service English teachers.

Through the test, questionnaire, and interview, the researcher obtained the

data about the students’ ability in pronouncing English diphthongs as English

teacher candidates. From the instruments above, the result showed that ELESP


47

students in Sanata Dharma University were not ready to be English teacher yet.

Most of them could not pronounce diphthongs correctly. It was because the

students found difficulties in learning pronunciation.

B. Suggestions

Based on the findings of this study, the researcher proposes some

suggestions related to this study. The suggestions are for ELESP students, English

teachers, and future researchers.

1. ELESP Students

Based on the data obtained, ELESP students need to pay attention more on

their pronunciation. Students should be aware that being an English teacher needs

to speak a lot when teaching. Speaking is the only way to communicate or to give

instructions to the students. It means that they have to be confident with their

pronunciation. They will be confident if they have good pronunciation. Therefore,

they have to study hard in improving their pronunciation. There are so many

things they can do to improve their pronunciation skill. They can practice a lot

with their friends or listen to online dictionary, which provides the pronunciation.


48

2. English Teachers

Based on the data obtained, it shows that English teacher should be the best

model for the students. A good teacher should pay attention more on their skills

not only on their appearance. Nowadays, it is easy to find a teacher with good

appearance. However, it is difficult to find a teacher with good skills. The

researcher suggests that teachers should also study hard to have good quality. No

matter they are junior or senior teachers. They must have good quality to build a

good quality of students too. In addition, teacher should pay attention more to

their students. They have to listen to their students. If the teachers know that the

students find difficulties, teachers can help the students.

3. Future Researchers

Even though this research still has many flaws, the researcher still hopes

that there will be future researcher to conduct the similar research with different

focuses. In this research, the result shows that many students who find difficulties

in learning pronunciation. The researcher hopes that future researcher can design

some materials to help ELESP students to master pronunciation, specifically

diphthongs words. As a result, they will have good pronunciation in teaching

later.


49

REFERENCES

Avery, P & Ehrlich, S. (1992). Teaching american English pronunciation. Oxford

University Press, Oxford.

Arikunto, S. (2010). Prosedur penelitian suatu pendekatan praktik. Jakarta:

Rineka Cipta.

Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. M., & Goodwin J. M. (1996). Teaching

ronunciation: A reference for teachers of English to speakers of other

languages. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Marrison, K. (2011). Research methods in education

(7Th ed). New York: Routledge.

Chu, C.F. (2006). A comparison study of the effectiveness of teaching English

phonics and Phonetics symbols on word pronunciation. Nation Chengchi

University: Taipei, Taiwan.

Dalton, E. 1998. Teaching pronunciation. London: Longman Group Ltd.

Frey, Lawrence R. (2000). Investigating communication: An introduction to

research methods 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2003). An introduction to language.

Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Gall, M. D., Gall, J. P., & Borg, W. R. (2007). Education research: An

introduction. Boston: Pearson Educational Limited.


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Gimson, A. C., & Ramsaran, S. (1970). An introduction to the pronunciation of

English (pp. 85-89). London: Edward Arnold.

Groves, R.M. (2009). Survey methodology. New Brunswick: John Wiley & Sons.

Harmer, J. (2000). The practice of English language teaching.New York: Person

Edcation Limited.

Harmer, J. (2011). The practice of English language learning (3rd ed).

Harlow: Pearson Education.

Javed, M & Ahmad A. Journal of language and linguistics study. Malaysia. 2014.

10(35).

Joshi, A., Kale, S., Chandel, S., & Pal, D. K. (2015). Likert scale: Explored and

explained. Retrieved on January 28, 2016, from

sciencedomain.org/download/ODlwNkBAcGY.

Connor, O. (1980). Better English pronunciation. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Margono, S. (2010). Metodologi penelitian pendidikan. Jakarta: Rineka Cipta.

M. C. (1996). Phonology in English language teaching: An international

approach. London: Longman.

Poole, S. C. (1999). An introduction to linguistics. New York: Palgrave

Macmillan.

Richards, J. C., & Schmidt, R. (2010). Longman dictionary of language teaching

and applied linguistics (4th Ed). London: Pearson.


51

Roach, P. (1983). English phonetics and phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Sukardi. (2007). Metodology penelitian pendidikan. Yogyakarta: Bumi Aksara.

Wang, L. (2005). The Advantages of using technology in second language

education. T.H.E. Journal. 32(10).

Yallop, C & Clark, J. (1999). An introduction to phonetics and phonology.

Cambridge: Cambridge University.


52

APPENDICES


53

Appendix A

The Blueprint of The Questionnaire

No Statements Theories

1 Learning pronunciation is important for

English teacher candidates

According to Celce-Murcia,

Brinton, and Goodwin

(1996) pronunciation needed

to be taught and deserved

more attention in language

course.

2 Learning diphthongs is difficult Fromkin, Roman, and

Hyams (2007, p. 208) state

that learning diphthongs is

difficult. The most common

mistake in pronunciation

that is visible is the

production of pure vowels

where a diphthong should be

pronounced. 3 I find difficulties in learning diphthongs Abercrombie (1991, p. 93)

states that the learner works

at developing a

pronunciation style that is

clear and understandable to

both native and non-native

speakers, but not necessarily

native like.

4 I increase my ability by practicing often With regular practice,

learners improve their

performance and feel

confidence (Avery and

Ehrlich, 1992).

5 I understand the knowledge about phonetic

transcription

Dalton (1998, p. 6) stated

about the importance of the

students to be aware the

pronunciation elements


54

Appendix B

The List of Diphthong Sounds for The Test

Diphthongs Sound Word Phonetic Transcription

/ɪə/

Here /hɪə(r)/

Tear /tɪə(r)/

Dear /dɪə(r)/

Beard /bɪəd/

Fear /fɪə(r)/

/eə/

Wear /weə(r)/

Bear /beə(r)/

Pear /peə(r)/

Rare /reə(r)/

Care /keə(r)/

/ʊə/

Poor /pʊə(r)/

Tour /tʊə(r)/

Sure /ʃʊə/

Cure /kjʊə/

Pure /pjʊə/

/eɪ/

Day /deɪ/

May /meɪ/

Lay /leɪ/

Rate /reɪt/

Weight /weɪt/


55

Word Phonetics Transcription

Weight /weɪt/

/ɑɪ/

Find /fɑɪt/

My /mɑɪ/

Right /rɑɪt/

Light /lɑɪt/

Fight /fɑɪt/

/ɔɪ/

Boy /bɔɪ/

Toy /tɔɪ/

Joy /ʤɔɪ/

Enjoy /inʤɔɪ/

Boil /bɔɪl/

/əʊ/

Go /gəʊ/

Home /həʊm/

Moment /məʊm

Both /bəʊθ/

Robe /rəʊb/

/aʊ/

House /haʊs/

How /haʊ/

Mouse /maʊs/

Doubt /daʊt/

Frown /fraʊn/


56

Appendix C

The Summary of The Interview

In conducting the interview, the researcher interviewed ten pre-service

English teachers of English Language Education Study Program. The participants

were asked to answer seven questions related to pronunciation. Then, the

researcher chose the best answer for each question. The result was discussed in

chapter IV. Here are the questions,

a. What do you think about learning pronunciation?

b. What did you do when you find difficulties in learning pronunciation?

c. How important pronunciation for English teachers’ Pre-Service is?

d. Are you familiar with diphthongs? In addition, what do you think about

learning diphthongs pronunciation?

e. What do you know about phonetic transcription? Do you understand it well?

f. What important factors that needed to be an English teacher?


57

Appendix D

Table 4.1 The Result of The Test

Diphthongs

Sound

Word Phonetic

Transcription

The Results

Correct Incorrect

Num

ber

% Number %

/ɪə/

Here /hɪə(r)/ 40 100 0 0

Tear /tɪə(r)/ 33 82.5 7 17.5

Dear /dɪə(r)/ 40 100 0 0

Beard /bɪəd/ 27 67.5 13 32.5

Fear /fɪə(r)/ 22 55 18 45

/eə/

Wear /weə(r)/ 40 100 0 0

Bear /beə(r)/ 40 100 0 0

Pear /peə(r)/ 17 42.5 23 57.5

Rare /reə(r)/ 24 60 16 40

Care /keə(r)/ 40 100 0 100

/ʊə/

Poor /pʊə(r)/ 21 52.5 19 47.5

Tour /tʊə(r)/ 14 35 26 65

Sure /ʃʊə/ 25 62.5 15 37.5

Cure /kjʊə/ 6 15 34 85

Pure /pjʊə/ 9 22.5 31 77.5

/eɪ/

Day /deɪ/ 40 100 0 0

May /meɪ/ 40 100 0 0

Lay /leɪ/ 30 75 10 25

Rate /reɪt/ 12 30 28 70

Weight /weɪt/ 40 100 0 0

/ɑɪ/

Find /fɑɪn/ 40 100 0 0

My /mɑɪ/ 40 100 0 0

Right /rɑɪt/ 40 100 0 0

Light /lɑɪt/ 40 100 0 0

Fight /fɑɪt/ 40 100 0 0

/ɔɪ/

Boy /bɔɪ/ 40 100 0 0

Toy /tɔɪ/ 37 92.5 3 7.5

Joy /ʤɔɪ/ 40 100 0 0

Enjoy /inʤɔɪ/ 16 40 24 60

Boil /bɔɪl/ 40 100 0 0

/əʊ/

Go /gəʊ/ 6 15 34 85

Home /həʊm/ 8 20 32 80

Moment /məʊm/ 19 47.5 21 52.5

Both /bəʊθ/ 26 65 14 35

Robe /rəʊb/ 25 62.5 15 37.5


58

/aʊ/

House /haʊs/ 35 87.5 5 12.

5

How /haʊ/ 40 100 0 0

Word Phonetics

Transcription

The result

Correct Incorrect

Numb

er

% Num

ber

%

Mouse /maʊs/ 40 100 0 0

Doubt /daʊt/ 32 80 8 20

Frown /fraʊn/ 12 30 28 70


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Appendix E

The Samples of Questionnaire Result


59


Documents

PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PRONUNCIATION OF … · English language that should be learned by pre-service English teachers of ELESP. One of important elements is pronunciation