ANALYSING THE ROOT CAUSES OF ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION DIFFICULTIES AMONG INDONESIAN EFL LEARNERS
Abstract
Pronunciation is one of the important yet challenging sub-skills of English. Most Indonesian learners have trouble with pronunciation, and teaching pronunciation is commonly neglected at the senior high school level. Therefore, this study was intended to explore the root causes of English pronunciation problems in a private school in Banyumas, Indonesia. The research method employed was descriptive qualitative, involving eleven students who had low pronunciation scores. There were six students from the tenth grade, and the other students were from the eleventh grade. In this study, the data were gathered via documents and semi-structured interviews. The document used was students’ pronunciation scores that were assessed by the English teacher. Then, the data were analysed through data reduction, data display, and verification/conclusion. The results reveal several types of root causes leading to students’ English pronunciation difficulties. They are native language influence, lack of exposure, the English spelling system, and students’ anxiety. There are three kinds of student anxiety that occur, namely nervousness, fear of making mistakes, and shyness. In conclusion, these four root causes can be utilised as considerations in conducting the teaching and learning process effectively so that the learning objectives formulated for high school students can be achieved.
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Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Purwokerto