EXPLORING THE PRONUNCIATION TEACHING DIFFICULTIES FACED BY INDONESIAN HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SURAKARTA: A CASE STUDY

Savira Miftakhul Jannah

Abstract

Effective English pronunciation teaching is crucial for language proficiency, yet EFL English teachers in Indonesia often encounter significant difficulties when teaching it. This study investigates the difficulties faced by English teachers at a public senior high school in Surakarta when teaching pronunciation and explores the strategies they employ to overcome these difficulties. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and observations with two English teachers as well as documentations of the English textbook used by the teachers to assess the availability of pronunciation materials. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings reveal three major categories of difficulties: (1) curriculum and school regulations related difficulties, (2) student-related difficulties, and (3) teacher-related difficulties. Within these themes, various subthemes emerged, highlighting specific difficulties and strategies used to overcome them. This study offers contextual insights into pronunciation teaching challenges and instructional strategies in an Indonesian high school setting. Future research should explore similar issues across different educational levels or regions and assess the long-term impact of the identified strategies.

Keywords

Pronunciation Teaching, EFL English Teachers, Teaching Difficulties, Teaching Strategies

Full Text:

PDF

References

Asikin, N. M., & Ibrahim, N. A. (2020). Challenges in Teaching Pronunciation in Malaysian Secondary Schools: Novice Teacher's Perspective. LSP International Journal, 7(2), 119-137.

Azarias, R. A., & Capistrano, F. M. (2019). Teaching Difficulties in Pronunciation: The Case of Oral Communication Teachers. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation, 2(6), 361–373. Retrieved from https://al-kindipublisher.com/index.php/ijllt/article/view/630

Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2012) Thematic analysis. In H. Cooper, P. M. Camic, D. L. Long, A. T. Panter, D. Rindskopf, & K. J. Sher (Eds), APA handbook of research methods in psychology, Vol. 2: Research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, neuropsychological, and biological (pp. 57-71). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Burns, A. & Seidlhofer, (2019). Speaking and Pronunciation. In Schmitt, N. & Rodgers M. P. H. (2019), An Introduction to Applied Linguistics (pp. 211-232). Routledge.

Butler, Y. G. (2007). How are nonnative-English-speaking teachers perceived by young learners? Tesol Quarterly, 41(4), 731–755.

Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Creswell, J. W. and Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design Choosing among Five Approache (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Fauzia, M., & Amri, Z. (2023). Lecturer Challenges in Teaching English Pronunciation. In International Conference on English Language and Teaching (ICOELT 2022) (pp. 34-38). Atlantis Press.

Fisher, I., & Ziviani, J. (2004). Explanatory case studies: Implications and applications for clinical research. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 51(4), 185-191.

Grandyna, B. M. (2018). A university EFL teacher’s strategies in solving the teaching pronunciation problems. Journal of Foreign Languange Teaching and Learning, 3(2).

Ha, V. T. (2023). An Investigation into Difficulties in Teaching Pronunciation to First-Year English Majors at Dong Nai University. Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 5(2), 135–150. https://doi.org/10.32996/jeltal.2023.5.2.17

Isaacs, T., & Trofimovich, P. (2012). Deconstructing comprehensibility: Identifying the linguistic influences on listeners’ L2 comprehensibility ratings. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 34(3), 475-505.

Jarosz, A. (2019). Second Language Learning and Teaching English Pronunciation in L2 Instruction: The Case of Secondary School Learners. Springer Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13892-9

Jones, D. (1983). An Outline of English phonetics. Kalyani Publishers.

Kelly, G. (2000). How to Teach Pronunciation. Longman.

Kenworhty, J. (1987). Teaching English Pronunciation. Longman, Harlow.

Keputusan Kepala Badan Standar, Kurikulum, dan Asesmen Pendidikan (BSKAP) Kemendikbudristek Nomor 008/H/KR/2022 Tentang Capaian Pembelajaran Pada Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, Jenjang Pendidikan Dasar, Dan Jenjang Pendidikan Menengah Pada Kurikulum Merdeka.

Kosasih, M. M. (2021). Factors affecting Indonesian students in learning English pronunciation. International Research in Higher Education, 6(3), 13-20. https://doi.org/10.5430/irhe.v6n3p13

Levis, J. M. (2005). Changing contexts and shifting paradigms in pronunciation teaching. TESOL quarterly, 39(3), 369-377.

John M. Levis (2015): Pronunciation for English as an international language: from research to practice, Asian Englishes, DOI: 10.1080/13488678.2015.1021034

Levis, J. (2018). Intelligibility, oral communication, and the teaching of pronunciation. Cambridge University Press.

Low, E. L. (2021). EIL Pronunciation Research and Practice: Issues, Challenges, and Future Directions. RELC Journal, 52(1), 22-34. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688220987318

Miles, M. B, Huberman, A. M, dan Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative Data Analysis, A Methods Sourcebook (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.

Mishra, P., Pandey, C. M., Singh, U., & Gupta, A. (2018). Scales of measurement and presentation of statistical data. Annals of cardiac anaesthesia, 21(4), 419–422. https://doi.org/10.4103/aca.ACA_131_18

Munro, M. J., & Derwing, T. M. (2015). Intelligibility in research and practice: Teaching priorities. The handbook of English pronunciation, 375-396.

Murphy, J. M. (2013). Intelligible, comprehensible, non-native models in ESL/EFL pronunciation teaching. System, 42, 258-269.

Naeem, M., Ozuem, W., Howell, K., & Ranfagni, S. (2023). A step-by-step process of thematic analysis to develop a conceptual model in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22, 16094069231205789.

Nangimah, M. (2020). “How Should We Counter Challenges in Teaching Pronunciation for EIL?” Journal of English Teaching, 6(1), 24-39. doi:10.33541/jet.v6i1.1357.

O’Connor, J. D. (1980). Better English Pronunciation. 4th rev. ed. Cambridge University Press.

Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., & Hoagwood, K. (2015). Purposeful Sampling for Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis in Mixed Method Implementation Research. Administration and policy in mental health, 42(5), 533–544. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-013-0528-y

Patton, M. Q. (1999). Enhancing the Quality and Credibility of Qualitative Analysis. Health Services Research, 34, 1189-1208.

Pennington, M. C., & Richards, J. C. (1986). Pronunciation Revisited. TESOL Quarterly, 20(2), 207–225. https://doi.org/10.2307/3586541

Pennington, M. C. & Rogerson-Revell, P. (2019). English Pronunciation Teaching and Research. Research and Practice in Applied Linguistics. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47677-7_1

Purwanti, D., Ubaidilah, M. F., & Restall, G. C. (2021). “Sorry, I Can’t Speak”: English Teachers’ Challenges of Teaching EFL Speaking in an Indonesian Vocational High School Sector. MEXTESOL Journal, 47(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.5430/irhe.v6n3p13

Pourhosein-Gilakjani, A. (2012). A study of factors affecting EFL learners' English pronunciation learning and the strategies for instruction. International journal of humanities and social science, 2(3), 119-128.

Pourhosein-Gilakjani A. (2016). English Pronunciation Instruction: A Literature Review. IJREE 2016, 1 (1). http://ijreeonline.com/article-1-21-en.html

Pourhosein-Gilakjani, A., & Sabouri, N. B. (2016). Why is English pronunciation ignored by EFL teachers in their classes. International Journal of English Linguistics, 6(6), 195-208.

Rosyid, A. (2016). Factors Affecting EFL Learners in Learning English Pronunciation. Pedagogia: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan, 8(2), 436-443.

Shaibani, A. (2023). Challenges in Teaching Pronunciation to Saudi Female Learners at Taif University. Arab World English Journal (March 2023) Theses ID, 292.

Sugiyono (2019). Metode Penelitian Kuantitatif, Kualitatif, dan R&D. Alphabet.

Tiwari, H. P. (2023). Challenges in Teaching Pronunciation: Secondary Level English Teachers’ Perspectives. Journal of Linguistics and Language in Education, 17(2), 1-29. DOI: 10.56279/jlle.v17i2.1

Wang, X. (2022). Segmental versus suprasegmental: Which one is more important to teach?. RELC Journal, 53(1), 194-202.

Whitehead, G. E. K. & Ryu, Y. (2023). “I am not a native speaker…”: Exploring English pronunciation teaching difficulties faced by Korean public elementary school English teachers under the lens of the nativeness principle. System, 115, 103056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.103056

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.