Journal of Advances in Linguistics and English Teaching (JALET) Vol.
No.
1, 2025
e-ISSN: x-x
STUDENTS' CHALLENGES IN PRONOUNCING
VOCABULARY AT SD IT ADNANI
Akbar Ibrahim1*.
Asmaul Husna Lubis2 STAIN Mandailing Natal akbaribrahim@gmail.
Article Info
ABSTRACT
Article history:
Received January 12 , 2025 Revised January 20th, 2025 Accepted March 30th, 2025 Keyword:
Pronunciation.
Challenges.
Vocabulary.
By employing a descriptive qualitative methodology that involves observations and interviews, this study investigates the difficulties that SD IT ADNANI primary school pupils have pronouncing language.
The results demonstrated the range of pronunciation challenges that students encountered, most of which were caused by the phonetics of their home tongue, a deficiency in phonetic awareness, uneven practice, and restricted access to phonological resources.
Further contributing factors to less practice and slower progress were embarrassment and fear of making mistakes.
Working together with teachers, parents, students, and the school community is advised to address this problem.
Phonetic education can be incorporated into the curriculum, frequent practice is encouraged, and a supportive learning environment can be established by schools to help students.
cooperative approach is crucial for pupils to overcome pronunciation difficulties and advance their language proficiency overall.
Introduction Human communication is based on language.
it is the main way we exchange ideas, express our feelings, and engage with the outside world.
English has become the universal language, bridging linguistic divides and promoting worldwide conversation in fields like commerce, science, technology, and education.
Because of the value of being fluent in English.
English is taught in classrooms all over the world with an emphasis on the four fundamental abilities of speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
Speaking is a direct way of communication, making it one of the most crucial abilities.
Fluency, articulation, and pronunciation are some of the subskills that are involved.
The clarity of communication and the speakerAos confidence are both impacted by pronunciation, which makes it Many variables, including language exposure, the speakerAos native tongue, and individual learning preferences, can affect accurate pronunciation.
Vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and spelling are the elements of the English language.
The linguistic abilities and elements complement one another.
Moreover, they cannot exist apart from one another.
Vocabulary is one aspect of the language.
The secret to speaking English well is Without language, a person is unable to write, speak, listen, or read.
Students study English vocabulary in a vocabulary lesson.
A vast amount of terminology related to sports, school objects, household items, plant parts, trees, volumes, and other topics is provided.
According to Hudson .
, having a strong vocabulary is essential to improving reading Enhanced comprehension of what you read.
Additionally.
Chou states in Andriani .
that vocabulary plays a crucial role in comprehending texts.
Comprehension of the text.
The importance of vocabulary in reading comprehension is then defined by Nation .
Overall aptitude for reading.
A vocabulary word might have multiple definitions.
Measurement of vocabulary Journal of Advances in Linguistics and English Teaching (JALET) Vol.
No.
1, 2025
e-ISSN: x-x makes sense, according to Faraj .
5: .
, because vocabulary is a fundamental component of Consequently, vocabulary is one of the most crucial aspects of learning a language and teaching foreign languages since it provides language learners with access to all linguistic modes of spoken and written communication.
Furthermore, vocabulary, which is one of the linguistic domains that learners need to master, is defined by Alqahtani in Cameron .
as being extremely Speech.
According to Nagy .
, vocabulary knowledge is essential to comprehending texts, which is in line with Alqahtani.
Since without a proper vocabulary, students cannot convey their own thoughts or understand others, vocabulary is the foundation of teaching English language.
Nothing can be communicated without language, according to Wilkins .
, even though little can be expressed without grammar.
Nevertheless.
Faraj .
5: .
points out that there are a number of other components that communicate meaning in addition to words.
The foundation of teaching English is vocabulary because without it, pupils struggle to communicate their own ideas and comprehend those of others.
According to Wilkins .
, while nothing can be said without language, very little can be communicated without grammar.
Furthermore, although vocabulary is one component that conveys meaning, there are several other factors as well, according to Faraj .
5: .
Since language abilities encompass a variety of domains, vocabulary is one of the more challenging disciplines for pupils to learn.
Vocabulary, since vocabulary ability is composed of various elements.
Vocabulary abilities encompass meaning, grammar, pronunciation, and spelling, according to Cameron .
1: .
The words and expressions that a person knows, and employs make up their vocabulary, on the other hand.
Finer and more subtle communication is possible with a larger vocabulary.
Nonetheless, poor pronunciation can make it more difficult for students to employ language effectively, which can result in communication breakdowns and lowered self-esteem.
This suggestion for an essay investigates the pronunciation issues elementary school kids at SD IT ADNANI have with words.
The objective is to ascertain the typical obstacles encountered by juvenile learners, the primary reasons behind these challenges, and plausible approaches for Language interference, little exposure to English, and inadequate pronunciation training are some of the reasons why SD IT ADNANI elementary school pupils struggle so much with pronouncing To create focused interventions to enhance their pronouncing abilities, it is essential to comprehend these difficulties.
Investigating the typical pronunciation issues elementary school pupils at SD IT ADNANI encounter is the aim of this article.
Determine which pronunciation mistakes students make most frequently, examine the underlying causes of these mistakes, and provide practical solutions and instructional techniques to help students get past their pronunciation challenges.
This article aims to contribute to the understanding of pronunciation difficulties in primary education, with a focus on SD IT ADNANI.
By identifying challenges and proposing solutions, this research seeks to promote better language learning outcomes and effective communication skills among young learners.
Therefore, based on the problems that have been found and stated above, the researcher here raises the discussion about "Elementary School StudentsAo Challenges Pronouncing Vocabulary at SD It AdnaniAy.
Journal of Advances in Linguistics and English Teaching (JALET) Vol.
No.
1, 2025
e-ISSN: x-x Method The research employed a descriptive-qualitative design, which aimed to provide a detailed explanation of observed phenomena.
This approach, as defined by Moleong .
, involves gathering data in the form of words or images to describe existing conditions and uncover new The study was conducted at SD IT Adnani with 20 second-grade students as participants, spanning from November 3rd to January 3rd.
A case study design was chosen, as it focuses on examining a specific unit, such as a group or program, to explore instances of interest (Ary et al.
Yin, 2.
By utilizing qualitative methods, the researcher engaged with participants in their natural setting to explore their vocabulary learning experiences, emphasizing pronunciation challenges faced by elementary school students.
Data collection involved observations, interviews, and field notes to ensure comprehensive Observations were conducted during class sessions to identify trends and specific situations where students struggled with vocabulary pronunciation.
Field notes documented pronunciation issues, contextual elements, teacher feedback, and student reactions, capturing both verbal and non-verbal behaviors.
Additionally, interviews were conducted using open-ended questions to gather in-depth information from both teachers and students.
This semi-structured interview method aimed to foster natural discourse and explore the factors contributing to pronunciation difficulties.
Questions focused on identifying common problematic vocabulary and underlying causes of pronunciation challenges.
For data analysis, the researcher reviewed field notes and interview transcripts to identify recurring themes and patterns.
Observations of similar issues were categorized to classify various pronunciation challenges, while transcripts were scrutinized to detect commonalities or differences between teacher and student responses.
The analysis highlighted prevalent pronunciation problems, their fundamental causes, and contextual factors that influenced these difficulties.
This process not only provided a deeper understanding of vocabulary learning challenges but also offered insights into strategies for addressing pronunciation issues in elementary school settings.
Findings and Discussions The most common vocabulary words that elementary school students struggle to pronounce and the factors that contribute to elementary school studentsAo pronunciation difficulties when pronouncing vocabulary In this result and discussion, the researcher combines the answers to the two research questions.
So, the reader can read it automatically.
The survey results showed that the most common terms that students struggle to pronounce are words that contain vowels, both single letters and letters in pairs.
Words that contain single vowels, for example in the word "umbrella".
Students often mispronounce this word because the vowel letter "u" at the beginning of the word is often read with the sound /yu:/.
Like the way to pronounce the letter "u" when spelling.
In fact, in the word "umbrella" the letter "u" should be read with the sound /a/.
Likewise with the words "arm" and "elbow".
Many students pronounce the letter "a" at the beginning of the word "arm" with /ei/.
The reason is the same because students think that the way to read the letter "a" in the word is the way to spell it.
Then, another example is the way students pronounce the word "apple".
Some students pronounce this word with the Indonesian pronunciation, which is "apel".
This is because the writing Journal of Advances in Linguistics and English Teaching (JALET) Vol.
No.
1, 2025
e-ISSN: x-x style is almost the same between "apel" and "apple".
The similarity makes students pronounce the word with the same pronunciation, namely "apel", even though the correct pronunciation is "apple".
Another example is the word "Orange".
In Indonesia, there is one color called orange.
After conducting observations and interviews, it can be concluded that the reason some students pronounce the word "orange" as AuorenAy is because there is a slight similarity in the sound or pronunciation of the word with a word in their language, namely Indonesian.
Other words that are difficult for students to pronounce are words that contain vowels, but the vowels are paired.
In the word "tiger" for example, a small number of students still pronounce this word with the Indonesian pronunciation of "tiger" with the open letters Otor.
This is because they forget and read according to their mother tongue, considering they are not native speakers.
Another case is in the pronunciation of the word "mirror".
There was a student who mispronounced this word.
The student pronounced it with "mairor" instead of "miror".
The reason is that the student reads the letter "i" in the word according to its spelling.
Words beginning with Auf Ay and AuvAy are commonly mispronounced by students.
These two letters appear to be slightly similar in pronunciation, yet many students speak these letters with a AupAy sound, such as in the word Aufan,Ay which students frequently pronounce as Aupan.
Ay The same is true for Auflamingo,Ay Aufoot,Ay Aufans,Ay and other nouns starting with the letter Auf.
Ay Students frequently mispronounce words beginning with the letter Auf,Ay as well as words beginning with the letter Auv.
Ay For example, in the word Auvase,Ay students often read the letter AuvAy as the letter Aup.
Ay This is because words beginning with the letters f or v are quite infrequent in Indonesia.
This leads kids to have trouble pronouncing and identifying the sounds between the letters f, v, and p, resulting in erroneous word pronunciation.
The findings of this study highlight the challenges faced by elementary school students at SD IT ADNANI in pronouncing vocabulary.
The results suggest that students struggle with words that consist of vowel and consonant letters which as Auf Ay and AuvAy, which can lead to frustration, embarrassment, and confusion.
However, the study also shows that students can overcome these obstacles by practicing pronunciation regularly, receiving feedback from teachers and peers, and using visual aids to support their learning.
The findings of this study also highlight the importance of providing students with opportunities to practice pronunciation regularly.
This can be done through a variety of activities, such as role-playing, singing songs, and watching videos.
Additionally, providing students with feedback on their pronunciation can help them identify and correct their mistakes, which can improve their skills.
The study also highlights the importance of using visual aids to support students' learning.
Visual aids can be a useful tool for language learners, as they can help students understand the correct pronunciation of words.
Additionally, visual aids can be used to provide students with feedback on their pronunciation, which can help them improve their skills.
Conclusions In conclusion, this study highlights the challenges faced by elementary school students at SD IT Adnani in pronouncing vocabulary.
The results suggest that students struggle with words that consist of vowel and consonant letters which can lead to frustration, embarrassment, and confusion.
However, the study also shows that students can overcome these obstacles by practicing pronunciation regularly, receiving feedback from teachers and peers, and using visual aids to support Journal of Advances in Linguistics and English Teaching (JALET) Vol.
No.
1, 2025
e-ISSN: x-x their learning.
The findings of this study have important implications for language teaching and learning and highlight the importance of providing students with opportunities to practice pronunciation regularly and using visual aids to support their learning.
References