An Analysis of Students’ Pronunciation Errors of English Silent Letters In The Third Grade At SMA Swasta Advent Simbolon

Abstract

The objective of this research was to find out the types of pronunciation errors, the most dominant errors, and factors of the student making errors in pronouncing English Silent Letters made by the third grade of SMA Swasta Advent Simbolon. This research used a descriptive qualitative method. The instruments of the research were a pronunciation test and an interview. The results of the research showed that the students made two types of errors namely Pre- Systematic errors and Systematic errors. The Pre-systematic errors occurred more frequently than the Systematic errors. The highest number of errors made by students was the Pre-Systematic type with a total of 69%. The research results also show several factors that make it difficult for students to pronounce words containing Silent Letters, including lack of exposure to English listening vocabulary, lack of motivation, and interest in learning English, and Lack of Maximum Role of Teachers in Teaching Pronunciation It could be concluded that the students faced high difficulties in pronouncing the silent letters which was completely different from the Indonesian phonetic system. It was recommended that the English lecturers should pay more attention to students’ pronunciation and find more suitable methods or techniques of teaching it and students should study harder about the silent letters in the English language.