Using Tongue Twister to Improve Students’ Pronunciation

Abstract

peaking skill comprises five components; pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar,
fluency and accuracy, which are very essential in delivering messages or
information clearly. As one of the five components of speaking, pronunciation
is an essential component in oral communication and a basic ability of speaking
English. Since English is a foreign language, correct pronunciation becomes
a crucial matter to avoid misunderstanding between a speaker and a listener.
Therefore, teaching pronunciation to EFL students is very essential, and it is not
an easy task for English teachers. The main reason is that English pronunciation
is difficult for most foreign language learners since what is written is different
from what is spoken. Regarding the difficulty of the students, teachers should
be creative to select a technique of teaching pronunciation. One technique
that is suitable for teaching pronunciation is tongue twister. This technique
was applied to the eleventh grade of SMA Muhammadiyah 3 Jember in the
2015/2016 academic year. The results of the classroom action research which
was done in two cycles showed 77.14% students got score ≥75 and 77.13% of
the students were active in teaching learning process. The results had met the
criteria of success of the research.