Kenworthy 1997, p.4 states, “the native language is an important factor in
learning to pronounce English .” Besides, from the informal conversation with the
students, the researcher got information that the students liked watching movies. The characteristic of the students and the benefits from movies became the
consideration for the researcher to use movies from this research.
B. Research Problem
In this research, the researcher deals with two questions that should be answered through the research.
1. What pronunciation problems do the students of class XI EL of SMK Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta face?
2. How do movies improve students‟ pronunciation of class XI EL of SMK
Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta?
C. Problem Limitation
This research focuses on the use of movies to improve students‟ pronunciation of class XI EL of SMK Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta. This research
focuses on helping the students to have intelligibility in pronunciation, i.e. the students could produce correct sounds of English. The other elements of
pronunciation, such as intonation and stress are not discussed in this thesis. In this research, the researcher focuses on the number of participants. The
students in class XI EL of SMK Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta were involved in this research. It was chosen because they had to participate the lesson actively,
especially the activities which required them to speak in English.
D. Research Objective
The objective of this research is to overcome the problem faced by the students of class XI EL of SMK Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta in pronunciation.
To overcome the problem, the researcher decided to use movies in the classroom to improve their ability in pronunciation, so that they can pronounce English
words correctly. The aim of this research is to know the use of movies in classroom to help the students of class XI EL of SMK Marsudi Luhur II
Yogyakarta in improving their pronunciation ability.
E. Research Benefits
Through this research, there are several benefits that could be achieved. This research is expected to be able to give contribution for the students of class
XI EL of SMK Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta, the English teachers in SMK Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta, the researcher, the readers and further researchers.
1. The Students of Class XI EL of SMK Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta
This research is expected to help the students of class XI EL of SMK Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta in improving their pronunciation ability through
movies in the classroom. The students can make their own way to learn pronunciation outside the classroom by watching a movie. It is expected that the
students can learn other benefits from using movies to study English as well, such as enriching vocabulary and improving listening skill.
2. The English Teachers in SMK Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta
From this research, the English teachers in SMK Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta are expected to be able to modify better teaching media to help the
students improve their pronunciation. The use of movies to improve students of class XI EL of SMK Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta could be the alternative media
for teaching.
3. The Researcher
This research is expected to answer the research problem formulated by the researcher. Through this research, the researcher is expected to be able to
design interactive learning and teaching activities using interesting media.
F. Definition of Terms
There are several terms related to this research. The descriptions of those terms are described below.
1. Vocational School Students
In this research, the participants are vocational school students grade XI class EL in SMK Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta. Vocational school students are
the students who learn specific ability in preparing themselves to be ready to work after graduating from school.
2. Pronunciation Ability
The ability to pronounce English words with the correct sounds. In learning English, the teachers have responsibility to help the students to
pronounce the English words intelligibly, so that the meaning of the words can be
delivered correctly Kenworthy, 1997. The students need to improve their pronunciation ability to be able to use English properly in daily communication.
The lack of pronunciation might cause ambiguity in communication.
3. Incorrect Pronunciation
The students usually pronounce English words use their accent or their mother tongue style. It makes them difficult to pronounce English words with the correct
sounds. They tend to pronounce the words by its spelling as. Kenworthy 1997 agrees that English teachers often find the students get difficulty in learning
pronunciation because they are confused with the English spelling system.
4. Learning Media
The media used in teaching and learning activities in the classroom. The use of media in teaching can help th
e teachers to gain students‟ interest. It can also be used to explain difficult materials that can be understood by the students easily.
Using media in teaching can help the teachers to create exciting materials and to achieve the objectives of the lessons Tileston, 2004.
5. Movies
In this research, the researcher used movies that employ native speakers as the actors or actresses, so that the students can learn how to pronounce English
words correctly by imitating their pronunciation. Moreover, O‟Bannon and
Goldenberg 2007 state the benefit of using movies in the classroom. “Movies
give us an opportunity to learn in an enjoyable way outside of the traditional classroom environment”, O‟Bannon and Goldenberg 2007, p. 19.
10
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATUE
This chapter presents the theories that the researcher used as a guideline in conducting the research. The purpose of this chapter is to provide information of
theories used in answering the questions of this research. In this chapter, there are two parts that will be discussed further. The first part is theoretical description and
the second part is theoretical framework.
A. Theoretical Description
In theoretical description, the researcher discusses the theories that are used in conducting the research. The theories are teaching English as a foreign
language, learning media, movies, pronunciation ability and classroom action research.
1. Teaching English as a Foreign Language
In learning English as a Foreign Language, there are two kinds of motivation. The first is learning English instrumentally and the second is learning
English for integrative purposes. Broughton et al. 2003 state learning English instrumentally means that the learners learn English in order to be able to use
English for supporting their works or studies, for example to be able to read books, to be able to pass the examination, to be able to communicate with
foreigners. However, learning English for integrative purpose as stated by
Broughton et al. 2003 mean, “the learners are trying to identify much more
closely with a speech community which uses that language variety .” In this
country, most of students learn English instrumentally. That is why the teachers have to be creative enough in designing both learning activities and learning
material in gaining students‟ interest. Broughton et al.
2003 define English as a foreign language as “language that is taught in schools, often widely, but it does not play an essential role in
nation or social life .” Broughton explains that English, when it is treated as a
foreign language, is not used in daily life because of people use their own mother language. The condition is different when English is treated as a second language
because English is also used in the daily life. Maxom 2006, p. 24-27, in her book, discusses the things that teachers
may consider in teaching EFL, such as 1. Teaching the easier words first
2. Focusing on the most useful words 3. Giving students room to talk
4. Keeping things relevant
She also states that before teaching the students, the teachers have to be able to recognize students‟ needs. It is needed to design appropriate materials and
learning activities, so that the students will enjoy the lesson, Maxom, 2006.
2. Learning Media
To gain students‟ interest, teachers have to be creative enough in choosing learning media used in classroom. Parker 2010 agrees that the use of an
appropriate method and interesting learning media in teaching pronunciation help
the teachers to motivate their students to learn. Meanwhile, from students‟ point of view, using interesting media help them to understand the lesson easily because
they have motivation in following the lesson. Jasmansyah 2008 states that the teachers should design appropriate
learning media to help them in teaching. The goal of teaching is that the knowledge should be transferred to the students. To help the teachers to get a
good result in transferring the knowledge, the teachers can use interesting media in classroom. Jasmansyah also defines learning media as
a tool used by teachers, facilitators, or tutors to help learners improve reading and other skills, illustrate or reinforce a skill, a fact, or idea,
and relieve anxiety, fear, or boredom, since many teaching aids are like games.
3. Movies
Oxford English Dictionary 7
th
edition defines movie as “a series of
moving pictures recorded with sound that tells a story .” Ishihara Chi 2004
state that using movies in classroom can facilitate the students to improve their skills, especially oral skills, through the themes, grammar features used in the
movie. They also find the benefit of using movies in teaching language. The benefit is that
Cultural aspects of the film, such as customs and humor, or culturally specific use of language, such as idioms, could be discussed with
learners, or learners could exercise their powers of observation to inductively learn functional use of language Ishihara Chi, 2004.
In addition, Goodwin 2008 in her study observes the reasons of using movie in teaching pronunciation. She finds five reasons that are:
1. Allow learners to mimic the multi-layered complexity of real-life
interaction 2. Develops l
earners‟ listening comprehension through intensive analysis of native speaker speech
3. Examines the underlying message conveyed not only by the discourse and the context of the situation but also by the stress and intonation
patterns chosen by the speakers 4. Highlights the intersection of prosody with non-verbal communication
5. Incorporates drama techniques, which engage the learner both psychologically and physically and provide a rich context for
developing interactional skills and improving intelligibility
Goodwin 2008 also gives the guideline to choose movies that are appropriate for the students.
1. 1-2 minutes in length 2. 2 speakers at most 3
3. self-contained understandable without much explanation 4. reflects an interaction the students could identify with in their
everyday life 5. clear prominent elements
6. it can be more motivating if encounter has emotional overtones or humor
There are several things that the teachers should consider before using the movies in the classroom. Giacomo 2008 proposes some aspects that should be
considered when movies are employed in the teaching and learning activities. 1. The movies should be appropriate for the students, i.e. their age, background
and level in understanding the language used in the movies 2. Check the environment in the classroom whether the setting supports to play
the movie or not. The teachers have to ensure lighting, the air circulation, the noises and the distractions from outside the classroom
3. Prepare the equipment to play the movies. It would be better if the teachers prepare it before the class begins to make use the time efficiently
4. The sound and the volume of the movies should be in the right level so that it will not disturb the other classes
5. Consider the length of the movies to play in the classroom. The teachers do not need to play the entire movie in the classroom. However, it is possible to
play the entire movie when it can give answer to the objective of learning 6. The teachers need to watch the movies before bringing it to the classroom.
Find the right movies for the objective of the learning. Find movies which have connection with the materials taught
In teaching pronunciation, movies can be used as the teaching media to help the students to comprehend the pronunciation. Through movies, the students
can get precise example of good pronunciation. The native speakers in the movies will give example in articulating the English words correctly. By seeing the way
natives speak, the students will be easily learn the way to produce correct sounds of certain words, especially for the new words that the students never hear before.
Edwards and Zampini 2008, p. 357 “in EFL and some EIL setting, media such as
radio, television, movies, book on tape and the internet may all provide a range of voices, dialects, and accents to argument classroom-based in-put
.” Besides, the use of media in classroom becomes the alternative technique to allow the students
to have authentic interaction with the native speakers, Edwards and Zampini, 2008.
4. Pronunciation
In communication, the way how to pronounce words is important. Unclear pronunciation may cause ambiguity in drawing the exact meaning. Kenworthy
1997 mentions in her book that intelligibility in pronunciation is important to avoid ambiguity in communication. Intelligibility means “being understood by a
listener at a given time in a given situation”, Kenworthy, 1997, p. 13. She also mentions the factor affecting the intelligibility in pronunciation, i.e. the hesitancy
in pronouncing words may cause the speakers to make pronunciation problems. Thus, the listeners may get difficulty in understanding it.
Kenworthy 1997, p. 17 explains the example of sources that cause intelligibility problems related to the sounds. They are sound substitutions, sound
deletions and sound insertions. 1 Sound substitutions occur when a speaker substitutes one sound for
another. This may cause difficulties for the listener 2 Sound deletions occur when the speaker leaves out a sound
3 Sound insertions occur when the speaker add sounds in pronouncing the word
In classroom, the teachers have to be good model for their students in pronouncing English words clearly. The difficulty that students face related with
pronunciation is that they are not accustomed to speak English words frequently. Students are afraid to make mistake when they speak in English. As result, they
tend to decrease the volume or they even hesitate to speak. Jones 1958 describes pronunciation as the way people produce sound
using organ of speech. He also examines that pronunciation can be considered as
good speech and bad speech. Good speech means “speech may be defined as a way of speaking which is clearly intelligible to all ordinary people”, while bad
speech is “a way of talking which is difficult for most people to understand” Jones, 1958.
Fries 1954 present the importance of teaching pronunciation in teaching foreign language. He states that students of foreign language get difficulty in
recognizing instruction given by the teacher because the vocabulary is too difficult for the students to understand. He agrees that teaching pronunciation will make
students to be accustomed with the use of foreign language in classroom. English speech sounds can be classified into consonants and vowels. Poole
1999 presents twenty-four consonants, twelve vowels and eight diphthongs of Standard British English.
Consonants: p as in pan
f as in fan ʃ as in shatter
m as in man b as in ban
v as in van ʒ as in seizure
n as in thin t as in tan
θ as in thank t
ʃ as in chatter ŋ as in thing
d as in done ð as in then
d ʒ as in junk
l as in lung k as in can
s as in sank w as in won
r as in rung g as in gun
z as in zinc j as in young
h as in hung
Vowels: i: as in least
ə: as in learn u: as in Luke
i as in list ə as in the
u as in look e as in less
ʌ as in luck ɔː as in lord
æ as in lass ː as in last
ɔ as in lost
Diphthongs: əi as in tear in the eye
ou as in throw ei as in tray
ɔi as in toy e
ə as in tear =rip ai as in tie
u ə as in tour
au as in town
In teaching pronunciation for vocational school students in which their concern is not in the language, the teachers have to design the learning and
teaching activities that suitable with the occupation for the students in the future. The teachers have to design the materials which are easy to understand.
Kenworthy 1997, p. 3 gives an example that “ learners who want to
work as air traffic controller or telephone operator, for example, will need to have a pronunciation which is easily understood in less-than-ideal condition
.” Kenworthy 1997, p. 4 suggests that it would be better if the media in teaching
pronunciation contain the native language as it gives clear example of native language and the students would imitate the sounds precisely.
In movies, the students can see the precise example from the native speakers in pronouncing the words intelligibly. Moreover, the students can also
imitate the way native speakers produce the sounds by seeing the articulation from their lips. Poedjosoedarmo 2003 explains that:
Other people are not very good mimics of sounds but may be able to see and imitate what they see another person doing with his or her mouth. To
help people who are visually oriented in this way, pictures and video clips of the mouth producing particular sounds may be useful p. 32.
5. Classroom Action Research
This part talks about action research which is done in the classroom. In this part there are five explanations related with classroom action research,
namely definition, characteristics, aims, types and steps.
a. Definition of Classroom Action Research
Classroom action research is an action in the classroom to improve students‟ ability which is done systematically by the teachers. Through action
research, teachers can also improve their teaching practice, Pelton 2010. Burns 2010 states through action research, teachers can find useful
approach to improve teaching skills and to develop understanding of their students, situation in classroom. She also mentions that action resear
ch “involves taking a self-reflective, critical, and systematic approach to exploring your own
teaching contexts .”
In addition, Ferrance 2000 describe classroom action research as “a process in which participant examine their own educational practice
systematically and carefully, u sing the technique of research.” Schmuck 1997
defines classroom action research as “an attempt to study a real school situation with a view to improve the quality of
actions and result within it.” From the discussion above, it can be concluded that classroom action
research is research done in school or classroom in which teachers can explore their teaching strategies in solving problems found in classroom or in improving
their teaching practice.
b. Types of Classroom Action Research
This is types of classroom action research proposed by Ferrance 2000
Table 2.1. Types of classroom action research Ferrace, 2000 Individual
teacher research
Collaborative action
research School-wide
action research
District-wide action
research Focus
Single classroom issue
Single classroom or several
classrooms with common issue
School issue, problem, or area
of collective interest
District issue Organizational
structures
Possible support
needed
Coachmentor Access to
technology Assistance with
dataorganiza- tion and analysis
Substitute teachers
Release time Close link with
administrators School
commitment Leadership
Communication External
partners District
commitment Facilitator
Recorder Communication
External partners
Potential impact
Curriculum Instruction
Assessment Curriculum
Instruction Assessment
Policy Potential to
impact school restructuring
and change
Policy Parent
involvement Evaluation of
programs Allocation of
resources Professional
development activities
Organizational structures
Policy
Side effects
Practice informed by data
Information not always shared
Improved collegiality
Formation of partnerships
Improved collegiality,
collaboration, and
communication
Team building Disagreements
on process Improved
collegiality, collaboration,
and communication
Team building Disagreements
on process Shared vision
The researcher conducted collaborative action research in answering research question in improving students‟ pronunciation of class XI EL since the
researcher focused on single classroom and the researcher worked as observer.
c. Characteristics of Classroom Action Research
This part discusses characteristics of classroom action research stated by Burns 1999. There are four characteristics of classroom action research:
1 Action research is contextual, small-scale and localized – it identifies and
investigates problems within a specific situation. 2 It is evaluative and reflective as it aims to bring about change and
improvement in practice. 3 It is participatory as it provides for collaborative investigation by teams of
colleagues, practitioners and researchers. 4 Changes in practice are based on the collection of information or data which
provides the impetus for change.
Burns, 1999
d. Aims of Classroom Action Research
Burns 2010 states classroom action research is “reflective process that
aims to solve a particular teaching-learning problem that has been identified .” She
also states that through classroom action research teachers can improve their teaching skills.
Ferrance 2000 describes classroom action research as collaborative action between the teacher and the researcher that is aimed to find solution of
problems in the classroom
e. Steps in Classroom Action Research
In conducting this research, the researcher used Bachman ‟s action research
spiral. Mertler 2009, p.15 studies Bachman cycle in conducting classroom action research. In Bachman‟ spiral suggests that the researcher gather information, plan
actions, observe and evaluate the action and then reflect the action.
Figure 2.1. Bachman’s action research spiral Mertler, 2009, p. 15
B. Theoretical Framework
In learning a language, the students are required to know four skills in language that is speaking, listening, reading and writing. The teachers have
responsibility to teach those four skills to the students. In fact, there are many teachers that do not pay attention in helping their students to learn the language
and its skills. When the teachers teach English in the classroom, they just focus on certain skills. For example they teach his students on reading skills. Therefore,
students‟ ability in using language cannot be developed well. In teaching English, the teachers have to help their students to be able to
use English in communication not only to be able to pass the examination. In this case, students‟ speaking ability should be improved in order to make clear
communication. One element of speaking that students should improve is pronunciation. Based on the preliminary study, the students of class XI EL of
SMK Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta had problems in pronouncing English words intelligibly. Kenworthy 1997 mentions that intelligibility in pronunciation is
important in speaking to give clear meanings of communication. They got difficulties in pronouncing English words correctly. Therefore, they tend to avoid
answering questions given by the teacher. They did not have motivation in practicing speaking in the classroom because they were afraid if they made
mistake in pronouncing certain words as well. Based on Kenworthy‟s 1997 examples of souces cause intelligibility
problems in pronunciation, the researcher found that the students of class XI EL of SMK Marsudi Luhur II Yogyakarta had problem in producing intelligible
sounds. Common causes in their unintelligible pronunciation were sound substitutions and sound deletions.
The researcher offered the use of movies as learning media to help the students in improving their pronunciation. The researcher decided to use movies
in teaching. The reason why the researcher chose movies was because the use of movies in classroom could give understandable example of pronunciation by
native speakers, so that the students could imitate it precisely, Kenworthy, 1997. Using the subtitle in the movie would give explanation to the students about the
correct sounds. Besides, it gave proof that not all English words pronounced by its spelling, like what they did when they spoke using their mother language.
Moreover, using interesting media in teaching, like movies, can be used to increase students‟ interest in learning. If the students have motivation in learning,
it makes the teacher teaches the lesson easily and the students learn the lesson easily as well, Parker, 2010.
In applying the use of movies in teaching pronunciation, the researcher conducted class room action research
using Bachman‟s action research spiral Metler, 2009, p. 15. The action of the research consisted of three steps. The steps
are planning, acting and observing, reflecting. The use of movies in classroom that are implemented through classroom action research is expected to give answer of
the question of the research.
24
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the methodology used in the research. The methodology involves research method, research setting, research participants,
instrument and data gathering technique, data analysis technique, and research procedure.
A. Research Method
