















































204 
 

JOURNAL OF ENGLISH EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY 

Vol. 01 No. 03, October 2020, pp. 204-216 

Available online at:  

http://jeet.fkdp.or.id/index.php/jeet/issue/current 

ISSN: 2721-3811 (media online) 

 

A Study of Pronunciation Error in English Consonant 

Azzatul Hadroh  

An English teacher at MTs Miftahul Ulum Gondangrejo Gondangwetan Pasuruan 

azzatulhadro@gmail.com  

Abstract 

The aim of the study to find out what are the five of most English consonants which error to pronounce at 

second grade of MTs in Pasuruan and to find the reason what makes them the error to pronounce. The subject 

of the study was in the second grade of MTs. The research design was descriptive qualitative and focused on 

the pronounce of analysis. The findings conclude that there is eight consonant as the most mispronounce to 

pronounce. From the research done by the researchers, the researchers finally found eight of the 24 consonants 

that are difficult to pronounce, eight of which are consonants "ch" [ʧ], "y" [j], "th" [ð], "v" [v], "th" [θ], "zhe" [ʒ], 

"gy" [ʤ], and "ght." Then from some of the analyzes, the researchers found some errors consonants that conical 

researchers into the eight most misunderstood consonants in pronunciation alone. Eight of them are 

consonants "ch" [ʧ], "zh" [ʒ], "th" [ð], "v" [v], and "th" [θ]. 

Keywords: Error Analysis, Pronunciation, Consonant.  

 

http://jeet.fkdp.or.id/index.php/jeet/issue/current
http://u.lipi.go.id/1580741566
mailto:azzatulhadro@gmail.com1


205 
 

I. INTRODUCTION 

Communication is vital to the future of 

our young students and society as a whole. 

And language is a purely human non-

instinctive method of communicating ideas, 

emotions, and desires through a system of a 

voluntary produces symbol (Hamka, 2019). 

Today, many people attempt to master more 

than one language, since acquiring two or 

more words gains some benefits in their 

economic and social life (Aziz & Dewi, 

2019a); English is one of the communication 

tools. Most people in this world use English 

to communicate with one other country.  

Learning pronunciation is essential to 

understand that good listening and speaking 

(Nunan, 1991). The reason is when someone 

speaks with a pronunciation that is not good 

for the listener that causes 

misunderstanding. Four essential elements 

that must be mastered for the English 

language are reading skills, speaking skills, 

listening skills, and writing skills. 

Pronunciation is not included in the four 

elements, but the pronunciation is one of the 

four connecting elements. Listening and 

reading are perceptive skills (Aziz & Dewi, 

2019b) because the focus is on receiving 

information from an outside source. 

Speaking and writing, on the other hand, are 

productive skills because they focus are on 

producing information. Though 

pronunciation is one of the Basic English 

skills. It is essential to support the speaking 

ability of English learners to avoid 

misunderstanding between the speakers and 

the hearers. That is very important to learn, 

because, learning English is not only 

knowing the meaning of words and the 

structure but also knowing how to 

pronounce the words correctly and clearly in 

order that the utterances will be 

comprehensible and understandable. 

In Indonesia, the status of the English 

language is the primary foreign language for 

the students to be learning from elementary 

school up to university, no exception in java. 

But as the Javanese people who are an 

accustomed emphasis on some of the words, 

letters, of course, speak English with 

pronunciation, which was not an easy thing. 

They are errors to master and change their 

pronunciation is like a British or American 

accent because their dialect is dominant.   

Furthermore, they have some errors to 

correct their pronunciation. There are three 

essential areas in speech sound production; 

the oral cavity (mouth), the pharyngeal 

cavity (throat), and the nasal cavity (nose). 

They are general organs of speech that have 

to function to produce the sounds. They have 

some parts that we call them specific organs 

of speech, such as lips, teeth, tongue, hard 

palate, velar, velum, pharynx, larynx, glottis, 

(vocal cord), epiglottis, esophagus and so on. 

And this is one of the kinds of phonology. In 

the general definition, Phonology is the study 

of sound, but the meaning is not simple like 

that. There are various definitions based on 

phoneticians. Phonology is essential for the 



206 
 

description of the systems and patterns of 

speech sounds in language. Phonology is 

about underlying design, the blueprint of 

each sound type, which serves as the 

constant basis of all the variations in 

different physical articulations of that audio 

type in a different context (Yule, 2016). 

II. LITERATURE REVIEW 

A. Understanding Pronunciation  

Pronunciation is part of speech includes 

the word, intonation, and the language of the 

sound. Articulation is the knowledge of how 

to say a word-that is how to pronounce it 

(Hakim, 2012). 

E.g., cold /kəʊld/ 

gold/ɡəʊld/. 

Different kinds of English have different 

pronunciation. For example, the 

pronunciation (the accent) of British English is 

different from the pronunciation of American 

English. The most frequently learned kinds 

of English in the world are American 

English and British English. American 

English is the accent that is most often 

spoken on national television in the United 

States. American pronunciations in 

dictionaries are also based on GenAm. And 

British English is the pronunciation that you 

will learn at a British language school; it is 

also the model taught in course books and 

dictionaries from publishers like Oxford and 

Longman. 

1. Vowel 

In the production of vowel sounds, the 

vocal tract is open so that there is on 

obstruction to the airflow escaping over the 

tongue. The vowel is a speech sound 

produced through the mouth without being 

blocked by the teeth, tongue, or lips 

(Dictionary, 2008). Because the researcher 

only practices consonant sounds so that the 

researcher does not explain more about 

vowel sound. 

2. Consonant  

Consonant is a speech sound made by 

(partly) stopping the breath with the tongue, 

lips, etc. (Lightbown & Spada, 2013). There 

are 25 consonant sounds in the English 

language, which consists 21 letters b, c, d, f, g, 

h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z. And the 

four consonant cluster, ch, sh, th, and ng. 

Scarcell and Oxford (1994) defined 

consonants as noises produced with some 

sort of blockage in the air passage. Some 

consonant sounds are voiced, while others 

are voiceless. 

Voiced 

The vocal cords are together, their 

airstream forces its way through and causes 

them to vibrate. When the vocal folds are 

drawn together, the air from the lungs 

repeatedly pushes them apart as it passes 

through, creating a vibration effect (Yule, 

2016). That is the phonetic symbols of voice:  

/r/, /m/, /g/, /l/, /b/, /ʤ/, /ð/, /j/, /z/, /n/, /v/, /ŋ/, 

/ʒ/, /d/, /w/. 

E.g.: [b] and [z] in buzz [bʌz]. 



207 
 

Voiceless 

When the vocal folds are spread apart, 

the air from the lungs passes between them 

unimpeded (Yule, 2016). To understand the 

difference between a voiced and voiceless 

easily, we can pronounce the pairs of the 

words "fat, vat, thigh, thy; sue, zoo." The first 

consonant in the first words of each pair is 

voiceless, whereas in the second word is 

voiced (peter, 1982; 1-2). 

The phonetic symbol of voiceless: /θ/, /ʧ/, /f/, 

/h/, /ʃ/, /s/, /t/, /p/, and /k/. 

Consonant classification 

By the manner articulation: 

1) Plosive or Stop  

The set [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], [g] are all 

produced by some form of “stopping” of the 

air stream (very briefly) then letting it go 

abruptly. This type of consonant sound, 

resulting from blocking or stopping effect on 

the airstream, is called a Stop (or a "plosive"). 

A full description of the [t] sound at the 

beginning of a word like ten is a voiceless 

alveolar stop (Yule, 2016). 

2) Fricative 

The set of sounds [f], [v], [θ], [ð], [s], [z], 

[ʃ], [ʒ] involves almost blocking the air 

stream and having the air push through the 

very narrow opening. As the air pushed 

through, a type of friction is produced, and 

the resulting sounds are called fricatives. If 

you put your open hand in front of your 

mouth when making these sounds, [f] and [s] 

in particular, your should be able to feel the 

stream of air being pushed out. The usual 

pronunciation of the word fish begins and 

ends with the voiceless fricatives [f] and [ʃ].  

The word those begins and ends with the 

voiced fricatives [ð] and [z].The sound [h], as 

in Hi or Hello, is voiceless and also usually 

included in the set of fricatives (Yule, 2016). 

3) Affricates  

If you combine a brief stopping of the air 

stream with an obstructed release, which 

causes some friction, you will be able to 

produce the sounds [ʧ] and [ʤ]. These are 

called affricates and occur at the beginning 

of the words cheap and jeep. In the first of 

these, there is a voiceless affricate [ʧ], and in 

the second, a voiced affricate [ʤ] (Yule, 

2016). 

4) Nasals 

Most sounds are produced orally, with 

the velum raised, preventing airflow from 

entering the nasal cavity. However, when the 

velum is lowered, and the air stream is 

allowed to flow out through the nose to 

produce [m], [n] and [ŋ], the sounds are 

described as nasals. These three sounds are 

all voiced. The words morning, knitting, and 

name begin and end with nasals (Yule, 2016). 

5) Glides  

The sounds [w] and [j] are described as 

glides. They are both voiced and occur at the 

beginning of we, wet, you, and yes. These 

sounds typically produced with the tongue 

in motion (or "gliding") to or from the 

position of a vowel and are sometimes called 

semi-vowels (Yule, 2016). 



208 
 

In some approaches, the liquids [l], [r] 

and glides [w], [j] are combined in one 

category called "approximates" (Yule, 2016) 

6) Glottal Stops and Flaps 

The glottal stop, represented by the 

symbol [ʔ], occurs when the space between 

the vocal folds (the glottis) is closed 

completely (very briefly), then released. 

A flap is represented by [D] or sometimes 

[r]. This sound is produced by the tongue 

tip-tapping the alveolar ridge briefly. Many 

American English speakers tend to "flap" the 

[t] and [d] consonants between vowels so 

that, in casual speech, the latter and ladder of 

the pair do not have distinct middle 

consonant.  

Place  of articulation 

To describe the place of articulation of 

most consonant sounds, we can start at the 

front of the mouth and work back. We can 

also keep the voiced-voiceless distinction in 

mind and begin using the symbols of the 

phonetic alphabet for specific sounds (Yule, 

2016). These symbols will be enclosed within 

square brackets: 

1) Bilabial 

These are sounds formed using both (=bi) 

upper and lower lips (=labia). The initial 

sounds in words pat, bat, and mat are all 

bilabials. They are represented by the 

symbols [p], which is voiceless, and [b] and 

[m], which are voiced. We also describe the 

[w] sound found at the beginning of the way, 

walk, and world as a bilabial (Yule, 2016). 

2) Labiodental 

These are sounds formed with the upper 

teeth and the lower lip. The initial sound of 

the words fat and vat the final sounds in 

words safe and save labiodentals. They are 

represented by symbols [f], which is 

voiceless, and [v], which is voiced. Notice 

that the final sound in the word cough, and 

the initial sound in the photo, despite the 

spelling differences, are both pronounced as 

[f] (Yule, 2016). 

3) Dental  

These sounds are formed with the tongue 

tip behind the upper front teeth. The original 

music of thin and the final sound of the bath 

are both voiceless dental. The symbol used 

for this sound is [θ], usually referred to as 

"theta," it is the symbol you would use for the 

first and the last sounds in the phrase three 

teeth. 

The voiced dental is represented by the 

symbol [ð], usually called "eth." This sound is 

found in the pronunciation of the initial 

sound and everyday words. It is also the 

middle consonant sound in feather and the 

final sound of the bathe. 

The term "interdentals" is sometimes used 

for this consonant when they are 

pronounced with the tongue tip between (-

inter) the upper and lower teeth (Yule, 2016). 

4) Alveolar 

These sounds formed with the front part 

of the tongue on the alveolar ridge, which in 

the rough, bony ridge immediately behind 

and above the upper teeth. The initial sounds 

in the top, dip, sit, zoo, and nut are all alveolar. 



209 
 

The symbols for these sounds are easy to 

remember – [t], [d], [s], [z], [n], of these, [t] 

and [s] are voiceless whereas [d], [z] and [n] 

are voiced. 

It may be clear that the final sounds of the 

words bus and buzz have to be [s] and [z], 

respectively, but what about the final sound 

of the word raise? The spelling is misleading 

because the final sound in this word is voiced 

and so must be represented by [z]. Notice 

also that despite the different spelling of knot 

and not, both of these words are pronounced 

with [n] as the initial sound. 

Other alveolar is the [l] sound found at 

the beginning of words such as lap and lit, and 

the [r] sound at the beginning of right and 

writes (Yule, 2016).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

5) Palatals 

If we feel back behind the alveolar ridge, 

we should find a hard part in the roof of our 

mouth. It is called the hard palate or just the 

palate. Sounds produced with the tongue 

and the taste is called palatals. Examples of 

palatals are the initial sounds in words shout 

and child, which are both voiceless. The "sh" 

sound is represented as [ʃ], and the "ch" 

sound is described as [ʧ]. So, the word shoe-

brush begins and ends with the voiceless 

palatal sound [ʃ], and the word church begins 

and ends with the other silent palatal sound 

[ʧ]. 

One of the voiced palatals, represented by 

the symbols [ʒ], is not very common in 

English but can be found as the middle 

consonant sound in words like treasure and 

pleasure, or the final sound in rouge. The other 

voiced palatal is [ʤ], which is the initial 

sound in words like joke and gem. The word 

judge and the name George both begin and end 

with the sound [ʤ] despite the apparent 

differences in spelling. 

One other voiced palatal is the [j] sound 

used at the beginning of words like you and 

yet (Yule, 2016). 

6) Velars 

 Even further back in the roof of the 

mouth, beyond the hard palate, you will find 

a soft area, which is called soft palate, or the 

velum. Sounds produced with the back of the 

tongue against the velum are called the 

velars. There is a voiceless velar sound, 

represented by the symbol [k], which occurs 

not only in kid and kill, but also the initial 

sound in car and cold. Despite the variety in 

spelling, this [k] sound is both the initial and 

final sound in words cook, kick, and coke. 

The voiced velar sound heard at the 

beginning of words like go, gun, and give 

represented by [ɡ]. It is also the final sound 

in words like bag, mug, and despite the 

spelling plague. 

 The velum can be lowered to allow air to 

flow through the nasal cavity and thereby 

produce another voiced velar, represented by 

the symbol [ŋ], typically referred to as 

"angina." In written English, this sound is 

normally spelled as the two letters "ng." So, 

the [ŋ] sound is at the end, sing, sang, and 



210 
 

despite the spelling tongue. It occurs twice in 

ringing. Be careful not to be misled by the 

spelling of a word like bang - it ends with the 

[ŋ] sound only. There is no [ɡ] sound in this 

word. 

7) Glottal  

There is one sound that is produced 

without active use of the tongue and other 

parts of the mouth. It is the sound [h] which 

occurs at the beginning of have and house and, 

for most speakers, as the first sound in who 

and whose. This sound is usually described as 

voiceless glottal. The "glottis" is the space 

between the vocal folds in the larynx. When 

the glottis is open, as in the production of 

other voiceless sounds, and there is no 

manipulation of the air passing out of the 

mouth, the sound produced is that 

represented by [h]. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

III. METHOD 

the researcher used a qualitative 

research method. Because this research aims 

to find out the description of the study of 

error pronunciation in English consonants. 

The data collected and analyzed will not be 

represented numerically but collected and 

presented in the narrative report. The 

description of the language environment on 

students' skills will be explored using this 

method.  

The researcher observed the classroom 

when the teaching and learning would be 

processing to find the English pronunciation 

consonant. In this case, the researcher 

observed the teaching and learning process 

in the classroom. Included the material and 

the topic used in the teaching and learning 

process, and also the English pronunciation 

consonant and teacher's activity. The real 

teacher conducted this study. While the 

researcher becomes an observer to be more 

focused on the subjects that will be going to 

observed. 

The question of this research was the 

entire student. Because the researcher wants 

the study is active. The researcher thinks 

that the first-grade students are the new 

students of that school, and the third-grade 

students are too busy. They are going to pass 

the national exam and another. Besides, the 

researcher chooses the grade between the 

first and the third-grade students. They were 

second-grade students. 

/p/ 

Pay 

/b/ 

Boy 

/t/ 

Talk 

/d/ 

Day 

/k/ 

Key 

/g/ 

Go 

/f/ 

Free 

/v/ 

Voice 

/θ/ث 

Think 

/ð/ذ 

That 

/s/ 

Sad 

/z/ 

Zone 

/ʃ/ش 

Shop 

/ʒ/zhe 

Usual 

/ʧ/che 

Child 

/ʤ/ج 

Gym 

/h/ح 

Hat 

/m/ 

Mean 

/n/ 

Need 

/ŋ/ 

Single 

/l/ 

Light 

/r/ 

Rest 

/j/y 

Yard 

/w/ 

Work          



211 
 

IV. RESULT 

The researcher describes the data which 

has been collected in the field. Concerning a 

study of pronunciation error in English 

consonant, the researcher did three data 

collection techniques to get more complete 

data. The researcher interview to the teacher 

that relate to the study of pronunciation, 

primarily English consonant. The researcher 

gives some test to the students to find the 

result data of students' about how them to 

pronunciation. In analyzing the data, the 

researcher divided the process into two 

steps: collecting the students' and 

identifying the errors with reading the same 

vocabulary. The prediction causes of failures 

were in the discussion. 

Then, the researcher presents the results 

in detailed information. The data consist of 

the Eight most mispronounce English 

consonant and the reason what makes them 

the error to declare. 

1. The Most Mispronounce English 

Consonant. 

After doing research, researchers found 

things that concern this study. That is the 

English learning process. 

a) Wardatul Farosyah 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, key, go, free, that, zone, usual, child, 

light, and yard. 

b) Zumrotul Ifadah 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, day, key, go, free, think, that, sad, 

zone, usual, child, gym, mean, light, and 

yard. 

c) Mila Karimah 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, key, day, go, voice, think, that, sad, 

zone, shop, usual, gym, mean, light, yard, 

and work. 

d) Shinta Dwi Nurinah 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, key, day, go, free, voice, think, that, 

sad, zone, shop, usual, child, gym, light, 

and yard. 

e) Niswatul Laili 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

boy, talk, day, key, go, free, think, that, 

sad, zone, shop, child, hat, mean, need, 

light, yard, and work. 

f) Sabilah Nur Diah 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, day, key, go, free, voice, think, that 

sad, zone, shop, usual, gym, mean, need, 

single, light, rest, and work.  

g) Putri Salsa Nur 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, day, key, go, free, voice, think, that, 

sad, zone, shop, usual, child, gym, hat, 

single, light, rest, yard, and work. 

h) Dwi Putri Aulia 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, day, key, go, free, voice, think, that, 

sad, zone, shop, usual, child, gym, hat, 

need, light, yard, and work. 

i) Anggraini Silvia 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, day, key, go, free, voice, think, that, 



212 
 

sad, zone, usual, gym, hat, mean, need, 

single, light, rest, yard, and work. 

j) Sri Rahmawati 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

boy, talk, day, key, go, free, voice, think, 

that, sad, zone, shop, usual, child, gym, 

need, single, light, rest, and yard. 

k) Fatimatuz Zahra 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, key, day, go, free, voice, think, that, 

sad, zone, shop, usual, child, gym, hat, 

mean, need, light, and yard. 

l) Kamila Fi'lul Jamil 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, key, day, go, free, voice, think, that, 

sad, zone, shop, usual, child, gym, hat, 

mean, need, light, and yard. 

m) Siti Muzilah 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, key, day, go, voice, think, that, sad, 

zone, shop, usual, child, gym, need, light, 

yard, and work.  

n) Nadia Elfa 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, key, day, go, voice, think, that, sad, 

zone, shop, usual, gym, hat, mean, need, 

light, and rest.  

o) Maulidatul Nur Diana 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, key, day, go, free, voice, think, that, 

sad, zone, shop, usual, gym, hat, mean, 

need, single, light, and work. 

p) Nadia Juhrotul Laili 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, key, day, go, voice, think, that, sad, 

zone, shop, usual, gym, heat, light, rest, 

and work. 

q) Nafilatul Ilmi 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, key, day, go, voice, think, that, sad, 

zone, shop, usual, child, gym, hat, mean, 

need, light, yard, and work. 

r) Wardatul Amalia 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, key, day, go, voice, think, that, sad, 

zone, shop, usual, child, hat, need, light, 

and work. 

s) Nur Fadhila 

She mispronounces in pronounce pay, 

talk, key, day, go, voice, think, that, sad, 

zone, usual, child, gym, heat, light, rest, 

and work. 

It could then be said that most of the 

students do not have mastery of different 

pronunciations of vowels. The results of the 

recorded test showed that the most students’ 

mispronounce on eight consonant, that are 

"ch" [ʧ], "y" [j], "th" [ð], "v" [v] , "th" [θ], “zhe” 

[ʒ], “gy” [ʤ], and “ght”. 

2. The reason what makes them 

mispronounce. 

From the research done by the 

researchers, the researchers finally found 

eight of the 24 consonants that are difficult 

to pronounce, eight of which are consonants 

"ch" [ʧ], "y" [j], "th" [ð], "v" [v], "th" [θ], "zhe" 

[ʒ], "gy" [ʤ], and "ght." Then from some of the 

above analyzes, the researchers found some 

wrong consonants that conical researchers 

into the eight most misunderstood 



213 
 

consonants in pronunciation alone. Eight of 

them are consonants "ch" [ʧ], "zh" [ʒ], "th" [ð], 

"v" [v], and "th" [θ]. 

And the first analysis is how to 

pronounce the consonant "th" [θ]. It is the 

way to pronounce "the," and it is the same as 

Hijaiyah's letter [ ث] pronunciation. 

However, the students often recite it as 

consonant "t" [t]. And some read it as "d" [d]. 

With the percentage as the most 

misunderstood consonant, the consonant 

becomes consonant with serial number 1, and 

almost all students are wrong in this 

consonant pronunciation. 

The subsequent analysis is from the 

consonant "th" [ð], the students 

mispronounced the consonant "d" [d]. In 

contrast, the pronunciation of th "[ð] 

consonants tends to be like pronouncing 

dzal [ذ] In the Hijaiyah letters so slightly 

clipped his tongue between the upper front 

teeth and the lower front teeth but not 

clamped hard or once, just touched it. 

Because if clipped once, it will sound 

consonant "t," but in the way of reading, 

Indonesian people are not British. And being 

the # 2 consonant most often misunderstood 

in his pronunciation. 

Analysis of the consonant "y" [j], the 

researchers found some common 

misconceptions, and rarely most Indonesians 

are aware of it. The consonant "y" [j] most of 

them mistakenly pronounce it as a consonant 

"y" [y] in pronunciation of letters or 

Indonesian spellings.  

The researcher finds many errors in 

pronunciation. An analysis of consonant "v" 

still read consonant as consonant [v] will But 

a little emphasized between the lower lip 

with the tip of the upper teeth, so that little 

sound comes out of [w]. However, still, it is 

the consonant [v]. And becomes the 5th 

consonant most often misunderstood its 

pronunciation. 

The next is "gy" [ʤ], we should read the 

Hijaiyah ج letters as that is the pronunciation 

of "gy" [ʤ], but the students pronounce as "g" 

consonant in Indonesian transcript still read 

"g." 

Then it is an analysis of the "ght" 

pronunciation, which there is no consonant 

form or symbol since most "ght" is at the 

word end. Only most of the students 

pronounce, such as pronouncing the word 

"k" or sometimes like reciting the word "t." 

The last one is the consonant "ch" [ʧ], the 

way the pronunciation of the consonant "ch" 

is actually like someone who wants to spit 

and a little like the pronunciation "c" in 

Indonesian transcript. Because the letter "c," 

which is still pronounced like that, does not 

exist. The consonant "c" is pronounced as [k] 

in a British transcript. 

V. DISCUSSION  

The test contains some vowel sounds 

and consonant sounds. The words were put 

in sentences; each sentence contains one 

target sound: each student was asked to read 

all the sentences aloud, while her voice was 

recorded. In the end, the errors were written 



214 
 

on paper and then tabulated and analyzed 

statistically and descriptively. When the 

researcher came into the field to research, the 

researcher got the data that is needed. The 

result of these data was presented in the 

point "A" of this chapter. And the discussion 

of these data is going to be broken down at 

this point as below. 

1. The Most Mispronounce Consonant  

After doing research, researchers found 

things that concern this study. That is the 

English learning process. The teaching 

process should be interesting, how students 

can be interested in the material we teach, 

even the learning system at once. The teacher 

gives motivation and some ice-breaking. 

How the students understand what the 

teacher teaches. Researchers found that most 

of them preferred how to communicate their 

lessons rather than their lessons. In her 

observations, the researcher proved how 

enthusiastic the student is in learning. As 

already mentioned that in English, language 

learning is not focused on one skill only, but 

all skill and its components. One of the 

components is pronunciation. The 

pronunciation that includes a small part of 

English language learning plays an important 

role in it. Pronunciation is defined as is part 

of speech. Including words, intonation, and 

sound language, according to Harmer (2001: 

26), pronunciation is the knowledge of how 

to say a word. That is how to pronounce it. 

And is classified into several parts. As the 

research object of this study. Pronunciation 

is not included as a core lesson. But 

incorporated together the lessons or 

materials taught that day. 

From the research done by the 

researchers, the researchers finally found 

eight of the 24 consonants that are difficult 

to pronounce, 8 of which are consonants "ch" 

[ʧ], "zh" [ʒ], "th" [ð], "v" [v], "th" [θ, "gy" [ʤ], 

"y" [j] and "ght." Then from some of the above 

analyzes, the researchers found some wrong 

consonants that conical researchers into the 

eight most misunderstood consonants in 

pronunciation alone. Eight of them are 

consonants "ch" [ʧ], "ng" [ŋ], "th" [ð], "t" [t], 

and "th" [θ]. 

And the first analysis is how to 

pronounce the consonant "th" [θ]. The way 

the pronunciation of the "th" consonant is the 

same as how to pronounce the hijaiyah letter 

 and in the Arab-Indonesian transcript is ,[ث]

the same as the th "ie." by attaching the tip of 

the tongue to the upper front teeth. 

However, the students often recite it as 

consonant "t" [t]. And some read it as "d" [d]. 

With the percentage as the most 

misunderstood consonant, the consonant 

becomes consonant with serial number 1, and 

almost all students are wrong in this 

consonant pronunciation. 

The subsequent analysis is from the 

consonant "th" [ð], the students 

mispronounced the consonant "d" [d]. In 

contrast, the pronunciation of th "[ð] 

consonants tends to be like pronouncing 

dzal [ذ] In the Hijaiyah letters so slightly 



215 
 

clipped his tongue between the upper front 

teeth and the lower front teeth but not 

clamped hard or once, just touched it. 

Because if clipped once, it will sound 

consonant "t," but in the way of reading, 

Indonesian people are not British. And being 

the two consonant most often 

misunderstood in his pronunciation. 

Analysis of the consonant "y" [j], the 

researchers found some common 

misconceptions, and rarely most Indonesians 

are aware of it, especially second graders 

MTs Miftahul Ulum Gondangrejo 

Gondangwetan Pasuruan. The consonant "y" 

[j] most of them mistakenly pronounce it as 

a consonant "y" [y] in pronunciation of letters 

or Indonesian spellings.  

The next is the consonant "gy" [ʤ]. We 

should read the Hijaiyah ج letters as that is 

the pronunciation of "gy" [ʤ]. The students 

still pronounce "g" consonant in Indonesian 

transcript read "g." 

Then it is an analysis of the "ght" 

pronunciation, which there is no consonant 

form or symbol since most "ght" is at the 

word end. Only most of the students 

pronounce, such as pronouncing the word 

"k" or sometimes like reciting the word "t." 

The last one is the consonant "ch" [ʧ], the 

way the pronunciation of the consonant "ch" 

is actually like someone who wants to spit 

and a little like the pronunciation "c" in 

Indonesia transcript. Because the letter "c," 

which is still pronounced like that, does not 

exist. The consonant "c" is pronounced as [k] 

in a British transcript. 

2. The reason what makes they 

mispronounce consonants. 

Researchers in their observations have 

concluded that the students have a good 

response in English language learning. While 

doing teaching and learning activities, 

teachers always convey with the spirit that 

students are also eager to receive it, whether 

any material. But they remain in trouble 

pronunciation, and not only in terms of 

pronunciation but in terms of understanding 

the English lesson itself. Due to the lack of 

focus of learning or pronunciation material 

itself. And most of the students get 

difficulties in English pronunciation. In 

practice, few of them can make good English. 

The teacher also admits the students' 

achievement in pronunciation.  

VI. CONCLUSION 

So the improvement can be made into 

the material reading, speaking, and listening. 

The students can fix and minimize errors in 

English pronunciation, especially in terms of 

pronunciation English consonants. 

The most frequently mispronounce of 

the consonants are "ch" [ʧ], "zh" [ʒ], "th" [ð], 

"v" [v], and "th" [θ]. It based on the finding in 

the last chapter. 

To learn English well, second language 

learners should pay attention to the 

importance of English pronunciation 

learning.  



216 
 

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Aziz, I. N., & Dewi, Y. A. S. (2019b). The 
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Dictionary, O. (2008). Oxford Learner's 
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