THE USE OF SHORT STORY “JAKA TARUB” IN TEACHING PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH VOWEL SOUNDS

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 General Background

            English is one of the most widely used international languages. It has been spread all over the world and it plays an important role in global communication. It is just because many counties have English as their mother tongue and as the official language. Consequently, English is used as a means daily communication of their citizens. Besides,  it is obviously proved that English is mostly used as a means of communication in international contact.

Language is not only used for daily conversation but also used in education, research and science both spoken and  written. Considering those function of language, people study language both formal and informal.     In Indonesia, English is taught as the first foreign language from Junior high school students up to University. Now, it has also been introduced to Elementary school students, as one of the main subjects should be learned. As the first foreign language, English is considered difficult  to learn by Indonesian students, since they have been speaking their mother tongue since their childhood.

As a means of communication, English like any other languages is primarily spoken, while the written from is secondary since it is just a representation of what is actually spoken.Because of the different areas with  various conditions, culture, and social background, people speak different languages, which are only used to communicate with their own respective  group. Accordingly, they face some problems when they want to communicate with people from other group that speak a different language. Therefore, they must understand the language of the people they want to communicate with in order to understand each other.

Every language has its own characteristics such as structures, vocabulary, or sound systems, which may be different from those in other language. English, in this case, has its own features in pronunciation, which are different from those of the learner’s own language. Learners should know how to pronounce English words naturally. However, it is not easy for them to learn the pronunciation problems faced by the learners may be  easily understood. Since their childhood, they have been speaking their own mother tongue, which has been deeply implanted in them as part of their habits.

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