Analysing Schwa Sound /É™/ Pronunciation of Indonesian English Teachers: Identifying Errors and Challenges

Abstract

This article contains the findings of an error analysis study on the pronunciation of English schwa sounds /ə/ by Indonesian English teachers. Teachers encountered numerous difficulties in adapting to the English sound system while teaching English in the classroom. This study aims to investigate the pronunciation faults of the English vowel sound known as 'schwa', represented as /ə/ in IPA (International Phonetic Association) phonetic writing and their challenges. This study utilizes qualitative research approach. The researcher endeavoured to organize and collate the pronunciation of the schwa sound of the English teachers when they were teaching which was taken from their Youtube channel and their challenges. By engaging in the process of actively listening and meticulously taking a note of the teachers' pronunciation, the researcher ultimately obtained the data source that would be subjected to analysis. The techniques for analysing the gathered data include assessing the teachers’ pronunciation, documenting any pronunciation errors made by them, and examining the issues related to mispronunciation of the English schwa sound produced by them. The study's findings indicate that there are some errors related to the Schwa sound pronounced by the teachers, namely replacing Schwa Sound by pronouncing sound /ɑ/, /e/, /o/, /ʊ/, replacing Schwa Sound in diphthong /əʊ/ by pronouncing sound /o/, eliminating Schwa Sound in diphthong sound /ɪə/ and /eə/. Moreover, the challenges faced by them are native language, exposure, innate phonetic ability, motivation and concern for good pronunciation. Although the Indonesian language has a schwa sound, this does not guarantee that speakers are proficient in pronouncing it correctly.

Keywords: Schwa sound; pronunciation; phonology; error analysis; phonetics; EFL teacher