THE TEACHING PRONUNCIATION
THROUGH A SONG

A paper
Submitted to the English Education Program of teaching and education faculty of Ibn Khaldun University Bogor.


By
Siti Yanuarsih
07211210451











ENGLISH EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF TEACHING AND EDUCATION IBN KHALDUN UNIVERSITY BOGOR.
2010


Preface
In the name of Allah, the beneficent and merciful, the writer is able to finish writing the paper entitled : The Teaching Pronunciation Through a Song.
This paper is submitted to fulfill one of the requirements for final examination of english education program of Fkip Bogor, which the writer has brought into accomplisment for the formal study.
The writer realizes that paper is far from being perfect, it is because of her limited ability of knowledge, so she would welcome any idea, comments and criticism for sporting this paper. Although this paper is still less perfect, the writer hopes that it will be useful for those who read this paper.


Bogor, January 2010
The writer










Introduction
Pronunciation is one of the language components which are very important for the students to know. It is purpose is to extend thinking an effective manner and to express in their mind. In development of modern world, English is wide of spread in every country. English as an international language is used in some sector especially trade, industry education, literature, culture, and so on. Recently the government has been trying to increase English as compulsory subject. In educational curriculum, the government has been increasing human resource quality to master English the constitute one of the forms realizing development objective. Pronunciation deals with speech sound accruing in language when she hears them pronounced. We have to remember the acoustic qualities of their proper place in connected speech and listening for sound because it is a matter of ear.
Teaching pronunciation is very difficult because no people pronounce exactly alike. Different from a variety of causes such as locality early influence and social surrounding. The expression above is clear that, there are many obstacles in teaching pronunciation. In fact, there are many difficulties for students to express everything in English because they look of practicing and feel of ashamed to pronounce. The writer has chosen the topic because she thinks that teaching pronunciation using a song will make the students easier to learn English, especially in learning pronunciation. Teaching pronunciation through a song can give motivation to students in improving speech sounds ability and it encourages the students to pronounce all the sound correctly during the lesson. Teaching pronunciation through a song will bring the students to be courageous in learning speech through a song. Therefore, the writer will try to entertain or something persuades the students to learn pronunciation through a song.




Theoretical Foundation
A. Pronunciation is Oral Communication
The students want and need to learn English pronunciation as well as to speak clearly. Before the students study English pronunciation, the teacher should teach sound of English, letter, stress, and intonation. The sound of English will relate to pronunciation. By definition, the learn pronunciation refers to the act of putting articulated sound together in proper combination with proper stress to correctly from word. Many studies have made to persuade the students because most of us spend a considerable life engaged in oral communication especially pronunciation.
Certainly, we can’t teach pronunciation without practicing skill oral topic in the class; we can practice it through a song, dialog, interview, and reading comprehension. All topics above are related to speaking especially pronunciation. The writer has trying to make students easy to learn pronunciation through a song. Language communicative purposes mean more than just using language correctly. It is cleat that, the context pronunciation is used extremely relevant to linguistic interaction between groups and individual, and it has rule system and in phonetics. It will evident that this other aspects of language are emphasized especially in objective of communicative approach.
Language learning is based on the development of skill, the development language learning from behaviorist and mentalist psychology. Behaviorist ideas about theory learning, which focus on the rule on the environment. It is started by skinner that attempt analyzing language behavior by tracing factors influencing their behavior, these factors are described in terms of stimulus and respond. The difficulties of pronunciation which are faced by the students. They must pay attention to the difficulties of pronunciation as follow:
1. Learning to recognize readily and certainly the various speech sound in accuring in the language.
2. To make the foreign sounds with his own organ of speech.
3. To use those sound in their proper placed in connected speech.
4. Learning the proper usage in the matter of the sound attribute.
5. Learning the shape of the conventional orthography in the pronunciation.

B. Teaching Pronunciation Through a Song
1. Definition of a song
It was explain that there are four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In this paper, the writer would try do discuss one of the language elements of phonology that is pronunciation indirectly and exquisite beauty of the language so she has assumption that a song can be pronounced by the students repeatedly, on the other hand a song can be persuade and entertain the students in studying pronunciation.
According to Geser Waldman, song can provide an enjoyable way to introduce or review vocabulary, and idiomatic expression, teach pronunciation, introduce various aspects of America culture and present or review structure and sentence pattern in vocal way. A song provide context for interesting and effective as idiom, and pronunciation with song.
Songs are good for rhythm, and for young children, especially, they make the business of stress easy and uncomplicated since it doesn’t even have to be explain.
2. The technique of teaching pronunciation
The aim of teaching pronunciation is to make students easy to pronounce the English words in speaking and reading or to accelerate student’s pronunciation through a song. A song can give motivation and love enjoyable English words without making mistakes.
Songs is outline from poetry and story on the other hand a song context short line from poetry and story. It is clear that a song can help the students express their ideas, thinking, and feeling. In this case, the discussion will be more directed until every body understands the content they are singing.
The profit of a song is to comprehend of speech sound, stress intonation, and word by word in a sentence regularly. In teaching learning process especially teaching pronunciation gives a teaching procedure that must be followed by the students. There are the procedures of teaching pronunciation using a song:
1. Teacher is introducing the song, tell a little about it.
2. She provides the lyrics available to students which have been copied and then the students receive a piece op paper lyrics song.
3. She sings a song once and the students listen and enjoy it.
4. Go through the lyrics with students and check comprehension, understanding of the song.
5. She should give the students the opportunities to sing a song. Finally, she evaluates their courage, pronunciation tone, rhythm, stress and intonation.



















Finding Data
Many studies have made persuade the students because most of us spend a considerable life engaged in oral communication especially pronunciation. A famous study by Dr. Raul Rankin at Ohio State University indicated that on the average in America seventy percent of our working day is spent in some kind of communication, whereas only sixteen percent was reading and nine percent in writing, so pronunciation used every time. This definition is stated by Terry and Frankin: “Communication is art of developing and attaining understanding between people. It is the process of exchanging information and telling between two or more people and it is essential to effective management.”
Like us, you might already use songs in class, and find that your students enjoy them. But have you considered choosing songs specifically to work on pronunciation? Songs provide examples of authentic, memorable and rhythmic language. They can be motivating for students keen to repeatedly listen to and imitate their musical heroes. Here, we look at some aspects of pronunciation that can be focused on through songs.
• Using songs to focus on sounds
• Using songs to focus on words
• Using songs to focus on connected speech

1. Using songs to focus on sounds
Sounds are the smallest unit from which words are formed and can be categorized as vowels and consonants. They have difficulty because as languages differ in their range of sounds, students have to learn to 'physically' produce certain sounds previously unknown to them. Learners can find sounds difficult to pick out, and may not see the point in focusing on them.
However, incorrectly pronounced sounds strain communication, sometimes even changing a phrase's meaning. And song can help students in learning pronunciation like: Songs are authentic and easily accessible examples of spoken English. The rhymes in songs provide listeners with repetition of similar sounds. And Students often choose to listen to songs time and again, indirectly exposing them to these sounds.

2. Using songs to focus on words
Words are combinations of sounds which form together to give meaning. A word is uttered in syllables, usually one emphasized syllable (the stress) and the rest weak (unstressed).
Why are they difficult?
• Even when the same words exist in both languages, the number of syllables is not always identical.
• Each English word has its own stress pattern, with very complex 'rules' to guide learners.
• Weak syllables are central to English, though students often find this hard to believe. Moreover, focusing on these can result in over-emphasis (not weakening) of these syllables.
How songs can help
• Words in songs fit the music, helping learners associate the number of syllables / stress in these words, with memorable rhythms.
• The relaxed atmosphere songs create can expose students to this difficult pronunciation area, without their realizing.
• Songs contain endless examples of weak syllables, helping to convince learners of the way English is pronounced.

3. Using songs to focus on connected speech.
Connected speech is the natural way we speak, linking together and emphasizing certain words, rather than each word standing alone. Contractions (two words forming one) are an extreme example of the way we connect speech, to the extent that the written form too is affected.
Why is it difficult?
• Students normally learn words individually and, especially at lower levels, tend to pronounce each word separately.
• Students frequently misconceive contractions as being 'incorrect', only used in 'slang'.
• Not all words within a phrase carry the same weight.
How songs can help
• Songs, and especially the chorus, provide real and 'catchy' examples of how whole phrases are pronounced often to the extent that students find it difficult to pick out individual words. The music further emphasizes the 'flow' of the words.
• Songs, like other spoken texts, are full of contractions.
• Students can be keen to reproduce this, in order to sing the song as they hear it.
Pronunciation will be evident that this other aspects of language are emphasized especially in objective of communicative approach. The learner must develop strategy for communicative function in real situation and time. According to Johnson this means that two aspects, communicative language should be clearly incorporated into the teaching learning process. The first aspects are task oriented refers to this aspect as instrumentality of language teaching. The second aspect is information principle.
On the other hand a song can persuade and entertain the students in studying pronunciation. It is started by Dubin:
“Song can be utilized as presentation context, as reinforcement material, as vehicle, through which to teach language skill. And as medium through which present some of the information culture theme which persuade modern life.”
Many students are too shy to sing a song for 'fun' in class. To overcome that initial reluctance to sing, I always explain that I do songs for pronunciation. I don't care at all whether a student sings in tune or out of tune. In fact, I demonstrate how students can simply say the words (as if reciting a poem) along with the singer, and don't have to carry a tune at all. I do expect their lips to move. Song closes challenge my students to actually hear the lyrics and to teach them the rhythm and stress patterns of individual words as well as how words are linked together in phrases and sentences.
Conclusion
Based on the finding of the material the writer concluded:
1. Teaching pronunciation through a song can help the students increase the pronunciation ability.
2. Teaching pronunciation through a song can give motivation to students in improving speech sound ability and it encourages the student to pronounce all the sound correctly during the lesson.
3. Teaching pronunciation through a song can entertain to students to study English.
4. Teaching pronunciation through a song will bring the students to be courageous in learning English speech through a song.