THE EFFECT OF MIMICRY TECHNIQUE TOWARDS STUDENT PRONUNCIATION

ABILITY

(An Experimental Research at 8th grade of SMPN 1 JIPUT)

Research Paper

Submitted to Fulfill Partial the Requirements towards the second assignment

By:

FATMA AISYAH

STUDENT’S NUMBER. 208820300171

ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION COLLEGE OF

SYEKH MANSHUR

2023
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of Problem

English is a foreign language in Indonesia. This has an important role in the

field of education. Therefore, English is the first foreign language that must be

taught to students at every level of education in Indonesia. starting from

elementary school, junior high school, final high school and even college level.

There are four language skills that must be learned in English, namely:

listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In supporting these language skills, there

are three components of English (language sounds, grammar and vocabulary)

which are also important for students to learn. As one of the language components

in English, pronunciation is taught as one aspect in targeting improvement.

students' competencies that can help them speak fluently and accurately. The

reason why teachers must teach pronunciation accurately is because incorrect

pronunciation can cause misunderstandings in communication. Pronunciation,

stress and intonation are aspects of phonology in pronunciation that are

recommended to be taught to English teachers in grades one to three junior high

schools to help students be able to communicate English accurately and fluently.

Of course, it is not easy for students to apply phonological aspects in pronunciation

in everyday life because there may be several problems that arise in this effort.

Learning English pronunciation is a difficult skill to learn at any level of

education, especially if the main goal is to pronounce like a native speaker. Many

factors, including lack of practice, the diversity of English dialects, and the
influence of a student's native language, can cause difficulties. Although the

challenge is very challenging, pronunciation is something that English language

learners must learn for many reasons.

Pronunciation is considered a sub-talent of speaking. Typically, if we want

to change the way students pronounce words, we have to change the way they

reflect on the sound aspects of the phrase. It is important at this point to

differentiate between speaking and pronunciation as they are often incorrectly

applied interchangeably (Gilakjani et al., 2011, p. 74). Apart from that, according

to Varasarin (2009, p.2) pronunciation is a key element of learning oral skills in a

second language. Meanwhile, Gilakjani (2011, p. 74) stated that many learners of

English as a second language have ―significant problems with English

pronunciation even after years of studying the language.

English is an international language used to communicate. They use

language to express ideas, feelings and thoughts. People understand learners with

good pronunciation even if they make mistakes in other areas, while those whose

pronunciation is unintelligible will remain unclear, even though they use perfect

grammar and extensive vocabulary. (Yates and Zielinski, 2009) In addition, limited

pronunciation skills can reduce students' self-confidence, negatively impact

estimates of the speaker's abilities and limit speaking ability. social interaction with

others (Gilakjani, 2012).

Burns and Claire (2003) believe that learners are no longer required to

speak like native speakers but what is significant is that speakers can achieve

three basic elements during speaking, namely, intelligibility, comprehensibility and

 interpretability. Hence, English language learners should be able to produce sound

patterns that are recognizable as English. They should be able to understand the

meaning of what is said and to comprehend the purpose of it.

Based on the above explanation, the researcher is interested in conducting

research with the title: "The effect of Mimicry technique towards students'

Pronunciation Ability" (an experimental research at eight grade SMPN 1 Jiput).

Because the problems described above are problems experienced by eighth grade

student at SMPN 1 Jiput Pandeglang. The researcher hopes that with the mimicry

technique, it is expected that there will be a significant influence on student

pronunciation ability at eight grade SMPN 1 Jiput.

B. Identification of Problem

Based on the background of the problems outlined above, the problems in this

study can be identified as follows:

1. English is not their mother tongue or second language.

2. Non-English speaking environment

3. Lack of practice when learning English

C. Formulation of Problem

Based on the background description of the problem, problem identification, and

problem restrictions above, the problem that will be examined can be formulated

is "Is there an Effect of Mimicry Technique Towards Student Pronunciation Ablity

of eighth grader in SMPN 1 Jiput?"

D. Objective Of The Research

 The objective of the research can be stated as follow : to find out a significant effect

on Mimicry technique towards students' pronunciation ability at eight grades of

SMPN 1 Jiput.

E. Uses of The Research

The results of this study are expected to be a benefit for various parties, the

following:

1. Theoretically, hopefully this research can make students find pleasure in

learning pronunciation.

2. In Practice, Hopefully this results of this study can be used to develop

learning materials that focus on similar techniques that help improve

pronunciation.
 CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

A. Theoritical Review

1. Definition of Pronunciation

Pronunciation is the creation of discourse sounds for

correspondence. It is the most difficult area of English also this is one of the

most piece of English to speak with others since there are contrasts

between the symbol and its sounds (Mutlasih, 2015). The definitions about

Pronunciation was declared by some experts. Menurut Nordquist (2014),

pronunciation adalah tatacara pengucapan kata. According to Rahmati

Putri Yaniafari, (2022). “Pronunciation is defined as the act of creating a

speech sound that includes intonation articulations, vowels, accent

inflection and formation, in relation to the accuracy or acceptance of

utterance.” Based on Devi Mulatsih (2015:294) is also said that

“pronunciation is one of the most important parts in the English language

for communicating with others since there is a different between symbols

and sounds. When we communicate with people we must not only have a

good vocabulary but also be good at pronunciation.”

Based on the above statement, The researcher concluded

Pronunciation is the most important part of speaking because pronunciation

is the way a person produces sounds to pronounce words or phrases in

sequence in order to communicate effectively and the listener can

understand what the speaker is saying.

2. Importance of Pronunciation

The importance of clear and accurate pronunciation is important

because it ensures effective communication between the speaker and the

listener. Usually when communicating, the speaker must release words or

sentences that contain meanings that must be understood by the listener.

Speakers are required to have good and clear pronunciation, so that the

meaning conveyed can be received properly by the listener and no

misunderstanding occurs. Anne Burns said that students who have good

pronunciation and intonation probably can communicate effectively

although they do produce minor vocabulary and grammar inaccuracies.

That is why, clear pronunciation is crucial in spoken communication (Burns

& Claire, 2003, p. 5).

Additionally, as Yates describes, If learners make any mistakes while

they have a good pronunciation in English, they are more likely to be

understood. But when learners have perfect grammar with a difficult-

tounderstand pronunciation, they will not be understood (Gilakjani, 2016).

Two statements above have already explained the importance of

pronunciation that pronunciation is very important to be mastery to reduce

mispronunciation that might be happening.

3. Part Of Pronunciation
 Definition of pronunciation includes both suprasegmental and

segmental features. Although these different aspects of pronunciation are

treated in isolation here, it is important to remember that they all work in

combination when we speak, and are therefore usually best learned as an

integral part of spoken language. The theory outlined below is essential for

teachers so that they understand how these different aspects work, but

learners do not necessarily need to cover the theory in depth (Fraser, 2001).

a. Suprasegmental Features

1) Stress

Stress refers to the prominence given to certain syllables within

words, and to certain syllables or words within utterances. It is signaled by

volume, force, pitch change and syllable length, and is often the place

where we notice hand movements and other gestures when we are

watching someone talking. Stress is important at three different levels, they

are word level (multisyllabic words have one or more syllables that are

stressed), sentence level (the most important words tend to be stressed),

contrastive stress (the most important words carry greater stress) (Fraser,

2001).

2) Intonation

Intonation, or change of pitch, is crucial in signaling speaker

meaning, particularly interpersonal attitudes. As we saw in the previous 13

section, pitch changes are crucially linked with stress. Since intonation
 patterns are language-specific, learners will need to acquire new ones for

English in order to avoid inappropriate transfer from their first language, and

thus perhaps inadvertently causing offence (Fraser, 2001).

b. Segmental Features

In segmental features there are some features such as: vowel,

diphtong, and consonant (Sukiani,2020:13).

1. Vowel

Vowel is sound produced with a free passage. A free passage here

means that vowel sounds are produced without obstruction. “English vowels

are divided into two kind, those are long vowels and short vowels. Long

vowels consist of /i:/, /ɜː/, /a:/, /u:/, /ɔː/, while short vowels consist of /ɪ/, /e/,

/æ/, /ә/, /ʌ /, /ʊ/, /ɔ/ “ (Rohman, 2016:10). (Rohman, 2016:10) also said that

“There are several responsible processes for vocal production, namely:

form lips, opening between jaws, position soft palate, and tongue shape.

Vowel is described in terms of height, backness/frontness and roundness”,

2. Dipthong

Diphthong is the combination of two vowels sound and it getting

movement from one vowel sound to anothers. Rochmad says that

“diphthong is part of vowels inside of English pronunciation. For instance,

/eә/, /ɪә/, /ʊә/, /eɪ/, /‫ܤ‬ɪ/, /ɔɪ/,/‫ܤ‬ʊ/, and /әʊ/. Those sounds need higher

position in your mouth and it has combination sound” (Rochmad, 2013:30).

 According to Kelly, “diphthong is a combination of two vowel sounds

and involving a movement from one vowel sound to another”. The first

sound in each phoneme is longer and louder than the second in English.

“There is an intentional glide (or movement of the tongue, lips and jaw)

made from one vowel position to another vowel position. It is produced in

one single impulse of breath” (Kelly, 2000:34)

3) Consonant

Consonant sound is produced with an aggressive flow of air is

coming out from our mouth. Ramelan said that “there are twenty four

consonant’s phonetics those are, p, b, t, d, k, g, f, v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, ʧ, ʤ, θ, ð, m,

n, ƾ, h, i, r, w, j. Based on the positions, the consonant phonetic alphabets

are classified into two parts. First, voiced which are / b, d, dʒ, g, j, l, m, n, r,

v, ð, y, z, ʒ, ƾ /. Second, unvoiced such as, f, p, t, ʧ, k, θ, s, ʃ/” .(Ramelan,

2003).

To find out whether it sounds or does not sound you can use by

inserting your finger into the throat. If you feel vibrating when you speak,

consonant is voiced. Meanwhile, if there is no vibration in your throat then

the consonant is unvoiced.

4. Definition of Mimicry

Mim-mem Method (Mimicry Memorization) Mocanu (2015: 75)

suggests that “The best way to learn a foreign language is that of imitating

the mother tongue acquisition. These methods, aim at developing

communication in the target language. They were based on a method called

Mimicry Memorization.” Mim-Mem stands for mimicry or imitation and

memorization or memorization (recall) (Izzan 2015: 102). Memorization

comes from the word "memory" which means to remember. Memory is an

abstraction, it refers to a set of activities and skills and not to a single object

(Nuha 2016: 215).

Seeing from the name, Mimicry Memorization is a learning method

that emphasizes on imitating and remembering or memorizing and the

process of remembering something with the power of memory (Taufik 2016:

25). According to Mustofa and Hamid (2016: 63) the Mim-Mem method is a

method used by the teacher in a way that students listen to what is

presented by the teacher and then imitate it. Meanwhile, according to Aini

and Mu'alim (2018: 94) the Mim-Mem (Mimicry Memorization) method is an

oral approach in language teaching, so the learning process involves a lot

of oral / speech practice activities. This method is an exercise in imitating

and memorizing dialogues regarding various situations and occasions,

through this exercise a learner can achieve good proficiency in conversation

that is carried out naturally and not made up. Although it is initially patterned

on memorization, with continued practice it will become a natural ability to

communicate.
5. Advantages and Disadvantages of Mimicry

Advantages and disadvantages of the mim-mem method Based on the

characteristics of this method, we can see some aspects of its advantages

and disadvantages: The advantages include:

a. The students become skillful in making the patterns of sentences that have

been drilled.

b. The students have a good and correct lapal.

c. The learners do not remain silent in the dialog but must continuously

respond to the stimuli given by the teacher.

The learners acquire direct or practical skills in the foreign language. The

disadvantages include:

a. This method requires a teacher who is really active in the foreign language.

b. The learner tends to respond simultaneously or individually as if "parroting",

and often does not know the meaning of what is being said.

c. In general, the applicative ability of foreign language learners is largely

determined by the motivational factor on the part of the teacher. That is, a

teacher must provide motivation to his students in between lessons.

d. This method argues that if in the early stages the learners do not or have

not understood the meaning of the sentences they imitate, it is not

considered a problem. Furthermore, by listening to what the teacher says,

responding correctly, and doing all the work, the learner will be able to

understand the meaning of the sentences.

 Task without mistakes, the learner is considered to have learned the

language of purpose correctly. If analyzed, this stance is unacceptable,

because imitating without knowing the meaning is a wasteful activity.

Besides, memorizing sentence patterns with correct speech does not mean

that learners will automatically be able to communicate naturally. Therefore,

intensive guidance is needed in achieving this communication ability.

As one of the solutions in this study, researchers want to apply the

Mim-Mem (Mimicry Memorization) learning method to improve Arabic

speaking and reading skills. This method is a method used by the teacher

in a way that students listen to what is presented by the teacher then imitate

it (Mustofa and Hamid 2016: 63). According to this method, the practice of

pronouncing vocabulary, sentence structure, by imitating the teacher's

speech will be easy to remember and familiar to students, because it is

directly demonstrated (Izzan 2015: 103).

B. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Diagram 2.1
Theoretical Framework

Problems found in student

pronunciation

Control class Experiment Class

Mimicry Technique
Conventional
Learning Model

Learning Process Active, Effective

Less Precise
The Effect by Using
Mimicry Technique
Compared
The Effect by
Using
Convensional
Learning Model

C. RESEARCH HIPOTESIS

In this study, researchers conducts hipotesis as follow:

Ho : Mimicry technique is not effective to improve student pronunciation ability.

Ha : Mimicry technique is effective to improve student pronunciation ability.

 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH

The objective of the research can be stated as follow : to find out a

significant effect on mimicry technique towards students' pronunciation ability at

eight grade of SMPN 1 JIPUT.

B. PLACE AND TIME RESEARCH

Researcher will conduct research at SMPN 1 Jiput located in Jl. Raya

Menes – Jiput KM 4. Pamarayan. Kec. Jiput, Kab. Pandeglang, Prov. Banten, zip

code 42263. Researcher will conduct the research on July until August 2024.

C. RESEARCH METHODE AND DESIGN

The methodology in this study used by researchers is quasi-experimental

design. Quasi experimental uses pre-test and post-test for both experimental

group and controlled group classes. Researchers involves two different classes;

In the experimental group, researchers used a mimicry technique video in teaching

students pronunciation, and in the control group, the author used the conventional

way of using audio stories to teach pronunciation.

 Research Methode and Design

(Fahruli, 2020:19)

Group Pre-test Treatment Post-test

Experimental  Mimicry 

Technique

Control  Audio Story 

The Description:

X: teaching some pronunciation a few words using the mimicry technique

: pre-test

: post-test

Y: Teaching how to pronounciation a few words using an audio story

: pre-test

: post-test

D. POPULATION AND SAMPLING

In this section, the population and samples used in the study will be explained, as

follows:

1. POPULATION

Sugiono (2019:126) said that “population is a generalization area consisting

of object/subjects that have certain quantities and characteristics determined by

 writers to be studied and then drawn conclusions. Based on the above explanation

it can be concluded that the population is a collection of people who will be

examined".

Based on the statement above, the subject of this study is all students from

the 8th grade of SMPN 1 Jiput which is divided into three classes.

Tabel 3.2

Population
NO. GRADE TOTAL

1. VIII A 32

2. VIII B 32

64

2. SAMPLING

According to Sugiono (2019:127) "Samples are part of the number and

characteristics that those populations have." The reason researchers used the

sampling technique was because the number of students in eighth grade was very

small. The overall number of students in eighth grade is 64 fewer than 100

students, and researchers expected to produce generalizations with very small

errors. Another term for saturated sample is cencus, where each number in the
 population is a sample. In this study, researchers selected class A as an

experimental group and classes B became the control group.

E. DATA COLLECTING TECHNIQUE

1. Pre-test

The researcher gave a pre test in the first meeting in both group

(experimental and control class) to get data of students. The test was to know

the students’ ability in pronunciation.

2. The Treatment

The research gave the treatment in the experiment class using mimicry

technique for teaching pronunciation.

3. Post-test

After the pre-test and treatment is completed, the author conducts the post-

test. The test is to read the story text, the material is the same as when done

pre-test but was different from treatment. It was used to find out the effectivenss

of mimicry technique to teaching pronunciation.

F. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

In this study the researcher used an oral test. Oral test is a test used to find

out students' reading and speaking skills.

The test is divided into two types, the first is pre-test and the second is post-

test. Pre-test was conducted at the beginning of the study before treatment and

post-test. while the test was given after the treatment.

Pre-test is used to find out information about students who have good and

bad pronunciation skills before treatment as a teaching process. Post-test is to get

 information about the students' abilities that were obtained after the pronunciation

teaching process was completed.

According to Ali Mustadi (2013: 35), the aspects assessed in pronunciation

are fluency of spelling and pronunciation, accuracy of spelling pronunciation,

stressing, and intonation.

Tabel 3.3

Scoring

SCORE
CRITERIA SCORE
DESCRIPTION

FLUENCY 25 5 = VERY BAD

ACCURACY 25 10 = BAD

INTONATION 25 15 = ENOUGH

STRESSING 25 20 = GOOD

25 = VERY GOOD

TOTAL SCORE 100

G. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT TESTING

1. Validity

In this research, the researcher tested the validity of the instrument. Validity

was a measurement which shows a valid levels instrument. Sugiyono (2016: 173)

states valid instrument is a measurer which is applied to acquire valid data. Valid

was when the instrument can be applied to measure what should be measured.
 Validity of test involved correlation formula. Correlation formula which could be

applied was correlation formula that was suggested by Pearson product moment

correlation formula (Riduwan 2018:125) were with the help of a computer program

of the statistical series (SPSS, 25.0) :

2. Reliability

Reliability test is a term used to indicate the extent to which a relatively

consistent measurement result if the measuring instrument is used repeatedly

(Abdullah, 2015:256 ). Reliability test results can reflect trustworthiness or whether

or not a research instrument is based on the level of solidification and accuracy of

a measuring instrument in the sense that the measurement results obtained is the

correct measure of a measure (Supriyadi, 2014:137).

An instrument is said to be reliable if the value of Croanbach's alpa > 0.60

(Sarjono & Julianita, 2011:45). The formula used to test the instruments in this

study was the Alpha coefficient from Croanbach to find out how relevant the items

on the research instrument were with the help of a computer program of the

statistical series (SPSS, 25.0). Then the results of the reliability trial are interpreted

using certain criteria or provisions on the value of the reliability coefficient

(Sugiono, 2015: 134).

 Table 3.4
Efficient Criteria Guidelines

Coefficient Interval Connection Level

0,00 – 0,199 Very Low

0,20 – 0,399 Low

0,40 – 0,599 Medium

0,60 – 0,799 Strong

0,80 – 1,000 Very Strong

H. TECHNIQUE OF DATA ANALYSIS

The data analysis techniques used in this study are hypothesis tests, t tests

of two correlated samples using the help of SPSS 25, formulation of t-test paired

samples. In the Paired Sample T-Test, there are two stages of testing, namely:

1) Testing for normality using the Saphiro Wilk test, with the criteria

used to determine whether a distribution is normal or not is if p> 0.05

(5%) the distribution is declared normal, and if p <0.05 (5%) the

distribution is said to be not normal.

2) Besides testing the distribution of the data to be analyzed, it is

necessary to have a homogeneity test to find out that the groups that

make up the sample are from a homogeneous population, in the

homogeneity test the criteria used to determine whether a test is

homogeneous is if p> 0.05 and F count <F test table is declared

homogeneous, if p <0.05 and F count > F test table is said to be

inhomogeneous.
I. STATISTIC HYPOTHESIS

Statistical hypothesis to answer hypothesis two data normality and

homogeneity. if Ho is rejected or accepted by comparing t count and t table. The t

test is performed to determine if there is a variable difference between pretest and

posttest in the experimental group. The results of the analysis state that there is a

difference if the significance value is less than 0.05 (p < 0.05). Data obtained from

pretest and final test (posttest) will be analyzed statistically descriptively using t-

test with a computer SPSS program with a significance rate of 5% or 0.05. This T-

test aims to determine whether the effect of mimicry technique towards students

pronunciation ability.
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