A case study of consonant sound problems of Indonesian EFL learners

The study investigated the vocational education students’ pronunciation problems, especially on English consonant sounds. More specifically, this study looked at 1) what are the students’ problems on English consonant sound, 2) what are the dominant problems affecting and 3) how do they resolve their pronunciation problems. The participants were 69 vocational higher education freshmen in Indonesia. The qualitative description approach was used to collect the data. Field observation, questionnaire, and job interview video practice were conducted in the study. The study revealed that most students had problem on the consonants sounds such as: /θ/, /ð/, /dʒ/, / tʃ/, /ʃ/, /j/, etc. Three factors affecting their pronunciation were mother tongue influence, non-corresponding spelling, and age. The most dominant factor was the mother tongue influence. After discussing their partner’s feedback, the students said to have a willingness to resolve their difficulties. The results can be used as a reference in making pronunciation instructions to minimize students’ pronunciation errors.