METHODOLOGY

A. POPULATION AND PARTICIPANTS

In order to address the research question, a total of 60 participants, 20 from the

netizen of Parit Raja, 20 from the students of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM)
and 20 from staff of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn (UTHM). The rationale for using these
group of respondents was to obtain a snapshot of the mispronunciation among Malaysian that
are varies in terms of occupation and study backgrounds.

B. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

For the purpose of this study, two research instrument were utilized. The first instrument
used in the study is the questionnaire designed to collect background information of
participants such as age, sex, nationality and language spoken at home. The respondents were
given a questionnaire to fill up. The second instrument use in this study is reading test based
on a reading text. Next instrument is observation. The observation is conducted in class, in
office and in Parit Raja town that the participants attended to. We observe on whether the
participants communicate with each other with correct pronunciation.
 C. RESEARCH PROCEDURE

There were three main phases in this study. It began with preliminary phase of research
instrument development and identification of reading text. It then moved on to the next phase,
which was data collection. Finally, data analysis and presentation is followed. The research
procedure are presented in Figure 1.

Preliminary Phase
Development of research instruments - questionnaire
Identification of reading text - reading test
1 Identification of place of participants - observation

Data Collection
Questionnaire
Reading (audio recorded)
2 Observation

Data Analysis and Presentation

Error analysis and identification of students' pronunciation errors through the audio
recording
3 Data tabulation

Figure 1: Research procedures

At the beginning of data collection, respondents were asked to fill in the questionnaire. Once they
have completed the questionnaire, the respondents proceeded with the individual reading test. In
order to identify pronunciation problems of students, this study gathered its data from audio
recordings of respondents reading tests. In the reading test, students were required to read aloud
twice. All the reading tests were audio recorded on digital recording devices.

During the data analysis phase, the audio recordings were analysed for mispronounced sounds
based on the categorization of the English Sounds System. When error analysis was performed, each
participants recording was listened to and analysed to confirm the mispronounced sounds. Once the
mispronounced sounds were confirmed, they were transcribed phonetically and tabulated. The
analyzed data are quantified to illustrate the pronunciation errors and their frequencies.
REFERENCES

Aspiring Minds. (2014). National Spoken English Skills Report. Retrieved from
http://www.aspiringminds.com/sites/default/files/National

The importance of English Language in Todays World. Retrieved from

https://owlcation.com/humanities/importanceofenglishlanguages

Ministry of Education. (2011). Standards-Based English Language Primary School

Curriculum. Putrajaya, Malaysia.

Priscilla, S. Siew Lee, C. (2015). Pronunciation Problems: A Study on English Pronunciation

Errors of Low Proficient Students. Journal of Studies in Education, 1(1), 1-15.