DIFFICULTIES IN PRONOUNCING ENGLISH FRICATIVE CONSONANT SOUNDS ENCOUNTERED BY FOURTH SEMESTER STUDENTS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM IN UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG

This study aims to investigate the pronunciation difficulties encountered by fourth-semester students of the English Language Education Program at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang, focusing on English fricative sounds. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through interviews and analyzed to explore both linguistic and psychological factors influencing pronunciation. The findings reveal that students particularly struggle with interdental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/, as well as other sounds like /ʒ/ and /v/, which are often substituted with native phonemes such as /t/, /d/, /s/, and /z/. This substitution reflects first language (L1) interference, especially among Javanese speakers whose native phonology lacks these fricatives. Furthermore, psychological barriers such as anxiety, lack of self-confidence, and fear of negative evaluation further obstruct students’ pronunciation practice and performance. The influence of stigma related with the "medhok" Javanese accent also contributes to their hesitation to engage in pronunciation activities. These findings match with theories of negative language transfer and the Affective Filter Hypothesis, indicating that both linguistic weaknesses and psychological factors that affect students' pronunciation difficulties.