(Luận văn đại học thương mại) the effects of mother tongue on english majored students of department of foreign languages at ha tinh university in learning speaking skill

ABSTRACT The topic of this study is “The effects of mother tongue on English majored students of Department of Foreign Languages at Ha Tinh University in learning speaking skill” The aim is to know how the mother tongue affects to Vietnamese students in general and HaTinh students in particular and propose solutions to help the students to overcome difficulties relate to mother tongue issue as well as take full advantage of benefits of mother tongue when learning speaking skill Mother tongue largely refers to not only the language one learns from one’s mother but also the speaker’s dominant and home language It’s also called native language This study was conducted to find whether mother tongue interferences in secondlanguage learning, and if so; whether it affects the learners’ performance in speaking skill Data collection tool included a questionnaire by which participants were asked to rate the questions and tick-circle or write in the correct blank The questionnaire was based on quantitative approaches with the help of 4-point Likertscale questions and one open-ended question at the last part The participants of the study were 50 students of Department of Foreign Languages at Ha Tinh University.They are first-year students Their mother tongue was Vietnamese, and they knew English as a foreign language.The questionnaire shows that mother tongue interferes with second language learning in some way In English language, the most challenging part were pronunciation and grammar, while the most difficult and influenced skills was speaking The results indicated the interference of mother tongue in almost all aspects LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to send sincere thanks for teachers of Vietnam University of commerce especially in the teachers of English faculty during all the time was school Thank for creating convenient and efficient learning environment for all students Especially, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my advisory teacher Bich Hong Nguyen, for her passionate enthusiasm and insightful guidance that she was given me in the process of doing my thesis She is always willing to answer every question of mine and help me to find the most effective ways to complete my tasks successfully Secondly, I am deeply grateful to teachers and students in Department of Foreign Languages at Ha Tinh University for cooperating and helping me at all time, creating good conditions for me to complete my study Although only my name is written on this researching paper, I know I myself would be impossible to make it without help of contributors During the process of doing my thesis, although i was careful, mistake is unavoidable thing, i hope that teachers can sympathize with us In addition, because of the limitation of theoretical level and practical experience, I look forward to receiving recommendations from teachers so that i can improve my knowledge I sincerely thank you! Student Nguyen Thị Minh Anh LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .ii LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS .v CHAPTER : OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY .1 1.1 RATIONALE 1.2 PREVIOUS STUDIES 1.2.1 International studies 1.2.2 National studies 1.3 AIMS OF THE STUDY 1.4 RESEARCH SUBJECTS .6 1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 THEORIES OF SPEAKING SKILL .8 2.1.1 Definition of speaking skill 2.1.2 The importance of speaking skill 2.1.2 Characteristics of speaking skill 10 2.1.3 The difficulties students encounter in learning speaking skill 10 2.2 GENERAL THEORIES OF MOTHER TONGUE EFFECTS ON LEARNING SPEAKING SECOND LANGUAGE 12 2.2.1 Definition of mother tongue .12 2.2.2 Effects of mother tongue on learning speaking skill 13 2.2.4 Definition of second language 15 2.3 VIETNAMESE EFFECTS ON LEARNING SPEAKING ENGLISH 15 2.3.1 Characteristic of Vietnamese 15 2.3.2 Characteristics of English 16 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 2.3.3 Main differences between Vietnamese and English 17 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDING .20 3.1 Findings from the questionnaire 20 3.2 Findings from the interviews 24 3.2.1 Result from interviews students .24 3.2.2 Results from interview with teacher 27 3.3 General conclusion of research 27 CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATION AND SUGGESTIONS 31 4.1 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHER IN TEACHING SPEAKING ENGLISH AND GET RID OF MOTHER TONGUE INTERFERENCE .31 4.1.1 Changing teaching method 31 4.1.2 Help students get a Better Understanding of Cultural Differences 31 4.1.3 Make Comparison between L1 and L2 32 4.1.4 Recommend some specific activities 33 4.2 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STUDENTS, ENGLISH LEARNERS 34 4.2.1 Learning vocabulary 34 4.2.2 Listening .35 4.2.2 Self- talking 36 4.2.3 Focusing on practicing English sounds 37 4.2.4 Practicing 37 CONCLUSION 38 REFERENCES 39 Appendix 40 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Chart1: The interference of mother tongue in the languages skills 21 Chart : Students’ opinion about the level of difficult of English sounds 22 Chart : Reasons of student's mistakes with English sounds 23 Table : Common errors found in the research 28 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER : OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 RATIONALE Language is our primary source of communication It's the method through which we share our ideas and thoughts with others Some people even say that language is what separates us from animals and makes us human There are thousands of languages in this world Countries have their own national languages in addition to a variety of local languages spoken and understood by their people in different regions Some languages are spoken by millions of people, others by only a few thousand In the trend of global integration, English is one of the most important tools in communication and business of people English is also essential to the field of education In many countries, children are taught and encouraged to learn English as a second language Even in countries where it is not an official language The same as any country in the world, Vietnam is developing English as inevitable demand English learners nowadays can not count on the fingers of one hand and we can only count on the fingers people who not learn English There is a fact that about 1,500,000,000 people in the world speak English, while another 1,000,000,000 are still learning English.Therefore, English is considered as a crucial tool to approach to the world’s advantageous opportunities If people are able to communicate in English, they can connect themselves to the world More importantly, the purpose of using English in diplomacy, trade, science and technology and so on is also another obvious proof of its significant role Vietnam is not an exception; as a developing country, Vietnam currently has a urgent need for the international language English to attract foreign investment as well as promote the economy, especially we have joined many organizations such as APECT, WTO, ASIAN and many other international groups English, previously included in the curriculum from the first year of middle school, is now officially taught for children from six years old To this point, it is essential for Vietnamese students to learn English because if they have a good understanding and LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com communication skill in English, it is more likely that they might have many communication chances to find a high-quality job as well as communicate with people from different nations all over the world Although English has become an important demand for schooling and job opportunities, Vietnamese people cannot pronounce English property Like some others languages, Vietnamese has some aspects that keep native learners from pronouncing English like native speaker, one of them is mother tongue effect When it comes to learning English: speaking, listening, reading and writing are basic skills While the three other skills are prominent in obtaining a wholesome English competence, speaking skill is always regarded as one of the most important skills It goes without saying that, in terms of learning any language, the central purpose of every learner mainly is to communicate Thus, it is undeniable that speaking skill should be made priority for English learners because it seems that if they are productive communicators, there will be a high possibility for them to get settled and well-paid jobs However, to master this skill is still an issue for almost students in Vietnam It's no secret that Vietnamese students struggle with speaking English Like many other Asian countries, Vietnamese people begin their English education very early at school, yet they find themselves helpless when it comes to speaking English Words not come out Many Vietnamese students have the words, they either heard them or read them but they can't say them At HaTinh University, for instance, a large number of students encounter many difficulties with their speaking skills such as lack of motivation and environment, fear of speaking, fear of making mistakes, language transfer issues and so on In these difficulties mention above, mother tongue issue or language transfer is named as one of the main reasons that affects significantly to learning English process in general and to learning speaking English in particular There are some significant differences between Vietnamese and English, not only in language but also in many aspects such as culture and habit and so on, therefore it leads to some difficulties for student when learning speaking The students usually keep quiet in speaking lessons; they mind speaking English There are many students who have LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com good knowledge of grammar which works wonderfully at reading and writing exercises but they can not express themselves in English What is more, in real-life situations, students find it hard to communicate with English speaking people; it is hard for them to response spontaneously and naturally Certainly, there are many reasons for this If those difficulties are not found out and no solutions can be given, the speaking classes cannot be successful and students will be fed up with learning English if they find it worthless to study the subject It is easy to see the fact that students still have some mistakes related to mother tongue such as : wrong pronunciation , word order, word meaning, word expression and so on People sometime underestimate the importance of effects of mother tongue which makes mistakes prolong and difficult to correct Once a person speaks a language in a wrong way over a long period of time, he or she will always speak it wrong, it becomes a habit, a nasty habit, like smoking or drinking As a result of this, students seem to solve the problem related to mother tongue or language transfer   All of the above reasons have inspired me to the research on “The effects of mother tongue on English majored students of Department of Foreign Languages at Ha Tinh University in learning speaking skill” with the hope to make a small contribution to the quality of teaching and learning speaking skills of Vietnamese Hopefully, this graduation paper might be useful for anyone who is interested in speaking skill 1.2 PREVIOUS STUDIES 1.2.1 International studies Mother tongue interference can be seen as a transfer that affects learning both negatively and positively There are some studies about this topic however the results still have some differences and have not united together Learners of English often expect to be able to speak that language like a native speaker However, they encounter many factors to gain their desire One of the common factors that they find difficult is the pronunciation of another sound system Learners find that their mother tongue influences their pronunciation of LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com English Avery and Ehrich argued that, "the native language affects both the ability to produce English sounds and the ability to hear sounds" (Avery and Ehrich, XV) According to Mede, Tutal, Ayaz, Çalışır and Akın (2014) there is high probability of cross-linguistic influence in second language acquisition and this influence may cause some errors, which are caused by negative transfer Manrique (2013) stated that mispronunciation and grammatical errors are the most common types of interference between the mother tongue and the target language Furthermore, according to Maros, Kim and Salehuddin (2007), omission and the use of wrong forms are the two most common types of errors in all categories; although not all the errors are due to mother tongue interference, a large number of errors identified in the use of determiners, subject verb agreement ‘’be’’ reflected the interference of mother tongue Additionally, Cartes (20050) explained the subject with an enhanced disclosure and listed some other errors like semantic, syntactic, morphological, spelling, vocabulary mistakes and also phonological errors Additionally, Ashari and Munir (2015) advocated that the interference occurred in sixteen terms of grammatical errors The grammatical interference involved word order, number, countability, personal pronouns, genitive and possessive pronouns, it and there, past time, to be, non–finite forms, modal auxiliary verbs, active and passive, negatives, complex sentences, range and choice of vocabulary, transfer, and confusions However, they claimed that the interference occurred because students did not receive input that facilitated them to speak It also occurred because of the lack of students’ knowledge in second language acquisition Nevertheless, there are dissenters who thought that mother tongue not always interferes but also help learners in second language learning For instance Bhela (1999) indicated that adopting L1 structures in L2 texts provide convenience to second language learners while understanding the whole text Moreover, according to Cole (1998), monolingual English language classes can benefit from appropriate use of L1 so L1 may be used from introductory to upper-intermediate levels on a decreasing scale but in lower levels, translating individuals words, explaining grammar use and facilitating complex instructions, since it can save time and anguish especially for LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com mature learners Finally, Kavaliauskiene (2009) expressed different results First, all the learners customarily rely on their mother tongue in learning English and also the students’ autonomously generated back-translation activities help raise learners’ awareness of differences between English and the mother tongue, and facilitate linguistic development 1.2.2 National studies In Vietnam, there are some studies about the topic “Mother tongue effects” and have had some remarkable results in finding out effects of Vietnamese on learning English or other languages However, most of them still inherit the results of international previous studies Vo Thi Kieu Oanh, a English teacher of Vo Nguyen Giap high school conducted a study about “ Positive effects of mother tongue and languages in teaching foreign languages” ( 2016) In this research, she study about the positive transfer and positive effects of mother tongue in learning second languages through examples about the similarities between Vietnamese and English, Vietnamese and French in terms of grammar, speech act, structure of sentence, passive voice in Vietnamese and English, etc A English teacher of Hung Vuong University, Nguyen Thi To Loan also studied about “native language interference in the writing of english major fir st – year students of foreign language department, Hung Vuong University” This study aimed to analyse and describe features of L1 interference in the writing by 46 first-year English-major students who enrolled in the Writing course in semester at Foreign Language Department – Hung Vuong University Three levels of L1 interference, namely lexis, syntax and discourse, were analyzed from samples of the students’ writing in three types: writing a friendly letter, narrative and describing people and discussed by considering two approaches: contrastive analysis, and error analysis It was found that literal translation of Vietnamese words into English mainly represented features of L1 lexical interference in the students’ written English Moreover, structural borrowing from Vietnamese language such as word order, subject-verb agreement, and coherence indicated features of L1 syntactic LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com miscommunication and yet not all teachers take it serious enough to correct them Since this kind of errors always leads to miscommunication, students should be warned about this and corrected immediately LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATION AND SUGGESTIONS 4.1 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHER IN TEACHING SPEAKING ENGLISH AND GET RID OF MOTHER TONGUE INTERFERENCE 4.1.1 Changing teaching method If students still have errors related to mother tongue interference, it means the teaching method of teachers in Ha Tinh University still have problem Therefore the teachers should change the teaching method to have better effect When teaching English, teachers should reduce using Vietnamese to explain English words This way of teaching is very common because teachers want students to understand words or lessons easily because if teachers speak English totally, maybe students can not understand the whole lesson or confuse about what they hear However, this way leads to a problem that students will automatically translate English words into Vietnamese all the time and for long time it become a bad habit Therefore, in order to ensure that students can understand the lesson without confusing, teachers should prepare the lesson carefully and choose simple words and explain everything in simple way Step by step students will get used to it Additionally, when teaching vocabulary, teachers should use images and actions to help students remember words easily and make students be more excited in learning It is very effective way to teach vocabulary In teaching pronunciation, teacher should recognize which sounds that students still pronounce wrong then focus on correcting these sounds for students first Because sound is the basic foundation of learning speaking, teachers ought to care about it above all 4.1.2 Help students get a Better Understanding of Cultural Differences The purpose of learning a language is for communication But Vietnamese students are learning English in a non-natural environment, which means they have been greatly influenced by Vietnamese culture As analyzed in previous chapter, it is found that the students are greatly affected by their mother tongue and thinking modes when speaking During speaking, they would like to use literal translation LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com They always think about their ideas in Vietnamese and then translate them into English Therefore, reducing the interference of the mother tongue is a key point in learning English now that the degree of interference concerns closely with the quality of English speaking English teachers should help Vietnamese students adapt to English thinking way In Vietnam, learning English is influenced inevitably by the Vietnam environment Although there are some changes about learning English environment recently, it is unlikely to transform basically and greatly in the mother tongue environment So in order to improve their speaking skills, the teachers also need to teach them the English culture, including the society structure, history, culture, geography and even customs Only in this way, can the students get a comprehensive understanding of connotative meaning of English and avoid negative language transfer In the English teaching, the teacher should add an cultural introduction part to their teaching task Teachers can also set up some cultural atmosphere and scenes, such as shopping, booking rooms, complaints, asking for directions and so on, to allow students imitate real life and make situation dialogues to improve students' awareness of cultural differences 4.1.3 Make Comparison between L1 and L2 Due to a large number of inter-lingual errors, teachers should cultivate students’ insights and sensitivity to the differences between two languages by the means of contrasting, inducting and analyzing The reason is that mother tongue transfer is a most difficult problem in the progress of acquiring second language Therefore, the differences between L1 and L2 need to emphasize During the second language acquisition, teachers could compare the phonetic system of English and Vietnamese by the contrastive analysis, and reduce confused phonemes and their pronunciations In addition, difficulties in pronunciations are stressed to guide students to pay more attention on them Then the pronunciation mistakes which Vietnamese students often make are listed, and the possible pronunciation difficulties are predicted so as to point out and correct effectively At last, enhancing LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com students' interests in phonetics learning through readings, original movie imitations, speech contests and etc During the class, teachers should help students to explore differences so that they can make the English sentence actively and conscientiously Teachers choose to compare and contrast between Vietnamese and English by teaching materials If teachers often that, the students will it in the same way So teachers can work out some examples aiming at kinds of differences in morphology, syntax and discourse With this type of regular practice and training, students may have deeper understanding of their mother tongue and English, and would avoid committing errors consciously while speaking English composition In a word, to better understand and distinguish the similarities and differences between these two languages can shorten Vietnamese learners’ way to a better acquisition of English 4.1.4 Recommend some specific activities 4.1.4.1 Group discussion This method is highly recommended for the following reasons Firstly, it creates an environment for students to engage in the discussion according to own interests Just imagine, a period lasts for a period and students have to listen to lecture all the times, it might be very boring and students tend not to be keen on the lecturer’s lesson However, when students have chances to exchange their individual opinions to their classmates, it totally changes the atmosphere at the class Moreover, in terms of exchanging opinion, students have to communicate with their partners to reach the final answer Therefore, speaking skill might be improved because dialogues among students are made during the discussion However, teacher have to ensure that all student discuss the topic in English not in Vietnamese 4.1.4.2 Role- play This activity gives students a chance to select a character that works in service of revealing the personality matching each student’s character the most Then students might have to try the best to add jokes or humors to their characters to make the audience laugh Role playing is an exciting activity which is LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com chosen to make at many universities in Vietnam because of its effectiveness not only to improve language competence but also to make a lot of enjoyment 4.1.4.3 Homework Teacher can set a homework activity for students to carry it out at home for a few minutes, record and send to the teacher for feedback and then teacher will evaluate whether students pronounce right or wrong, find out where students often make mistake and give advice By this way, students can know how much their pronunciation be improved by compare their videos before and after 4.2 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STUDENTS, ENGLISH LEARNERS For English learners, nothing is better than practice “Practice makes perfect” is the success chant of everyone who want to conquer English In order to overcome mother tongue interference, students also need to follow this However, the practicing method is very important Therefore, I recommend some way to help students study English effectively 4.2.1 Learning vocabulary In order to acquire English well, learners first need to make preparations for vocabulary, which is the step-stone of all language learning.There are many ways to learn vocabulary, students can learn through images, actions,…I highly recommend this way because it is very practical Whenever learners see anything around, name it in English or maybe learners can tape sticky notes on things to help learners remember them The most traditional way to learn new words is following the dictionary Dictionary provides learners with the proper pronunciation to each word.However, learners should stop using a bilingual dictionary because if learners continue use this bilingual dictionary to learn vocabulary, learners are going to be practicing translation Learners should use a monolingual instead and Oxford Dictionary is highly recommended However, learners shouldn’t use the dictionary very often It is good to refer the dictionary for the correct meaning but that is not the right way to learn When learners come across a difficult word while reading, try to guess the meaning by the context, and if learners continue to read without looking into the LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com dictionary by the time they come across the word three to four times they will anyhow know the meaning of it, use dictionary only when it is very much needed Learners also can learn more new words through reading Learners need to progress step – by – step, start reading simple stories, interesting and entertaining stuff Self help books like, books on Positive Thinking; Attitude etc will help learners, as the language is simple and clear Moreover, many words in these two languages have different collocations To different meanings of words, putting them in a whole sentence and forming the deepest processing of the brain so as to ensure the best memory effect In general, vocabulary learning always conducted through indirect means, such as the reading, writing, conversation, communication and etc Discourses provide specific contexts and collocation habits of a vocabulary learning, which effectively reduces the negative transfer of vocabulary resulting from the ignorance of the cultural connotations of the target language 4.2.2 Listening There is a close relationship between listening skills and speaking skill Listening is regarded as one of the most crucial tools to improvenot only language competence but also speaking skills Listening skills can be such an effective way to promote speaking skills for a number of reasons First of all learners might frequently have pronunciation self-correction thanks to spending time on practicing listening Therefore, when a speaker has a clear pronunciation, the success of a conversation between that speaker and listener might be more positive which shows speaking proficiency Secondly, thanks to listening learners might formulate a natural and correct way of speech Thus, if peoplehave chances to listen to native speakers every day, they might familiar with the way native speakersexpress their opinions with the real contexts which helpslearners be easier to enrich vocabulary appropriately and gain speaking accuracyand so on In relation to this, the role of listening skills has really a strong impact on speaking skill Additionally, because Vietnamese students study English in a non-native environment, therefore, students should create a native environment LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com by watching movie, listening to music, so on There are many reliable websites for listening, students should choose topics that they interested in to avoid boring and giving up Learners also can learn English through songs Many studies have shown that music can lighten our mood and it is undeniable that the role of music to mankind is absolutely significant Moreover, for English learners, learning English through song is really a highly recommended way because by listening to music it is more likely that learners are relaxing rather learning so the efficiency seems higher Learning English through the song is really an appropriate way to improve language competence not only speaking skill, vocabulary, pronunciation and so on When we listen to any English song, it might contain a range of new vocabulary which might help people to memorize it longer due to its rhythm.Thanks to it rhythm, learners are refreshed more and tend to have a ready mood to learn Moreover, learning how to sing a song is also helps learners improve their pronunciation by imitating the singer’s words Those elements are really necessary for improving speaking skill The more a learner listens, the better his or her speaking becomes Listening widely is one of the best ways to acquire native English Perhaps this is best way to get rid of the control of the negative transfer of Vietnamese for English learners 4.2.2 Self- talking Self-talking is considered as one of the most effective ways that the researcher has been doing during college time to practice English As a problem mentioned above that the number of students in each class are quite crowded so there might be not enough time to have opportunities to practice their oral skills As this result, those students only can practice at home but finding a partner to practice with is one more issue In this case, self-talking seems effective and easy to make Besides, for some shy or unconfident speakers, this strategy is absolutely encouraged because when they can motivate themselves to speak without the fear of making mistake or being shame Then it might raise their awareness to learn English constantly and successfully The step to practice this method is simple that learners LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com can speak anything learners like to themselves freely When learners talk to themselves out loud it does so many good things for learners, not only are learners going to practice their pronunciation, their vocabulary, their speaking, their fluency but learners are developing that thinking and English skill Learners could start from asking themselves questions or comment about everything around them Learners can practice their English speaking by discussing the things learners do, as well as the people, things and sometimes problems learners encounter If something was difficult about a particular part of the day, talk about how that obstacle was easy or hard for learners to overcome Perhaps while cooking learners can talk about what it is learners are making and how to make it Go through the recipe step by step and talking about why they love it so much It is alright if learners make a mistake or their grammar and pronunciation is not perfect, because the point is not to be perfect, the point is for learners to develop that habit of thinking and speaking English automatically When learners practice self-talk it might help them acquire fluency 4.2.3 Focusing on practicing English sounds Like I mentioned above, sound is very important In English, there are some difficult sounds for Vietnamese learners (I have mentioned in Chapter ), therefore, it is necessary for learners to correct these sounds if they still make mistakes Learners should repeat these sounds many times until mastering them, pronouncing them correctly, automatically and naturally Learners should reset their brain, forget everything they know in Vietnamese, don’t try to find equivalent sounds in Vietnamese anymore There are many videos of native speakers on Youtube that teach pronunciation Learners just need to listen to these videos carefully, and then try to repeat after them out loud 4.2.4 Practicing   One of the best ways to practice speaking a language like English is by simply talking and talking and continue talking like there is no tomorrow This effort of continuously talking will become a habit Eventually, learners start thinking in the English language, no longer thinking in their own native tongue When learning LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com anything, all the teachers will tell any student that the only way to perfection is through continuous practice If learners are learning to speak English, then the best way would be to continue practicing by talking Nothing is better than talking to native speakers to improve their speaking skill however if learners don’t have opportunity to talk to native speaker, they should try hard to talk to their friends like English is their native language, try to express all their thoughts, intentions, opinions If learners not fully understand, what their friend means, just ask in English , explain in different ways till both really understood each other However, if learners really want to have someone who could truly improve their skills, then they can find some friends from different countries using popular social medias There are many groups of young people who willingly and for free want to exchange some skills, especially languages LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CONCLUSION In conclusion, this graduation paper is conducted to investigate the learning of English speaking skill at Ha Tinh University in Languages Department and to find out student’s difficulties related to mother tongue particularly in terms of speaking skill.Then methods and strategies might be suggested to solve student’s problems and motivate them to speak The findings of this study suggest some evidence about interference of mother tongue in learning speaking In addition to other researches about mother tongue interference, in brief it is possible to say that mother tongue interferences in second language learning in almost all aspects The biggest effect of mother tongue interference can be seen in the speaking as a language skills and grammar as a language area In addition to its effect in second language learning, it also affects the learners’ performance Results show that it leads learners to making errors especially in speaking without preparation and translating a passage into the target language In addition, it is possible to say that learners especially have difficulty with sounds, sentence structures, and articles The aim, scope and reason study was presented in chapter for introduction part Then some theoretical definitions such as: definition of speaking, mother tongue, second language and so on were put in chapter Especially, in order to expose student’s difficulties related to mother tongue to learn English in general and speaking skill in particular, a survey was carried out and analyzed in chapter Therefore, some suggestions to help students practice at home as well as at class, to find the best efficient strategies with the hope of encouraging students to have suitable methods to learn were recommended in chapter In this graduation paper, due to the researcher’s limitation of time knowledge and many other factors, it can cover the scope to improve speaking skill only Hopefully, in my next research I can broaden my knowledge to deal with many further problems related not only to speaking skills but also other skills such as writing, listening and so on Finally I hope that mygraduation paper might be somehow an encouragement for anyone interested in speaking skills LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com REFERENCES [1] Tam Ha Cam, English phonetics and phonology, A course book for students of the English department, Vietnam National University , 1999 [2] Elif Nur Denizer, Does Mother Tongue Interfere in Second Language Learning? Journal of Foreign Language Education and Technology, 2017 [3] Nguyen Thi To Loan, Native language interference in the writing of english major first – year students of foreign language department, Hung Vuong University, 2015 [4] Littlewood, W.Foreign and second language learning, Cambridge University Press, 1984 [5] julius angoli atetwe, Analysis of the Influence of Mother Tongue on Students’ Performance in English in KCSE in Public Day Secondary Schools in Gatundu District, Kiambu County, Kenya, 2012 [6] Book “ Phonetics and phonology”, Faculty of English of Thuongmai University, 1998 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Appendix QUESTIONNAIRE Please answer the following questions below This is not a test, so there no “ right” or “wrong” answers and you will remain anonymous I am just interested in your opinion Please give honest answers as this will attribute for my study Thank you very much for your help ! How long have you learned English? o Less than years o More than years Evaluate your English skills : Very good Good Average Poor Pronunciation O O O O Grammar O O O O Listening skill O O O O Reading skill O O O O Speaking skill O O O O Writing skill O O O O How you rate your level of spoken English? o I cannot communicate in English o I have a basic level of spoken English o I have an intermediate level of spoken English o I have a high level of spoken English Which factor(s) you think most important in learning speaking English? o Pronunciation o Vocabulary o Accent o Grammar LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com o Other factors Which factor(s) you have difficulty when learning speaking English? o Pronunciation o Vocabulary o Accent o Grammar o Other factors Do you think Vietnamese affect learning speaking English? o I am not sure o Vietnamese affects a little to learning speaking English o Vietnamese affects much to learning speaking English How Vietnamese affect learning speaking English process? o Make it easier o Make it more difficult o Both Evaluate how far Vietnamese affects to these following aspects? None Very Mild Mild Moderate Severe Speaking Writing Reading Listening Which English sound(s) you think difficult for Vietnamese? o Bilabial Plosives: /p, b/ o Alveolar Plosives: /t, d/ o Velar Plosives: /k, g/ o Dental Fricatives: /ð, θ/ o Alveolar Fricatives: /s, z/ o Labio-dental Fricatives: /f, v/ LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com o Palato-alveolar Fricatives: / ʃ; ʒ / o Affricates: /ʧ ; ʤ / o Glottal Fricative: /h/ o Bilabial Nasal: /m/ o Alveolar Nasal: /n/ o Velar Nasal: /ŋ/ o Alveolar Approximant: /r/ o Palatal Approximant: /j/ o Labio-velar Approximant: /w/ 10 Why are these sounds difficult for Vietnamese learners? ( write your personal opinion ) ……………………………………………………………………… 11 Do you often make these following mistakes? Mistakes Neve Omission of ending sound r arely sometimes often alway s Pronounce wrong these sound /ʒ, ʤ, ʧ, ʃ, ð, θ / Missing up /s/ and /z/; /t/ and /d/ Adding arbitrarily /s/ sound at the end of every English word Pronounce silence vowel 12 What you think are the reasons of making these mistakes above? o Shorting of vocabulary o Habit of translating from Vietnamese into English before speaking o Differences between Vietnamese and English o Using Vietnamese in learning and teaching English o Don’t have opportunity to speak English o Don’t practice enough LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 13 Do you agree there are total equivalent sounds in Vietnamese and English? O Totally Agree O Disagree O Neither agree nor disagree LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ... speaking skill 10 2.2 GENERAL THEORIES OF MOTHER TONGUE EFFECTS ON LEARNING SPEAKING SECOND LANGUAGE 12 2.2.1 Definition of mother tongue .12 2.2.2 Effects of mother tongue on learning. .. difficulties In regarding to this, the study will be focused on mother tongue effects only 2.2 GENERAL THEORIES OF MOTHER TONGUE EFFECTS ON LEARNING SPEAKING SECOND LANGUAGE 2.2.1 Definition of mother tongue. .. interference of mother tongue in learning speaking In addition to other researches about mother tongue interference, in brief it is possible to say that mother tongue interferences in second language learning