Nguyen Tii Hj„gMi lll Tg ,cUKHOAHQCftc6NGNGHE 152(07/2) 143 ISI ^ ^ U B H F I N A L C O N S O N A N T C L U S T E R S ? ^ o ^ " ^ '''' ^ * < ^ ™ ^ V I E m U M E S E L E A R N E R S Mm S O M E P R A C T I[.]
Nguyen Tii Hj„gMi.lll Tg,cUKHOAHQCftc6NGNGHE 152(07/2): 143 - ISI ^ ^ U B H FINAL CONSONANT CLUSTERS: ? ^ o ^ " ^ '^* /-ss/ /-sts/ -> /-ss/ /-kfs/ -> /-ks/ /-pts/ —' /-ps/ "•- • "^' /-ntes/ — /n(t)s/ 152(07/2): 143-151 and between words where inflection is mvolved ('lifts', 'products') as well as in some additional compound and phrasal environment ('landlord', 'bread and butter'} (ibid., 165) Celce-Murcia et (1996 88) st]ggests some common examples of how the native speakets simplify final cluster configurations Final consonant cluster Examples 17.-nz pens, widens 18 -nl/ 19 -n(fe 20 -nk 2l.-mp[ d obstruent-^- obstruent fricalive-i-slop 22 -sp 23 -St 24 -sk 25 -ft stop+ fricative 26 -ps 27 -ks 28 -ksl slop+ slop 29,-kt lunch, branch change, oranee sink, link attempt clasp fast, wesl desk, ask soft, shaft lapse, cups box, SIX next, complex act, impact Examples asked /xskx/ becomes /Est/ asks /ssks/ becomes/sss/ lists/h sts/becomes/li ss/ facts /fEckts/ becomes /fsks/ scripts /skn pts/ becomes /skri ps/ fifths/fi fes/becomes/ft fs/ temhs /tenSs/ becomes /ten(t)s/ From the above examples, a rule can be drawn out that in reducing final consonant clusters the penultimate sounds are omm.ted while the preceding and the final consonants are remained, DIFFERENCE-S BETWEEN VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH PHONOLOGIES The Vietnamese alphabet ,s phonemic, that is one letter or a combination of letters s represented by only one sound As stated by Hansen, 'there are a total of 22 consonant sounds in Vietnamese, not including the allophonic variations' (Hansen 2004: 91) Hua-Froelich (2002) discusses that 22 Vietnamese consonants and 12 vowels can be combined in any ot the possible combination Nggyin Thj H ^ M J n f a •A', ,._ , x^p chi iCHOA HQC & CONG NGHfi IVlasia '6' (umbrella) ATV/and'ao'(shirt) /CV/ as in "ba" (dad) / C W / as in 'mira' (rain) /CVC/ as in "kem' (ice-cream) / C W C / as in 'soit' (to searoh) /VC/ as in '6m' (to hug) IWCl as in 'oan' OJerverse) 152(07/2): 143-151 IviWI as in W (to like) /wW / as in "y^' (to love) /wVC/ as in "uati (foal) A v W C as in 'W/BTAJ&C' (versatile) /CwV/ as in "niii' (moimtain) / C w W / as in 'suo'i' (stream) /CwVC/ as in 'quan' (inn) / C w W C / as in 'tuyet' (snow) - ^ , w „„ u hujb ^ \au\jvrj b t h e Vietnnmcse language, all comonants can stand at the beginnfag of syllables However the codas (consonauts a dae end of syllables) ate •Ihni.ed to either' v o i L s s l p o" a Z ^ Md s y U a b M n a l posmon': /p t k, m, „, , , „ , j / to, u stops, nasals, and scmi-vowcls (Nguyel,! S l t n f " T ' " ' „ ' ? ' ' " " ' •''^^srecment about the number of consonants d,e consonants n t bav H ^ •? ' ^ ' ° ' ° " " " ' = ' " '^ '='"™'"">' ^ ^ P t - " l ^ ' "h^ Vietnamese language dTe^ 20M) ^ ° ' ' " ° ' " " • " * " ' " • " " ^ ' ' ^ = " ' ' " ' " ' ^ « ™ - ^ " S 2002- All Enghsh consonants, wid, d,e exception of the velar nasal /,,/ and flre palatal fricative A / a ^ avowed syllable m.Ually while all Vietnamese consonants without any exceptions I s ^ ^ " r t d A T H ° T * f " f ^ ^ ^ S ° f ^ ^ " ^ W - I - 'y » * i " g them on fte ctattboani and gomg over dte p,x>nm,ciation wifl, the students T i e students flien are giveTa raa^a002) h e l p ^ hghten fl« «mosphe,e in AK elassraom and easy enough i d focus on o « n ™ n pronjmcatton problems' (Chang, 2002: 15), can be employed as flte Z n - u p S i ^ i o m e o f s u c h tongue twisters are suggested below: •"-"P iu.iivny A big 6/acA bug bil a big black bear Don't pauper dame scam Robert Rowley rolled a round roll round A rotq^ roll Robert Iranm Ihat cam^ under rami, lamps Tap chi KHOA HOC & CONG NGHE Nau\en Thi Hong Mmh 152(07/2): 143-151 Rowley rolled round She talked the lalk and walked rhe walk Mechanical drill The teacher should make fhe students identify the final consonant clusters by listening and then fill in the given table The listening sources can be the tape, the native speaker, or the teacher himself according to the class conditions The learners are asked to decide which word belongs to which column The first word is done as an example Sample worksheet (Adapted from Nguyen, 2000; 129), /-mp/ /-nt/ /-nd/ /-nz/ /-ntf/ /-nd^/ /-nk/ /-md/ change dependent Idenlificalion task Activities designed for this step is fo train the learners to detect the target words in context The learners listen to a passage and their task is fo write down all the words ending in consonant clusters The passage can be read by a tape, a native speaker, or the teacher Sample worksheet (Source Nguyen, 2000- 130) words in endings /-mp/ words in ending /-nd/ ^^OoT n O ) ' " " ' ' ^^™'" "^^^''''^ words endings /-ns/or in /-nz/ words ending in /-ntf/ interests The magazines with the largest circulations, often over a million copies, are family magazinss Punch, a weekly founded in 1841, has long been famous Production '"'' ending /-nd^/ Advanced Learner's Encyclopedic', p.542- quoted in Nguyen, A very wide range of magazines are published lo cater for the Enghsh ^ ^ l o ^ r words in "^''""'^''y^^'^^''^^"^''" ^^^A women's and as a humorous has gamed a reputation for its task L" * ! ' " ' " f f ; " " " " " " ^ """"^^ knowledge of the Enghsh consonants in final position, th Activitj' Phrases „,th rhylhn, „,th the previous sentence When completing the 'poem', the sludenls ar MtMnThiHaiigMMi Tap chf KHOA HOC « CONG NGHE I52((r;/2):M3-I51 t ^ t ^ n ^ - ' ^ ^ to ft^ of flK class fXhets listen, mark flte mistake if fl«,e is, and tttencotrect then-fiiend's speech ' Ffcml ptK>o«Tie C TKuxIc o f a r K y m e / o r e a c K K o u r ^ e ^ TKe c l o c k s t r u c k o n « l i e Kod s o m e - clock struck o n e tte:::::;:::-:::::::::-: ftini clock s t r u c k t w o he The clock struck tKree lie TKe clock struck J o u r Tie The clock struck fiv d o c k struck six Hlckora Dlckory Dock t h e m o u s e r o u up t h e clock Samplenuteiial(Source: httpJwwwhhc rr,,A) This activity seems not to vety easy to Activily3 leamers because they have to work on flieir The leamers are asked to produce short own However, hi order to facilitate Uiem, the conversations about everyday-life topic, leacher should prompt words or ideas when discuss to mark ttie final clusters, ttien necessaiy If ttie activity is held successfiflly, practise reading it aloud and end up ttie flie teacher has made students feel proud of activity with role-play about flrar work and focus much on die final clusters io context Anottier practical activity is to encourage flie Aclivfty2 students to create interesting or fimny stories in which fliey must use words wifli final Hewmgs (1998) suggests interactive exercises consonant clusters However, N should be with afiicuson final and final cluster sounds noticed dial fliis activity only can work when Teachers as mstmctois can ask students to die teacher are sure diat his/ her students are give example m English When possible, flie good enough teacher should use pictures, a calendar or mime to elicit answers fiom students Beside applying flie acUvities as mentioned Wngs to eat or drink: toast, beans, orange above, during each lesson flie teacher should niift,chis pay attention to die leamers' pronunciation, Animab: elephant, fox, ant, beetle, wasg marking die final cluster sounds missing fi^m flieir speech and flien correct fliem after fliey Pstts ofttiebody: waist ankle, wrist, chest fmish Also, die teacher may ask flie students Personal fiselings: pleased, depressed pay attention to flieir classmates' speech, fcys ofdie montti: fiia, seconififfli,s i a t t ^ i finding mistakes in making die final clusters This actwily help ttie learner not only practise and correct flieir parOiers Personally, have the final chisters sound bm also buiW up ttieir appreciated ttiU usefiil activity since as Le vocabulay (2003) believes, 'listening to oflier people's 149 Nguyen Thi Hong Minh Tap chi KHOA HOC & CONG NGHE speech will enhance their awareness of missing sounds' (Le, 2003: 55) Dealing with the fossilized students' habit of reducing the final clusters and raising awareness of the necessity of producing them requires constant and conscious attention from teachers Doing such kind of activities may take a great amount of time, but it helps the leamers acquire a conscious control of problematic final cluster sounds and thus it helps the teacher achieve his teachmg objectives CONCLUSION It is indispensible for foreign language learners to avoid mistakes in their leaming, but there are ways ta rectify their errors Despite the differences in English and Vietnamese phonologies, Vietnamese leamers of English are expected and required to pronounce English sounds, including English final consonant clusters correctly Therefore, teachers should have their own ways to apply the 4-step model in their English teaching to help their leamers to produce English codas properly, and ambitiously to perfect their English pronunciation REFERENCES 1, hftp,//www bbc CO Ilk Celce-Murcia, M & Goodwin, J, M (1991) Teaching Pronunciation' Teach English as a Second or Foreign Language Boston: Heinle& Heinle Celce-Murcia, M , Brinton, D M , & Goodwin, J M (1996) Teachmg Pronunciation Cambridge Cambridge University Press 152(07/2); 143-151 4.Dang, D, M (2000) 'Pronunciation Challenges for Vietnamese Learners' Teacher's Edition 3.4-7 Haycraft, J (1978) An Introduction to English Language Teaching London: Longman Hwa-Froechch, D et al (2002) 'Characteristics of Vietnamese Phonology, American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 11.264-273 Jenkins, J (2000) The phonology af English as an international language Oxford" Oxford University Press Le, P H H (2003) 'Speaking English like a Native Speaker''', Teacher's Edition September 54-55 Nguyen, D, (1997) Vtetnamese Amsterdam John Benjamins Publishing Company 10 Nguyen, Q H (2000) A Model to leach English Pronunciation to Vietnamese Learners Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City Publishing House, 11 Nunan, D (1991) Language Teaching and Methodology London: Prentice Hall 12.Osbume, A G (1996) 'Final Consonanl Cluster- a Case Study of a Vietnamese Speaker' Applied Linguistics 17(2) 165-179 13 Trager, E C (1982) Pd's m Depth Pronunciation/ Aural Discrimination Drills for Learners of English Englewood Cliffs, NEW Jersey: Prentice Hall 14, Yates, L (2002; Fact sheet - Setting Goals for Teaching Pronunciation Retrieved 28 May 200S, from Macquarie University, National Centre for English Language Teachmg & Research (NCELTR) websitehttp./Zwwiv, nceltr mq edu,au/pdamep/tachshee!s/02Pronunical ion pdf 15 Yates, L (2002) Fact sheet- Teaching pranuncialton Approaches and Activities Retrieved 28 May 2006, from Macquarie University, National Cenfre for English Language Teaching & Research (NCELTR) website http://www nceltr mq.edu au/pdamep/fachsheets/03Pronunicat ion pdf NglOfen Thi H6ng Minh Tap chi KHOA HOC&CONGNGHE 152(07/2): 143 - 151 TOMTAT CYM PHV AM CUOI TRONG TIENG ANH: KHO KHAN CUA HOC SDJH VIET NAM VA MOT S6 Ggi Y TRONG DAY HQC Nguyin Thj HSng Minh" Trudng Dgt hoc Supham - BH Thdl Nguyen Cm phu am cum tieng Anh gSy m kha uhieu kho khan cho ngucri hoc tiSng Anh o ViSt ?ri« h- k " P " " ! " ° " " "'•" '^^ **= * " « "" Si"P hoc sinh cia mtah co thi phit S i ; ° " ? * ? T ^ S " 'V '*!'^ I " * SiO" h« M n g ngif In, cua tiSng Anh v i tiSug VI6t DSng t t ^f, ? ^ ' " t " - ^ ' ' ^ ; " ' ^ * ' ™ " * • " ' «*"S Anh d Viet Nam gip kilO khto i t j ! i ^ ^ ' , ° Nam khong phat Sm duoc cum phu to cudi tiSng Aril TO khfa: cum phu dn, cuol cum ph, dm cudi tting Anh hoc tting Anh d Vlit Nam kho Idi^ oua ngum hoc ding Anh d nil Nam goi y gidng day ngd dm ""''"-'"•'*'• •Xplbl^khiuthfc- TS.Nguyen Thi Diiu Hd - B,l hoc Thai Nguyen ... " '' ô*"S Anh d Viet Nam gip kilO khto i t j ! i ^ ^ '' , ° Nam khong phat Sm duoc cum phu to cudi tiSng Aril TO khfa: cum phu dn, cuol cum ph, dm cudi tting Anh hoc tting Anh d Vlit Nam kho Idi^... CYM PHV AM CUOI TRONG TIENG ANH: KHO KHAN CUA HOC SDJH VIET NAM VA MOT S6 Ggi Y TRONG DAY HQC Nguyin Thj HSng Minh" Trudng Dgt hoc Supham - BH Thdl Nguyen Cm phu am cum tieng Anh gSy m kha uhieu... ngucri hoc tiSng Anh o ViSt ?ri« h- k " P " " ! " ° " " "''ã" ''^^ **= * " ô "" Si"P hoc sinh cia mtah co thi phit S i ; ° " ? * ? T ^ S " ''V ''*!''^ I " * SiO" h« M n g ngif In, cua tiSng Anh v i tiSug