A survey on the teaching and learning of vowels problematic to students of vinh long college of technical education a thesis submitted to the faculty of english linguistics lite

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HCM CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE A SURVEY ON THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF VOWELS PROBLEMATIC TO STUDENTS OF VINH LONG COLLEGE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By LÊ XUÂN THỊNH Supervised by Senior Lecturer NGUYỄN HUỲNH ĐẠT, M.A HO CHI MINH CITY, JULY 2012 STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: A SURVEY ON THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF VOWELS PROBLEMATIC TO STUDENTS OF VINH LONG COLLEGE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION In terms of the statement of the Requirements for the Theses in Master’s programs issued by Higher Degree Committee Ho Chi Minh city, July, 2012 Le Xuan Thinh i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Le Xuan Thinh, being the candidate for the degree of Master in TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan, or reproduction of the theses Ho Chi Minh City, July, 2012 Le Xuan Thinh i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation project would not have been possible without the help and assistance in various forms and from different sources First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest thanks and gratitude to my supervisor, M.A Nguyen Huynh Dat, for his kind and competent advice, guidance, generosity, patience and inspiration My special thanks also go to all my teachers in course for their instruction and dedication I am grateful to Mr Dao Dat Cuong for his advice and his generous permission to access his library I am grateful to Ms Mai Dang My Hien, Ms Tong Thi Thu Dong for their proof reading, and valuable advice I am deeply grateful to my wife Bui Thi Minh Nguyet for her sympathy and help with data input I also owe sincere thanks to all my friends in the MA course, TESOL 2007, for their advice, support, encouragement and willingness to share their experience This study could not have been completed without the very cooperation, informative answers of all respondents, my colleagues and students at Vinh Long College of Technical Education (VLCTE) Last but not least, my special love, thanks, and gratitude are also extended to my beloved family whose love, hope, inspiration and expectation have nurtured my life in this work i ABSTRACT Among several factors hindering the success of English language learning, the teaching of English vowel pronunciation to freshmen at Vinh Long College of Technical Education (VLCTE) should be a focused point since many students make many mistakes and they themselves find it one of the most difficult aspects of English to learn; thus, they need explicit help from their teachers Therefore, this research aims at achieving two principle objectives: 1) to evaluate Southern Vietnamese learners’ vowel pronunciation to identify their common pronunciation mistakes; and 2) to determine how teachers facilitate the teaching of vowels to students at VLCTE Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected in this study The subjects of this study were 170 first-year non-majored English students and all the three English teachers at VLCTE A survey was handed to all the students and tests given to 30 students consisted of two parts: (1) receptive test with lists of words in minimal pairs and 10 sentences to test their listening skill and (2) production test with 60 selected words The results of the two tests help identify these subjects’ pronunciation competence of vowel sounds Interviews with the three teachers are also done to identify the vowels problematic to the students The results showed that most of the participants’ English vowel pronunciation was somewhat limited despite their fairly good perception of English vowel sounds The mother tongue was found to be the most significant factor that affect the production of vowel sounds In light of the results, pedagogical recommendations were made to help improve their English pronunciation in general, with the focus on the importance of teaching vowel sounds to the college students i ABBREVIATIONS AmE American English BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BrE British English CPH Critical Period Hypothesis EFL English as a Foreign Language ESL English as a Second Language GA General American IPA International Phonetic Alphabet L1 First Language L2 Second Language No Number R.P Received Pronunciation SLA Second Language Acquisition S.V Southern Vietnamese TESOL Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages VLCTE Vinh Long College of Technical Education i TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv ABSTRACT v ABBREVIATIONS vi TABLE OF CONTENTS vii LIST OF CHARTS xiii LIST OF DIAGRAMS xv LIST OF TABLES xvi Chapter I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationales 1.2 Background to the study 1.2.1 The roles and problems of English vowels 1.2.2 English vowel teaching at VLCTE 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Scope of the study 1.5.1 Limitation 1.5.2 Delimitation 1.6 Structure of the study Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW i 2.1 The background of the study 2.1.1 Definition of terms 2.1.2 English vowel system 11 2.1.2.1 Definition of vowels 11 2.1.1.2 The number of English vowels 12 2.1.1.3 Classification of English vowels 13 2.1.1.4 Vowel duration 16 2.1.1.5 Word stress and vowel reduction 17 2.1.1.6 English vowels in connected speech 17 2.1.3 Vietnamese vowel system 18 2.1.3.1 Vietnamese language 18 2.1.3.2 Classification of Southern Vietnamese vowel system 18 2.1.3.3 Southern Vietnamese vowels 20 2.2 An overview of methodologies in teaching pronunciation of vowels 21 2.2.1 Why to teach pronunciation of vowels 21 2.2.2 The goal of pronunciation: intelligibility 21 2.2.3 The importance of pronunciation of vowels in EFL teaching and learning 22 2.2.4 What model of pronunciation to teach and learn 22 2.2.5 History of pronunciation teaching in the world 23 2.2.6 Factors that affect English vowel learning 24 2.2.6.1 Biological factor 25 2.2.6.2 Socio-cultural factors 25 2.2.6.3 Personality factors 25 2.2.6.4 The role of the native language 26 i 2.3 A contrastive analysis of Vietnamese and English vowels 27 2.3.1 Distinctive features of Vietnamese vowel system 28 2.3.2 Distinctive features of English vowel system 28 2.3.3.The contrastive phonology transcription of English and Vietnamese vowels 29 2.3.3.1 Vowels 29 2.3.3.2 Diphthongs 30 2.4 Contrastive analysis of syllable structures between English and Vietnamese 31 2.4.1 What is a syllable? 31 2.4.2 The syllable structures in English language 31 2.4.3 The syllable structures in Vietnamese language 32 2.5 Some common problems of vowel pronunciation 34 2.5.1 Common problems with English vowels 34 2.5.2 Some common English vowel pronunciation problems facing Vietnamese students 35 2.5.2.1 Some problematic English sounds to Vietnamese learners and their causes 36 2.5.2.1.1 Pairs of tense and lax vowels /ɪ/ and /i:/, /e/ and /eɪ/, /ʊ/ and /u:/ 36 2.5.2.1.2 Pairs of front vowels /e/ and /æ/ 37 2.6 Guidelines for pronunciation error diagnosis 38 2.7 Previous related studies on vowels 39 2.8 Summary 40 Chapter III: METHODOLOGY 41 3.1 Research questions 41 3.2 Research design 41 3.2.1 Subjects 42 i 3.2.2 Instruments 44 3.2.3 The data collection procedures 48 3.3 Summary 52 Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 54 4.1 Findings 54 4.1.1 Students’ answers to the questionnaire 54 4.1.1.1 The students’ background on English learning 54 4.1.1.2 The findings of students’ pronunciation of English vowel sounds 57 4.1.1.3 Students’ opinions to improve pronunciation of English vowel sounds 66 4.1.2 Students’ receptive test 70 4.1.2.1 Pairs of tense and lax vowel sounds /i:/ and /ɪ/ 70 4.1.2.2 Pairs of tense and lax vowel sounds /ʊ/ and /u:/ 71 4.1.2.3 Pairs of tense and lax vowel sounds /e/ and /eɪ/ 72 4.1.2.4 Pairs of front vowel sounds /e/ and /æ/ 73 4.1.2.5 Pairs of vowel sounds /ɔ:/ and /3:/ 73 4.1.2.6 Pairs of vowel sounds /a:/ and /ɔ:/ 74 4.1.2.7 Pairs of vowel sounds /əʊ/ and /ɒ/ 75 4.1.2.8 Pairs of vowel sounds /ɪə/ and /eə/ 75 4.1.2.9 Diphthong errors in the receptive test 76 4.1.3 Students’ productive test 77 4.1.3.1 Statistical analysis of the data 77 4.1.3.2 Non statistical analysis of the data 79 4.1.4 Findings from the receptive and productive tests 87 4.1.5 Teachers’ perceptions from the teachers’ interviews 88 i Ur, P (1984) Teaching Listening Comprehension Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Vergun, A (2006) A Longitudinal Study of the Acquisition of American English Vowels M.A Thesis Retrieved June 18, 2011 from http://www.labschool.pdx.edu/research/current/VergunThesis.pdf Walter, E (2008) Cambridge Advanced Learners’ Dictionary (3rd ed, electronic edition) Cambridge University Press Wells, J.C (2008) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed) Pearson Education Limited, Printed in China Watts, N (2004) Assessment of Vowel Summary, Acquiring Knowledge in Speech, Language and Hearing Volume 6, number 1, 2004 pp.22-25 Retrieved May 3, 2011 from http://www.speech-languagetherapy.com/pdf/watts2004axvowels.pdf Wodarz, Hans-Walter et al (1997) Forum Phoneticum, Frankfurt am Main Zielinski, B (2006) The Intelligibility Cocktail: An Interaction between Speaker and Listener Ingredients Prospect Vol 21, No April 2006, pp.22-45 Retrieved May 3, 2011, from http://www.ameprc.mq.edu.au/docs/prospect_journal/volume_21_no_1/21_1 _2_Zielinski.pdf Tongue twisters http://www.uebersetzung.at/twister/en.htm http://www.fun-with-words.com/tongue_twisters.html i APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS Dear students, This questionnaire aims at collecting data for the research entitled “ A Survey on the Teaching and Learning Vowels Problematic to Students of Vinh Long College of Technical Education” Please read all the options and circle your best choice Write down your answers specifically if you have other ideas Part I: ABOUT YOU Gender: Male Female Year of birth: Place of birth: How long have you been studying English? For three years For five years For seven years Others (please specify)………………………………………………… What is your purpose of studying English?  communication  working (at work)  you like it  other opinions (please specify) …………………….……….…… …………………….……………….…… …………………….……… i Part II: KNOWLEDGE OF ENGLISH VOWELS Have you ever studied pronunciation of English vowels? never always Pronouncing words containing English vowel sounds is very difficult very easy Have any of your previous teachers taught you pronunciation of English vowel sounds by using minimal pairs (f.e,“sit/seat”) ? never always Are you familiar with a phonetic alphabet or any phonetic transcription symbols of vowel sounds? If yes, please write the ones you know! yes no …………………………………………………………………………… Can you read the phonemic transcription of English vowel sound in a word? For example, the phonemic transcription of realize is /'rɪəlaɪz/ and experience is /ɪks'pɪərɪəns/ very difficult very easy Do you find it difficult to pronounce an English word from its spelling?  yes  no Do you find it difficult to pronounce some English vowel(s) correctly? never always When listening or speaking words with English vowel sounds, which problems below you have? a Don’t know which vowel sound is used in a word For example, you may pronounce the word ‘eye’ but you don’t know which the vowels stand for the word ‘eye’ never i always b Can’t distinguish the pronunciation of similar vowel sounds For example, you know /ʊ/ and /u:/ in look and Luke have different pronunciations but you pronounce the vowel of the pair identically never always c Be confused to make difference between some English pure vowel sounds versus English diphthong ones For example, you pronounce sell and sale or pants and paints the same never always Which English vowel sounds are difficult for you to identify? hen /e/  heat /i:/  lamb /æ/  much /ʌ/  hit /ɪ/  for /ɔ:/  what /ɔ/  cool /u:/  book /ʊ/  her /3:/  father /a:/  mother /ə/  10 Which English vowels are difficult for you to pronounce? pen /e/  he /i:/  cat /æ/  cut /ʌ/  it /ɪ/  short /ɔ:/  hot /ɔ/  too /u:/  good /ʊ/  fur /3:/  car /ɑ:/  banana /ə/  11 Which English diphthong sounds are difficult for you to identify? cold /əʊ/ tour /ʊə/ toy / ɔɪ/ count /aʊ/ interfere /ɪə/ find /aɪ/ care /eə/ make /eɪ/ 12 Which English diphthong sounds are difficult for you to pronounce? cold /əʊ/ tour /ʊə/ toy / ɔɪ/ count /aʊ/ interfere /ɪə/ find /aɪ/ care /eə/ make /eɪ/ i Part III: ABOUT YOUR OPINIONS 13 How you assess your pronunciation? very good very bad 14 In your opinion, how does correct pronunciation influence your speaking and listening in English? a great deal not at all 15 In your opinion, to obtain good pronunciation, how is basic knowledge about pronunciation of problematic vowels necessary? very necessary very bad 16 In your opinion, which of the two ways is better for you to improve your pronunciation of problematic vowels? 1) You ask your teacher to correct your pronunciation mistakes whenever they appear 2) You learn basic knowledge about pronunciation of problematic vowels so that you know how to self-monitor your pronunciation and self-correct your errors whenever they happen  other reasons (please specify) : …………………………………… …………………………………………………………………… … 17 You should pronounce English vowels correctly because it is 1) increasing your fluency and confidence in the use of language 2) increasing intelligibility 3) improving your listening and speaking skills 4) you will have a native-like accent 5) other reasons (please specify)……………………………………… i APPENDIX B BẢNG CÂU HỎI KHẢO SÁT DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN Các bạn sinh viên thân mến, Những câu hỏi nhằm thu nhập liệu cho đề tài nghiên cứu khoa học “Nghiên cứu Việc Dạy Học Các âm Nguyên âm gây khó khăn Sinh viên Trường Cao đẳng Sư phạm Kỹ thuật Vĩnh Long.” Xin bạn vui lòng trả lời câu sau cách khoanh trịn vào số mà em cho thích hợp (có thể có nhiều lựa chọn cho câu hỏi) Đối với câu cần ý kiến cụ thể, xin vui lòng ghi rõ vào khoảng trống Cám ơn em nhiệt tình tham gia! Phần I: THƠNG TIN VỀ BẠN 1) Giới tính: Nam Nữ 2) Năm sinh: 3) Nơi sinh: 4) Bạn học tiếng Anh lâu? Ba năm Năm năm Bảy năm Khác (vui lòng ghi rõ) ……………………………………… 5) Lý việc học tiếng Anh bạn gì? Vì thú vị Nó mơn học bắt buộc Nó cần thiết cho cơng việc tương lai bạn Nó ngơn ngữ quốc tế Mục đích khác (vui lòng ghi rõ) …………………….……… i Part II: KIẾN THỨC VỀ NGUYÊN ÂM TIẾNG ANH Câu 1: Bạn học phát âm nguyên âm tiếng Anh? chưa thường luôn Câu 2: Phát âm từ có âm nguyên âm khó khó bình thường dễ dễ Câu 3: Các giáo viên tiếng Anh trước bạn có dạy bạn phát âm âm nguyên âm cách dùng cặp tối thiểu? (ví dụ “sit/seat”, “pen/pin”) chưa thường ln ln Câu 4: Bạn có quen với bảng chữ phiên âm ký hiệu phiên ngữ âm âm ngun âm? Nếu có, vui lịng ghi phiên âm mà bạn biết!  có  khơng ……………………………………………………………………………… Câu 5: Bạn phát âm ký hiệu phiên âm âm nguyên âm từ? Ví dụ phiên âm từ realize /'rɪəlaɪz/ and experience /ɪks'pɪərɪəns/ khó khó bình thường dễ dễ Câu Bạn có thấy khó phát âm từ tiếng Anh theo phép tả?  có  khơng Câu Bạn có thấy khó phát âm âm nguyên âm tiếng Anh cách xác? chưa thường luôn Câu 8: Khi nghe nói tiếng Anh với âm nguyên âm tiếng Anh, bạn gặp khó khăn với vấn đề sau đây? a Không biết âm nguyên âm sử dụng từ Ví dụ, bạn phát âm từ “eye’ bạn âm nguyên âm thay cho từ ‘eye’ chưa thường i luôn b Không thể phân biệt cách phát âm âm nguyên âm tương tự Ví dụ bạn biết /ʊ/ /u:/ look Luke có cách phát âm khác bạn phát âm nguyên cặp giống chưa thường luôn c Bối rối phân biệt âm nguyên âm đơn với âm nguyên âm dài tiếng Anh Ví dụ, bạn phát âm sell sale pants paints chưa thường luôn Câu 9: Các âm nguyên âm bạn khó nghe? hen /e/ heat /i:/ lamb /æ/ much /ʌ/ hit /ɪ/ for /ɔ:/ what /ɔ/ cool /u:/ book /ʊ/ her /3:/ father /ɑ:/ mother /ə/ Câu 10: Các âm nguyên âm bạn khó phát âm? pen /e/  he /i:/  cat /æ/  cut /ʌ/  it /ɪ/  short /ɔ:/  hot /ɔ/  too /u:/  good /ʊ/  fur /3:/  car /ɑ:/  banana /ə/  Câu 11: Các âm nguyên âm đôi tiếng Anh bạn khó nghe? cold /əʊ/ tour /ʊə/ toy / ɔɪ/ count /aʊ/ interfere /ɪə/ find /aɪ/ care /eə/ make /eɪ/ Câu 12: Các âm nguyên âm đôi tiếng Anh bạn khó phát âm? cold /əʊ/ tour /ʊə/ toy / ɔɪ/ count /aʊ/ interfere /ɪə/ find /aɪ/ care /eə/ make /eɪ/ i Part III: Ý KIẾN CỦA BẠN VỀ PHÁT ÂM Câu 13 Bạn đánh giá phát âm bạn nào? tốt dở Câu 14 Theo ý kiến bạn, phát âm có ảnh hưởng tới việc bạn nghe nói tiếng Anh nào? nhiều khơng có Câu 15 Theo bạn, để phát âm chuẩn, bạn cần có kiến thức cách phát âm âm nguyên âm cần 11 không cần thiết Câu 16 Theo bạn, cách hai cách tốt để cải thiện cách phát âm âm nguyên âm gây khó khăn? Bạn yêu cầu giáo viên sửa lỗi sai cách phát âm chúng xuất Bạn học kiến thức phát âm nguyên âm để bạn biết cách tự sửa sai cách phát âm tự sửa chúng xuất Cách khác (vui lòng ghi rõ) : ………………………………………… Câu 17 Lý bạn nên phát âm âm ngun âm tiếng Anh xác giúp tăng lịng tự tin lưu lốt sử dụng tiếng tăng tính dễ hiểu cải thiện khả nghe nói có giọng người ngữ lý khác (vui lòng ghi rõ) : ……………………………………… CÁM ƠN BẠN ĐÃ GIÚP ĐỠ! i APPENDIX C VOWEL RECEPTIVE TEST I Listen to the words on the cassette and circle the word you hear beat- bit bet - bat part-but match-much bird-apart pot-port look-Luke work-walk far-four 10 boy-buy 11 met-mate 12 hat-hate 13 shot-shout 14 buy-bay 15 boy-bough 16 bow-beer 17 coat-cot 18 pair-poor 19 here-hair II Listen to the sentences on the cassette For each one, circle the word you hear Please sit/seat in this sit/seat Don’t slip/sleep on the floor i Will the man/men come? I can’t find the kettle/cattle What about some celery/salary? The letter/later might arrive tomorrow They walk/work to walk/work The cat mad/made him mad/made The old cop hoped/hoped to hope/hop home because his boss had got/goat his got/goat 10 Luke/look looked at that blue book/booth about blue roots 11 The beer/bear is brown 12 There is something in the ear/air i APPENDIX D VOWEL PRODUCTIVE TEST10 Vowels /i:/ /ɪ/ /e/ /æ/ /a:/ /ɒ/ /ʌ/ /ɔ:/ /ʊ/ /u:/ /3:/ /ə/ 10 key sheep interviewee fish big caterpillar pen bed elephant cat tap apple car bath banana sock dog helicopter cup bus butterfly door horse dinosaur foot book football shoe goose schoolboy girl bird hamburger tiger paper kangaroo Adapted from Nicole Watts i Diphthongs /aɪ/ /eɪ/ /ɔɪ/ /au/ /əυ/ /ɪə/ /eə/ /ʊə/ eye bike crocodile plate train microwave boy toy toilet cow house shouting nose boat tomato ear deer earrings chair bear areoplane tour poor contour i APPENDIX E ERROR ANALYSIS PROFILE Vowels /i:/ /ɪ/ /e/ /æ/ /a:/ /ɒ/ /ʌ/ /ɔ:/ /ʊ/ /u:/ /3:/ /ə/ Words in isolation key sheep interviewee fish big caterpillar pen bed elephant cat tap apple car bath banana sock dog helicopter cup bus butterfly door horse dinosaur foot book football shoe goose schoolboy girl bird hamburger tiger paper kangaroo Substitution i Articulation Length Reduction Diphthongs /aɪ/ /eɪ/ /ɔɪ/ /au/ /əυ/ /ɪə/ /eə/ /ʊə/ Words in isolation Substitution eye bike crocodile plate train microwave boy toy toilet cow house shouting nose boat tomato ear deer earrings chair bear areoplane tour poor contour i Articulation Length Reduction