A study on english accents ò third year english máo at hong duc university, thanh hoa, vietnam

HONG DUC UNIVERSITY FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT GRADUATION THESIS A STUDY ON ENGLISH ACCENTS OF THIRD YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT HONG DUC UNIVERSITY, THANH HOA, VIETNAM SUPERVISOR: M.A NGUYEN THI VIET STUDENT: NGUYEN THI CHUYEN CLASS: 176701A ACADEMIC YEAR: 2017-2021 THANH HOA, 2021 THANH HÓA, NĂM 2021 HONG DUC UNIVERSITY FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT GRADUATION THESIS A STUDY ON ENGLISH ACCENTS OF THIRD YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT HONG DUC UNIVERSITY, THANH HOA, VIETNAM SUPERVISOR: M.A NGUYEN THI VIET STUDENT: NGUYEN THI CHUYEN CLASS: 176701A ACADEMIC YEAR: 2017-2021 THANH HOA, 2021 DECLARATION The thesis entitled “A study on English accents of third year English majors at Hong Duc University, Thanh Hoa, Viet Nam” is conducted under the supervision of M.A Nguyen Thi Viet, an instructor of English at English Department, Hong Duc University I declare that the information reported in the current paper is the result of my own work, except where due to reference is made The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not concurrently submitted to any candidature for any other degree or diploma Thanh Hoa, 2021 Student Nguyen Thi Chuyen i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my warmest thanks and appreciation to many people who have helped me in a myriad of ways to complete this study The completion of this research would not have been possible without the encouragement, guidance and support from them First and foremost, I would like to send my deepest gratitude to my academic supervisor, M.A Nguyen Thi Viet, for her insightful advice, constructive criticism and positive encouragement, without which my thesis would be far from completion My gratefully acknowledge is to all lectures of Foreign Language Department, Hong Duc University for providing me the favourable environment to accomplish my thesis Special words of thank also go to all my informants for their willing participation in the study I greatly appreciate their generosity with their time and efforts in filling in the questionnaire and answering interviews Without them this paper could not have been possible Last but not least, I am deeply indebted to my parents whose great love, delicate devotion and whole-hearted support have encouraged me so far ii ABSTRACT This study investigates overall English accents employed by third-year English majored students at Hong Duc University, Thanh Hoa, Viet Nam The aims of this research are to determine the problems in learning and using English accents used by third-year English majored students at Hong Duc University; find out the differences between American and British English accents in terms of pronunciation and how the students used American and British English accents in their reading English words A quantitative method was used as the main methodology of collecting data for the present study Semi-structures interviews with 15 students were also carried on in order to provide more qualitative data for the research The questionnaire was administered to 52 third-year English majored students who were studying at Hong Duc University The data analysis involved descriptive statistic and manual interview transcription The results show that students' self-discipline in learning English is bad, although all of them commented that they were interested in learning English and English is important Additionally, the ability of students to pronounce in standard English accents was still poor The study’s contributions, limitations and implications for English accents teaching and learning at Hong Duc University are also addressed iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF FIGURES vi LIST OF APPENDICES vii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Research aims 3 Research questions Scope of the study Methods of the study Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of accent 1.2 The importance of English accents in learning English 1.3 Kinds of English accents 11 1.3.1 British English 12 1.3.2 American English 12 1.3.3 Australian English 12 1.3.4 Canadian English 13 1.3.5 Indian English 13 iv 1.3.6 Philippine English 14 1.3.7 Ugandan English 14 1.4 Differences between British and American English 15 1.4.1 British English 15 1.4.2 American English 16 1.4.3 Overall differences between British and American English 16 1.4.3.1 The Linguistic Aspects 16 1.4.3.2 Pronunciation Level 16 1.4.3.3 Vocabulary Level 21 1.4.3.4 Grammatical Level 25 1.4.3.5 Semantic Level 28 1.5 Previous studies of English accents 30 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 39 2.1 Participants 39 2.2 The methods of collecting data 39 2.3 Research instruments 40 2.3.1 Questionnaires 40 2.3.2 Secondary data 40 2.3.3 Interviews 40 2.4 The analysis of the data 41 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 42 3.1 Findings from quantitative data 42 3.1.1 The problems in learning and using English accents of third-year English majors at Hong Duc University 42 3.1.2 Summary 48 3.2 The differences between British and American English accents 49 3.2.1 Intonation 49 v 3.2.2 Vowels 50 3.2.3 The pronunciation of the letter ‘R’ 51 3.2.4 The pronunciation of the letter “T” 51 3.2.5 The words are shortened 51 3.3 Findings from qualitative data 52 3.3.1 How the students used British and American English accents in their reading of English words 52 3.3.2 The results of interviews 53 3.3.3 Summary 55 CONCLUSION 56 Summary of the findings 56 Implications for the teaching and learning English accents at Hong Duc University 56 Limitations of the study 57 REFERENCES 58 APPENDICES 60 vi 13 12 40 23 11 37 14 13 43 15 50 15 10 33 23 13 43 Table 3.1: The reality of using English accents in students’ reading English words The table 3.1 shows the percentage of words pronounced in English accents such as British accent, American accent or mispronunciation in students’ reading words As can be seen from the table that the proportion of words pronounced in British English accent were generally more likely to read than the figure for American English accent More alarmingly, most of the mispronounced words was accounted for the highest rate 3.3.2 The results of interviews After completing of reading list of vocabulary, I asked students some questions related to English accents and the results represented in the tables below 7% No Yes 93% Figure 3.13: Students’ awareness of British and American English accents It is clear from the pie chart 3.13 that students obtained the knowledge of British and American English accents accounted for 93% of the total students who participated in this research section Meanwhile, the figure for unawareness was significant lower, at only 7% 53 Students Not know British accent American accent Mixed accents Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate (N=15) % (N=15) % (N=15) % (N=15) % 33 0 60 Table 3.2: Students’ awareness of their English accents in their reading words The table 3.2 illustrates the students’ knowledge of their English accents in their reading words were British accent, American accent or mixed accents However, as can be seen from the table that the students commented that they did not know which English accents they were using in their reading words accounted for 33% of the total students who participated this research section, compare to none of them claimed that they were using British accent or American accent Meanwhile, the figure for mixed accents was highest, at 60% Students Often Sometimes Rarely Never Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate (N=15) % (N=15) % (N=15) % (N=15) % 0 20 27 53 Table 3.3: Students’ answers about the frequency of learning English accents at their school The table 3.3 showed the answers of students about the frequency of learning English accents at their school It is clear from the table that the proportion of students declared that they had never been learnt about English accents at their school was highest, at 53%, while the figure for sometimes was lower, at 20% and none all of them commented that it was often Meanwhile, the students said that they were sometimes and rarely learnt about English accents accounted for 20% and 27% respectively 54 3.3.3 Summary One of the most important results from qualitative analysis showed that the third-year majored students' ability to pronounce in standard English accents is still poor, though most of students aware of English accents Another finding from qualitative data is that the frequency of learning English accents is not on a regular basis, even if they have never learned it at school 55 CONCLUSION This section summarizes core findings of the present research Implications to language, particularly, English accents teaching and learning of majored students at Hong Duc University are presented before discussing the study’s limitations Summary of the findings The present study examined English accents of English-majors at Hong Duc University The purpose is to gain the overall picture of problems in learning and using English accents of majored students The results reveal that students were using mixed accents, especially a mix of British accent and American accent and the ability of students to pronounce in standard English accents is still poor, though most of students aware of English accents Implications for the teaching and learning English accents at Hong Duc University In terms of practice, this study is particularly important for curriculum developers and teachers For curriculum developers at Hong Universities where new positive changes are encouraged to better the curriculum to the fullest extent, the present study is significant In terms of language teaching, the importance of accent exposure in an international setting should be reinforced, as it is viable to design courses related to varieties of English in order to raise students’ awareness of how English is used across the world In this way, students will learn to envision their own English accents when they receive enough exposure to both native and non-native English accents As for ELT, particularly pronunciation teaching, it is hoped to raise the awareness of both language teachers and learners of English as an international language and incorporate learners’ needs for language learning into the curriculum Further, a knowledgeable view of accent does not mean that pronunciation is unimportant in the language or teaching classroom On the contrary, pronunciation is an essential and unavoidable part of successful communication and overlaps other language and teaching skills in a multitude of ways 56 Perhaps the most important pedagogical implication of a right view of accent is for how teachers are educated about the importance of pronunciation Pronunciation is unavoidable in speaking a language, and must be addressed in language learning and teaching, but it is particularly prone to myths such as the superiority of a native accent and the possibility of achieving it Limitations of the study The weakness of the present study is that with the quantitative data the researcher did not have any means to check the truthfulness of the participants’ accounts However, it is believed that informal socialization with participants and the openness in the semiinterviews contribute to the truth worthiness of the data and findings Therefore, the future research should take these limitations into account when replicating the present study The future study should also cooperate observation into research methodology so that it can gain deeper insight into this matter 57 REFERENCES [1] Ahmed M Hashim (2017) The Differences between American and British Accents https://www.grin.com/document/383651 [2] Ann-Kristin Alftberg (2009) British or American English? - Attitudes, Awareness and Usage among Pupils in a Secondary School https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:241524/fulltext01.pdf [3] Ayako Ikeno and John H L Hansen (2007) The Effect of Listener Accent Background on Accent Perception and Comprehension https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/81069634.pdf [4] Daranee Choomthong and Supaporn Manowong (2020) Varieties of English Accents: A Study of the Degree of Preference and Intelligibility Among SecondYear English Major Students at Maejo University https://brill.com/view/journals/mnya/23/2/article-p151_151.xml?language=en [5] Dilek Büyükahıska - Ahmet Can Uyar (2019) about The Effects of Different Accents on Listening Comprehension in EFL Classes https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339626876 [6] Dylan Lyons (2020) What Are the Differences Between American and British English? https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/what-are-the-differences-betweenamerican-and-british-english [7] Eunjae Park (2017) International students’ accented English—Communication difficulties and developed strategies https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2017.1314651 [8] Fang, F (2016) An Investigation of Attitudes Towards English Accents – A Case Study of a University in China https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316614087_An_Investigation_of_Attit udes_Towards_English_Accents_-_A_Case_Study_of_a_University_in_China 58 [9] Henna Paakki (2013) Difficulties in Speaking English and Perceptions of Accents a Comparative Study of Finnish and Japanese Adult Learners of English https://erepo.uef.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/13022/urn_nbn_fi_uef20131057.pdf [10] Ivan Vassiliev 2021) Different Varieties Of The English Language https://testyourlanguage.com/blog/different-varieties-of-the-english-language [11] Johanna Norman (2017) Student’s Self-perceived English Accent and Its Impact on Their Communicative Competence and Speaking Confidence http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1146855/FULLTEXT01.pdf [12] Miss.Abderrahim Safaa (2015) British Vs American English for university students teaching purposes: The case of third- year EFL students at Tlemcen University http://dspace.univ-tlemcen.dz/bitstream/112/7862/1/abderrahim-safaa.pdf [13] Maria Koutiva (2014) A Research Study on the English Accents of Students in Two International College Campuses https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/295795 [14] Paramjit Kaur (2014) Accent attitudes: Reactions to English as a lingua franca https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263281965_Accent_Attitudes_Reactio ns_to_English_as_a_Lingua_Franca [15] Qin Yan & Saeed Vaseghi (2002) A comparative analysis of UK and US English accents in recognition and synthesis https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224228012_A_comparative_analysis_ of_UK_and_US_English_accents_in_recognition_and_synthesis [16] Sonja Skibdahl Henrik Svensäter (2012) Students’ Attitudes to English Accents in Four Schools in Southern Sweden https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1496781/FULLTEXT01.pdf 59 APPENDICES Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire in English A QUESTIONAIRE FOR OVERALL LEARNING AND USING ENGLISH ACCENTS Part A: Personal Profile Name:……………………………………………………Gender:………… Aged: …………………………………………………………………………… Major:………………………………………… How long have you been studying English for?: ………………………………… PART B: The problems of overall learning English (Please read statements below and choose the box of the responses that tells HOW TRUE THE STATEMENT IS) 1) Your preference to learning English? o Strongly like o Like o Normal o Dislike 2) Your view on the role of English listening and speaking skills subject? o Very important o Important o Slightly important o Not important 3) The amount of time you spent on studying English at home? o hour/day o days/week (30mins/day) o 30 mins before class time o Not studying 4) Your view about the usefulness of Aloha English Club? o Very useful o Fairly useful o Slightly useful o Not very useful o Not at all useful 60 o PART C: The problems of students in learning and using English accents 5) The frequency of learning and practicing English accents in your lessons? o Often o Sometimes o Rarely o Never 6) Your awareness of British and American English accents? o Yes o No 7) Your ability to distinguish British and American English accents? o Yes o No 8) Do you think, which accents you are using in your speaking? o American o British o Mixed o Not know 9) Do you think, which accent is more difficult? o British o American 10) Your feeling about your English accent? o Very satisfied o Moderately satisfied o Not at all satisfied 11) Your opinion on using a certain English accent when speaking? o Necessary o Unnecessary 12) Which channels or websites your used to study on English accents? Your answer: ……………………………………………….………… 61 Appendix 2: Survey questionnaire in Vietnamese BẢNG ĐIỀU TRA VỀ VIỆC HỌC VÀ SỬ DỤNG GIỌNG TIẾNG ANH NĨI CHUNG PHẦN A: Sơ lược thơng tin cá nhân Họ tên: ……………………………………… Giới tính:………… Tuổi: ……………………………………………………………………….…… Chuyên ngành: ……………………………….… Bạn học tiếng Anh bao lâu: ……………………………………………… PHẦN B: Những vấn đề chung việc học Tiếng Anh (Bạn vui lòng đọc câu đây, lựa chọn ô trống mà bạn thấy trống) 1) Bạn thích học Tiếng Anh khơng? o Rất thích o Thích o Bình thường o Khơng thích 2) Vai trị mơn kĩ nghe nói Tiếng Anh bạn là? o Rất quan trọng o Quan trọng o Hơi quan trọng o Không quan trọng 3) Thời gian bạn học tiếng anh nhà là? o tiếng / ngày o ngày/ tuần, ngày 30 phút o 30 phút trước ngày có học o Khơng học 4) Câu lạc Tiếng Anh Aloha có hữu ích với bạn khơng? o Rất hữu ích o Hữu ích o Bình thường o Ít hữu ích o Khơng hữu ích 62 PHẦN C: Những vấn đề việc học sử dụng giọng Tiếng Anh 5) Tần xuất học luyện tập giọng Tiếng Anh lớp? o Thường xuyên o Thỉnh thoảng o Ít o Chưa 6) Bạn có biết giọng Tiếng Anh khơng, (ví dụ: Anh Anh Anh Mỹ)? o Có o Khơng 7) Bạn có phân biệt giọng Anh Anh Anh Mỹ nghe khơng? o Có o Khơng 8) Bạn nghĩ, bạn sử dụng giọng Tiếng Anh nào? o Anh Mỹ o Anh Anh o Trộn lẫn o Không biết 9) Bạn nghĩ, giọng Tiếng Anh khó hơn? o Anh Anh o Anh Mỹ 10) Bạn hài long với giọng Tiếng Anh khơng? o Rất hài long o Hài lịng o Khơng hài lịng 11) Quan điểm bạn việc dùng giọng Tiếng Anh định nói là? o Cần thiết o Khơng cần thiết 12) Khênh trang mạng bạn dung để tìm hiểu giọng Tiếng Anh? Câu trả lời bạn:…………………………………………………………… 63 Appendix 3: Interview form ORIENTATION FOR THE INTERVIEW Hi! My name is Chuyên I am doing a research for my graduation thesis I am very glad that you come for an interview today An interview will last for about 10 - 15 minutes Our interview will be recorded and carefully kept confidential Part 1: The purpose of this part is to get students’ personal profile (Creating a warm atmosphere) What your name? How old are you? Which class of your faculty are you in? Part 2: Content Information Now you please read aloud the list of the following words: Words adult brochure garage vaccine advertisement hospitable better water hated 10 writing 11 bottom 12 native 13 artificial 14 notice 64 15 hard 16 were 17 ear 18 more 19 bar 20 bath 21 laugh 22 chance 23 ask 24 after 25 can’t 26 example 27 agile 28 fertile 29 hostile 30 mobile Do you know English accents such as British English accent or American English accent? Which English accents you think you just use in reading list of words? How often you learn English accents at your school? That’s all for the interview Thank you very much! 65 Appendix 4: Interview transcription HƯỚNG DẪN PHỎNG VẤN Chào bạn! Tên Chuyên Tôi thực nghiên cứu cho luận án tốt nghiệp tơi Tơi vui bạn đến để vấn ngày hôm Cuộc vấn kéo dài khoảng 10 - 15 phút Cuộc vấn ghi lại giữ bí mật cẩn thận Phần 1: Thơng tin chung Bạn tên gì? Bạn tuổi? Bạn học lớp nào? Phần 2: Nội dung Bây bạn vui lòng đọc to danh sách từ sau: Words adult brochure garage vaccine advertisement hospitable better water hated 10 writing 11 bottom 12 native 13 artificial 66 14 notice 15 hard 16 were 17 ear 18 more 19 bar 20 bath 21 laugh 22 chance 23 ask 24 after 25 can’t 26 example 27 agile 28 fertile 29 hostile 30 mobile Bạn có biết đến giọng Tiếng Anh Anh Anh hay Anh Mỹ không? Bạn nghĩ, giọng Tiếng Anh bạn vừa dùng đọc từ? Bạn có thường tìm hiểu giọng Tiếng Anh không? Buổi vấn kết thúc Cảm ơn bạn nhiều! 67