A study on the use of shadowing exercises to teach ronunciation for elementary vietnamese adult learners of english

HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - LE HOANG THUY SANG A STUDY ON THE USE OF SHADOWING EXERCISES TO TEACH PRONUNCIATION FOR ELEMENTARY VIETNAMESE ADULT LEARNERS OF ENGLISH MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University THUA THIEN HUE, 2021 HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - LE HOANG THUY SANG A STUDY ON THE USE OF SHADOWING EXERCISES TO TEACH PRONUNCIATION FOR ELEMENTARY VIETNAMESE ADULT LEARNERS OF ENGLISH MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 8140111 SUPERVISOR: DR TON NU NHU HUONG THUA THIEN HUE, 2021 ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ - LÊ HOÀNG THÚY SANG NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG BÀI TẬP SHADOWING ĐỂ DẠY PHÁT ÂM TIẾNG ANH CHO NGƯỜI HỌC VIỆT, Ở ĐỘ TUỔI ĐI LÀM VÀ TRÌNH ĐỘ CƠ BẢN LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 8140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS TÔN NỮ NHƯ HƯƠNG THỪA THIÊN HUẾ, 2021 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree in any university I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Signed: Le Hoang Thuy Sang Date: / ./ i ABSTRACT This thesis is about the possibility of implementing the shadowing exercise in teaching pronunciation to elementary Vietnamese adult learners of English The purpose of this study is threefold: (a) to test the effectiveness of the shadowing exercise in improving Vietnamese adult learners’ pronunciation, (b) to find suitable strategies for implementing the shadowing exercise in pronunciation teaching online, (c) to know what learners think about the effectiveness of the shadowing exercise in improving their pronunciation To achieve those aforementioned purposes, a three-cycle action research was conducted in three months Participants’ logs together with online-based interview and in-depth literature review were also employed to collect adequate data from research participants The data collected from those sources have revealed three key findings First, positive changes in both learners’ actions and reflections appeared after the implementation of (i) concrete and clear supports, (ii) a strict following up routine and (iii) a supportive and interactive environment Second, after three months of shadowing practice, learners could speak with a more intelligible pronunciation as well as be more aware of the production of all key elements of English pronunciation Finally, all learners gave positive feedback on the effectiveness of the shadowing exercise in improving their pronunciation and boosting their confidence in speaking English ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the Hue University of Foreign Languages for giving me the opportunity to complete my study here I will not forget to thank Dr Ton Nu Nhu Huong, my supervisor Without her patience, guidance and encouragement, I would not have made it this far, especially with my dissertation I am also thankful for receiving full support from Ms Yen, who have always given me valuable advices during my time of study here In addition, I would like to thank my family, my beloved parents, my three brothers and my husband for always being by my side and loving me with all their heart and soul I am truly grateful for all the love and support you All have given to me iii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 The eight diphthongs found in English 12 Table 2.2 Classification of all consonants found in English 14 Table 2.3 Six Steps of Shadowing Training for Beginners 35 Table 2.4 Tailored Six Steps of Shadowing Training for Elementary Adult learners 36 Table 3.1 The way triangular matrix of data collection used to find answers for the research questions 45 Table 3.2 The Tailored Six-steps Shadowing Training for Elementary Adult Learners adapted from Kadota and Tamai’s Six Steps of Shadowing Training for Beginners (2004, p.62) 47 Table 3.3 Pronunciation Chart (adapted from Celce-Murcia et al., 2006) 51 Table 4.1 Pronunciation features that affected learners’ intelligibility 57 iv LIST OF FIGURES – CHARTS Figure 2.1 Vowels quadrilateral showing the 12 monophthongs found in English 11 Figure 2.2 An illustration of shadowing 33 Figure 2.3 An illustration of repeating exercise 33 Figure 3.1 Stringer (2008)’s Action Research Process 41 Figure 3.2 The adapted model of action research from Stringer’s (2008) 45 Chart 4.1 Average number of shadowing practices per learner 54 Chart 4.2 Changes in segmental features after the training course 58 Chart 4.3 Number of sentences with appropriate intonation pattern per learner 64 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CEFR : Common European Framework of Reference for Language English English as a Foreign Language EFL : English as a Foreign Language EFL : English as a Lingua Franca EIL : English as an International Language ESL : English as a Second Language L1 : First Language L2 : Second Language WE : World Englishes vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Statement of original authorship i Abstract Acknowledgements iii List of tables iv List of figures – charts v List of abbreviations vi Table of contents vii Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background of the study 1.2 Rationale for the study 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Thesis structure Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Spoken English and principles of teaching spoken English 2.1.1 Definition and characteristics of spoken English 2.1.2 Principles of teaching spoken English 2.1.3 Views of English 2.2 Pronunciation 2.2.1 Pronunciation and its elements 2.2.2 Teaching pronunciation in the English as an International Language (EIL) paradigm 18 2.2.3 Assessing pronunciation in EIL paradigm 23 2.3 Adult learners 25 2.3.1 Who are adult learners? 25 2.3.2 Characteristics of adult learners and implications for online learning design 25 2.3.3 Teaching pronunciation to adult learners 27 2.3.4 Vietnamese adult learners’ pronunciation features 29 2.4 Shadowing exercises 33 2.4.1 What is the shadowing exercise? 33 2.4.2 The shadowing exercise in English language teaching 33 2.4.3 Ways to use shadowing exercises in pronunciation teaching 34 vii APPENDIX 10 MODEL SPEECH AND PARTICIPANT’S SPEECH COMPARISION 93 94 APPENDIX 11 MORE PICTURES OF PARTICIPANTS’ RECORDINGS ANALYZED USING PRAAT 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107