An investigation into final ending sounds consonants pronouced by the 9th grade students at nguyen huu da junior secondary school in hue city

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES HO THI CAM ANH AN INVESTIGATION INTO FINAL ENDING SOUNDS (CONSONANTS) PRONOUNCED BY THE 9TH GRADE STUDENTS AT NGUYEN HUU DA JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HUE CITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2015 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES HO THI CAM ANH AN INVESTIGATION INTO FINAL ENDING SOUNDS (CONSONANTS) PRONOUNCED BY THE 9TH GRADE STUDENTS AT NGUYEN HUU DA JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HUE CITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11 SUPERVISOR: TRAN QUANG HAI, D Ed HUE, 2015 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ HỒ THỊ CẨM ANH NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁCH PHÁT ÂM PHỤ ÂM CUỐI CỦA HỌC SINH LỚP TẠI TRƯỜNG THCS NGUYỄN HỮU ĐÀ HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.14.01.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS TRẦN QUANG HẢI HUẾ, 2015 STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Date: 20/06/2015 Signature Full name HO THI CAM ANH i ABSTRACT Vietnamese students have many difficulties when pronouncing English Among difficulties, this paper will firstly deal with “an investigation into final consonants sounds pronounced by the 9th grade students at Nguyen Huu Da Junior Secondary School in Hue city” The influence of Vietnamese as their mother tongue is thought to affect the production of English final consonant sounds among Vietnamese speakers in English words, who have a much smaller range of final consonants This research examines the production of final consonant sounds of Vietnamese learners of English Theoretical phonological research on final consonant sounds in the English language has been carried out to find the difficulties Data from Vietnamese informants were collected and analyzed, then synthesized to the most significant problems Vietnamese students face some difficulties with a few common final consonant sounds such as /ð/, /θ/, /dʒ /, /ŋ/, /tʃ/, /ʃ/ or /ʒ/ They effort to pronounce English final consonant sounds were studied towards sound omitted sound redundant, or sound confused These findings will hopefully be useful for those who are interested in the topic and for further research ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to all those who gave me the possibility, support and helpful advice to complete this research paper First of all, I want to thank my supervisor Tran Quang Hai, D Ed for guiding me on how to the research in the effective way, for his advice, encouragement and constant support in my work His understanding, patience and readiness to help during the period of the research are highly appreciated It would be impossible to complete this research without his assistance and cooperation Besides my supervisor, I want to thank Ms Nguyen Hai Yen who gave me a lot of useful information, helpful advice during the time of researching My sincere thank also goes to Ms Nguyen Thi Mai, English teacher of Nguyen Huu Da Junior Secondary School located in Quang Vinh, Quang Dien, Hue for her permission to take part in her classes to give survey questionnaires to students Besides, I must thank the 120 students who participated in this research for their time and efforts to perform the tasks Without their support this research could not have been carried out I also want to thank all the members of my master class They always stood by me when I felt down and helped me feel better, gave me motivation to complete this graduation paper Last but not least, I would like to thank my family, my mother for their warm encouraging and supporting me spiritually throughout my life iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents pages SUB COVER PAGE STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF CHARTS ix CONTENTS OF THESIS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 10 1.1 Rationale 10 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Research methods 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study .4 CHAPTER 2.1 English pronunciation iv 2.2 Consonants in English 2.3 Final consonant sounds in English 10 2.4 Consonants in Vietnamese 12 2.5 Pronunciation errors 15 2.5.1 Definition of pronunciation errors .15 2.5.2 Final consonant sound pronunciation errors .16 2.5.3 Common mistakes of final consonant sound pronunciation that English learners in Vietnam tend to make 17 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 18 3.1 Participants 18 3.2 Instruments 18 3.3 Survey Questionnaires 18 3.4 Purposes of the survey questionnaires 19 3.5 Design of the survey questionnaires 19 3.6 Interview 20 3.7 Classroom Observation 20 3.8 Data collection instrument 20 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS .22 4.1 Students’ attitudes toward their English final consonant sound pronunciation 22 v 4.1.1 Students’ attitudes toward the pronunciation final consonant sounds in English 22 4.1.2 Students’ frequency of pronouncing ending sounds 23 4.1.3 Difficulties in pronouncing final consonant sounds 24 4.1.4 Reasons for students’ difficulties in learning final consonant sounds… .28 4.2 Students’ expectations toward teachers in pronunciation class 30 4.3.1 Students’ excitement on teachers’ techniques in the pronunciation of final consonant sounds class .30 4.3.2 Students’ expectations toward teachers in class 31 4.3 Teachers’ techniques in teaching pronunciation in class 32 4.4 Discussion 35 4.5 Suggestions for students to correct ending sounds error 36 4.5.1 Games 36 4.5.2 Listening to music .40 4.5.3 Reading pronunciation books 40 4.5.4 Watching pronunciation videos on YouTube 42 4.5.5 Practicing in front of the mirror 44 4.5.6 Recording yourself 46 4.5.7 Exercises for practicing final consonant sounds 46 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 48 vi REFERENCES APPENDICES Appendix A: Survey Questionnaire Appendix B: Interview Questions for Teachers Appendix C: Teacher/Researcher Observation Sheet vii However, I hope that this paper, to a certain extent, will help much for further exploration in this area and offers language teachers some idea for their teaching Finally, it could be necessary to conduct a more comprehensive study in this area so as to identify more substantial information concerning pronunciation problem of our students that will help us determine a more appropriate pronunciation program for our students 50 REFERENCES A In English Avery and Ehrlich.(1992) Teaching American English pronunciation Oxford University Press Barbara A H., Brian B (1997) The Status of Final Consonant Clusters in English Syllables: Evidence from Children In Journal of Experimental Child Psychology Volume 64, Issue 1, p 119-136 University of New England, New South Wales, Australia Cummins, F (1998) Sound patterns in Human Language: Syllables revisited Dulay, H., Burt, M and Krashen, S (1982) Language Oxford: Oxford University Press Dyson, A T., & Paden, E P (1983) Some Phonological acquisition strategies used by two-year old Journal of Childhood Communication Disorder, 7, 6-18 Ellis, R (1997) Second Language Acquisition Oxford University Press, Oxford Retrieved March 30, 2009 Ellis, R (2008) The Study of Second Language Acquisition Oxford University Press, Oxford Fraser, H.(2000) Teaching Pronunciation: A Handbook for Teachers and Trainers Canberra: Department of Education Grunwell, P (1987) Clinical phonology (2nd ed.) London: Croom Helm Ha, C.T (2005) Common Pronunciation Problems of Vietnamese Learners of English Journal of Science - Foreign Languages Harmer, J (2001) The Practice of English Language Teaching London: Longman 51 Hinofotis, F and Baily, K., American undergraduate reaction to the communication skills of foreign teaching assistants, TESOL “80: Building Bridges: Research and Practice in TESL”, Alexandria, V.A, 1980 Hockey, J 1993 Research Methods: Researching peers and familiar settings Research Papers in Education, 8, 199-225 Hymes, D (1972) On communicative competence In J.B Pride, and J Holmes (Eds.) Sociolinguistics (pp 269-293) Jenkins, J (2004) Research in Teaching Pronunciation and Intonation Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 24:109-125 Jones, R H (1997) Beyond ‘Listen and Repeat’: Pronunciation Teaching Materials and Theories of Second Language Acquisition System 25.1:103-112 Kelly, G (2003) How to teach pronunciation Oxfordshire: Bluestone Press McDonough, J & McDonough, S (1998) Research Methods for English Language Teachers., London, Arnold Morley, J.(1994) Pronunciation Pedagogy and Theory New views, new directions Alexandria, VA: TESOL Nguyen, T.T.T (2007) Difficulties for Vietnamese When Pronouncing English Final Consonants Högskolan Dalarna, Engelska C Uppsats Nunan, D (1991) Language Teaching Methodology Hertfordshire: Prentic Hall International Oxford Advanced Learner's Encyclopaedic (1992) Oxford: Oxford University Press Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.(2008) Oxford University Press 52 Rachael-Anne K.(2003) Understanding English Variation, Week University of Surrey – Roehampton Richards, J.C (1971) Error analysis and second language strategies English Language Teaching 25: 115-135 Roach,P.(2000) English Phonetics and Phonology Cambridge University Press Roach, P J (2001) Phonetics Oxford: Oxford University Press Roach, P J (2009) English phonetics and phonology: a practical course (Fourth Edition) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Sean, B.V (2003) What is meant by communicativeness in EFL teaching? An evaluation of the pronunciation component in a sample of elementary level course materials, with proposals for improvement incorporating a discourse intonation approach University of Birmingham Edgbaston, B15 2TT United Kingdom Spencer, A (1996) Phonology Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Tan, M (2005) CLT-beliefs and practices Journal of Language and Learning Vol.3 No ISSN 1740- 4983 Treiman, R (1989) The Internal Structure of the Syllable In G Carlson and M Tanenhaus (Eds.), Linguistic Structure in Language Processing Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic Treiman, R., Zukowski, A., & Richmond-Welty, (1995) Children’s spelling errors on syllable-initial consonant clusters Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 3, 346-360 Yule, G (2006) The study of Language Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 53 Zhang, F C & Yin, P P (2009) A study of pronunciation problems of English learners in China Asian Social Science, 5(6), 141-146 In Vietnamese Đoàn Thiện Thuật (1980) Ngữ âm tiếng Việt Hà Nội: Đại học Trung học Chuyên nghiệp Initial consonants (n.d.) Lê Quang Thiêm ( 2004) Nghiên Cứu Đối Chiếu Các Ngôn Ngữ Hà Nội : Nhà xuất đại học quốc gia Hà Nội 54 APPENDICES Appendix A SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (FOR STUDENTS) Dear all, This survey questionnaire aims to find out your attitude and your expectation towards English pronunciation, especially final ending consonants sounds Your answers will be used for researching purposes of my research paper entitled “an investigation into final ending sounds (consonants) pronounced by the 9th grade students at Nguyen Huu Da Junior Secondary School in Hue city” Thank you for your cooperation in completing this survey questionnaire Please answer these following questions by putting a tick ✓ What you think of the role of pronouncing English final ending sounds? ⃝ Very important ⃝ Not very important ⃝ Important Do you often pronounce final ending sounds when speaking English? ⃝ Very often ⃝ Rarely ⃝ Often ⃝ Never ⃝ Sometimes 55 Of these final ending sounds, which sounds you have difficulties with? (You can choose more than one) ⃝ /p/ ⃝ /θ/ ⃝ /m/ ⃝ /b/ ⃝ /ð/ ⃝ /n/ ⃝ /t/ ⃝ /s/ ⃝ /ŋ/ ⃝ /d/ ⃝ /z/ ⃝/l/ ⃝ /k/ ⃝ /ʃ/ ⃝ /ʒ/ ⃝ /f/ ⃝ /tʃ/ ⃝ /g/ ⃝ /v/ ⃝ /dʒ / Which reasons you think cause your difficulties of pronouncing ending sounds? Reasons Agree Neutral  No existence of the sound in mother tongue  No perception of how to pronounce 56 Disagree these sounds  Interference of friends’ pronunciation  No habit of practicing English pronunciation  Pronouncing the sounds as the way I hear  Too difficult to pronounce  Shyness in making mistakes when 57 pronouncing  No practicing Which techniques your teachers often use to teach pronunciation in the class? Its frequency and effectiveness? Techniques Frequency Effectiveness Frequently Sometimes Never Very effective Listening to English songs Tape recording 58 Normal Not very effective Doing exercises of pronouncing ending sounds Practicing in pairs Discussion Which teachers’ techniques you like most? ⃝Listening to English songs ⃝Practicing in pairs ⃝Tape recording ⃝ Discussion ⃝Doing exercises of pronouncing ending sounds What is your expectation to your teacher in pronunciation classes? 59 ⃝Teaching more about ending sounds pronunciation ⃝Using more effective techniques to improve pronunciation of students ⃝Giving support to the students to improve pronunciation ⃝Having more time to practice pronunciation in class ⃝Others……………………………………………… Thank you for your cooperation! 60 Appendix B INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS Have you ever taught about final ending sounds pronunciation? Do you think that pronouncing final ending sounds is important in learning English? Are your students good at pronouncing final ending consonants sounds? What strategies have you used to teach pronunciation final ending consonants sounds in classroom? Which strategies you like most? Which strategies are liked most by your students? Do your students have enough time to practice pronunciation final ending consonants sounds in class? Which mistakes your students often face to when they pronounce final ending consonants sounds? How you improve your students’ final ending sounds pronunciation? 61 Appendix C TEACHER/RESEARCHER OBSERVATION SHEET Class Place Date Program: Time Topic: General description for students today No of students with errors sounds Sound Sound Sound Omitted confusion redundancy /p/ 62 /m/ /b/ /ð/ /n/ /t/ /s/ /ŋ/ /d/ 10 /z/ 11 /l/ 12 /k/ 13 /ʃ/ 14 /ʒ/ 63 15 /f/ 16 /tʃ/ 17 /g/ 18 /v/ 19 /θ/ 20 /dʒ/ Comments: Researcher’s reflection: 64