Nghiên cứu lỗi ngữ âm trong giờ học nói tiếng anh của sinh viên năm 1 chuyên ngành tiếng anh tại trường đại học savanakhet

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES SISONES SOULIYVONG A STUDY ON FIRST YEAR ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS’ PHONETICS PROBLEMS IN SPEAKING AT SAVANNAKHET UNIVERSITY MA.RESEARCH THESIS 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, 2017 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES SISONE SOULIYAVONG A STUDY ON FIRST YEAR ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS’ PHONETIC PROBLEMS IN SPEAKING AT SAVANNAKHET UNIVERSITY THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11 SUPERVISOR: HOANG TINH BAO, PhD HUE, 2017 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ SISONES SOULIYVONG NGHIÊN CỨU LỖI NGỮ ÂM TRONG GIỜ HỌC NÓI TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINN VIÊN NĂM CHUYÊN NHÀNH TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯOWFNG ĐẠI HỌC SAVANNAKHET 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 HOÀNG TỊNH BẢO HUẾ, 2017 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma 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: Sisone SOULIYVONG Date: / 08 /2017 i ABSTRACT English phonetics, especially English pronunciation is difficult for a lots of EFL students, and first year students of English at Savannakhet University (SKU) are not exceptional To realize that problem, this research aims to find out how EFL students and English teachers at English Department, Faculty of Linguistics, SKU feel about difficulties and significances in recognizing different phonetics features in English and to help EFL English first year students at SKU overcome those difficulties so that they can be more self-confident in English speaking The findings show that the students face a lot of difficulties when they communicate in English speaking environment of different English varieties The study also explains why students still face phonetics problems Last but not least, a number of solutions are suggested to help students improve their knowledge of English phonetics and thus further develop their language competency The knowledge can help them overcome the diffculities in dealing with various dialects of English and be capable of identifying different English accents effectively ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all I would like to sincere thanks to Savannakhet University and Hue University of foreign language to give me the chance to study and improve my knowledge Next, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Hoang Tinh Bao, who always gave me good advice, thoroughly corrected my mistakes, provided me with much helpful guidance and supported me to surmount difficulties during doing the research I also want to send my sincere thanks to my senior students at SKU English Department, Faculty of Linguistics, and English first year students for their enthusiastic cooperation to complete my test, questionnaire, interview and their active contributions to suggest effective solutions for my research topic My gratefulness similarly belongs to my colleagues who supported me and helped me in answering the interview Next, I want to thank all teachers in English Department Faculty of Linguistics, SKU for giving me an opportunity to the research and in creating every condition for doing it well Last but not least, I would like to express my profound gratitude to my family, my friends and my classmates, who always supported, encouraged me not only physically but also mentally overcome difficulties to finish the research successfully Thank you sincerely Sisone SOULIYAVONG iii TABLE OF THE CONTENS STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP iii ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF THE CONTENS iv LIST OF CHARTS vi LIST OF ABBREVIATION vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study 1 Research questions Objectives of the study 3 Significance of the study Scope of study Structure of the study CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Importance of phonetics 2.2 On phonetics 2.3 Mother tongue influence in L2 learning 2.4 Factors affecting the learning of phonetics 10 2.5 Teaching English phonetics in Lao 14 2.6 The solution to improve their phonetics problems 15 2.7 Learning outcome 17 2.8 Chapter summary 17 CHAPTER III 18 METHODOLOGY 18 3.1 Research approach 18 3.2 Participants of the study 19 3.3 Data collection 19 3.3.1 Test 19 3.2.2 Questionnaire 20 3.2.3 Interview 20 3.4 Data collection procedure 20 3.5 Data Analysis 21 3.6 Summary 21 iv CHAPTER IV 22 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 22 4.1 Introduction 22 4.2 Current situations 22 CHAPTER V 37 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 37 5.1 Conclusions 37 5.1.1 The difficulties facing English first year students in speaking to different English phonetics symbols in terms of pronunciation 37 5.1.2 The difficulties facing English first year students in recognizing the differences in Phonetics symbol of these pairs s-z; f-v; u-u:; sh-s 37 5.1.3 The lesson for helping students who are weak at phonetics symbols 38 5.2 Implications and suggestions 38 5.2.1 For EFL students 38 5.2.2 For teachers 41 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further research 41 REFERENCES 43 APPENDICES 47 APPENDIX 47 TEST …………………………………………………………………………………….47 APPENDIX 50 QUESTIONNAIRES 50 APPENDIX 54 INTERVIEW 54 v LIST OF CHARTS Chart 4.2.1: Students‟ opinions about teaching pronunciation in class 22 Chart 4.2.2: Students rate their pronunciation 23 Chart4.5: Students‟ opinions about speaking in class 24 Chart 4.6.1: The importance of pronunciation to first year students of English at SKU 27 Chart4.7.1.: Students‟ opinions about their English pronunciation 28 Chart4.7.2: Aspects in English phonetics that the participants consider difficulty 29 Chart4.7.3: Difficulty in phonetic sub-features facing students at SKU 30 Chart 4.7.4: Aspects in English phonetics that the participate pay more attention to 30 Chart4.7.5: Aspects of pronunciation students learn in class 31 Chart 4.8: the most difficult sounds to recognize for first year English students at SKU 32 Chart4.10.1: How should phonetics is learned in class? 34 Chart4.11: Strategies to cope with phonetic problems 35 Chart4.12: How students improve their pronunciation 36 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATION EFL : English as a Foreign Language EIL : English as an International Language VIP : Very Important Person IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet ETA : English Teaching Assistant ELI : English Language Institute RP : Received Pronunciation GAE : General American English N : Number % : Percentage SPSS : Statistical Package for the Social Science vii Below are some strategies to help a shy student be comfortable in their classroom and facilitate participation “Set some ground rules” Rules define a student‟s behavior in the classroom Rules that necessitate equal participation in class activities, talking in turns, listening without interruption give structure to the student Also, rules that prevent negative actions like bullying, taunting, negative comments, etc are a first step towards creating a safe classroom for shy students You can also have a small talk to make students understand that each one is unique and different in characters It will help to portray “shyness” in a different light and make students more accepting of each other On the other hand, teachers should build a rapport with students to develop a trusting relation Students should have the confidence to confide in you Have frequent conversations with them, as it will improve their comfort and skill in communicating and interacting with others Besides that, “Classroom arrangements” can also work It is preferable to seat shy students near the front of the class This allows you to be closer, initiate and maintain eye contact and communicate freely with them The seating has the added advantage that, the student may be more willing to open up and answer as they are less aware of the other students around them Teacher can also have them sit next to a student who is friendly and helpful, so as to nudge them into a little social interaction in other ways, “Groups” When grouping students, start with small groups and avoid pairing shy students with dominant students, as this may cause overshadowing of the shy student Give specific roles to the members so that they are encouraged to contribute to the activity You can also have the same group for different activities as this promotes familiarity and the student will be more willing to actively participate in the group As their confidence in peer interaction improves, you can gradually introduce them to a bigger group All in all, teacher can “Use positive reinforcements” Reward every small step taken by the student using positive reinforcements Use an encouraging tone when asking for an answer, comment and display their works so that the students are given an opportunity to be confident of their abilities Be sure to not overly criticize them for any wrongdoing, as this will once again drive them back to their shell For the last but not least teacher can let students “Develop interpersonal skills” You can teach your student various conversation openers to help them interact Interactive games, icebreakers 40 and paired activities (students have to learn two new things about each other) can also help facilitate interaction These students can also be assigned as a study buddy or a mentor for a younger student to encourage interaction and also teacher can “Include class activities” You can involve them in class discussions through the use of strategies like the use of a talking baton, row answering (each student in the row is asked a question one by one) etc This takes away the element of surprise and students can be mentally prepared to be called on 5.2.2 For teachers Being English teachers at Savannakhet University, Faculty of Linguistics, English Department, when identifying students‟ difficulties in speaking comprehension, they could find out some suitable ways to help students overcome those difficulties Teaching some techniques and tips in speaking English or providing some activities to enrich students‟ vocabulary or encouraging students to take part in international social activities are among their suggestions To fix students‟ problems of the different in pronunciation and in phonetics among those English speaking, teachers can show some videos performing various accents of English to help students recognize the dissimilarities between those English accents Besides, teachers should design some suitable activities or games Moreover, by holding an English club and inviting some foreigners to join, teachers also lend a hand students to practice speaking and listening to the several accents of English Additionally, inspiring students in self-study is a good way to improve their speaking skills through Internet, films or YouTube As a final point, teachers are supposed to encourage students in being as English native students in English native country and communicating with foreigners who are native speaker 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further research Using audio tapes of different accents for students to identify should be included in the process of data collection Besides, if I had opportunities, I would interview English teaching Assistant (ETA) and English language institute (ELI) teachers who teach in English Department to accumulate their opinions toward this study and to discover more useful solutions for English first year students at SKU in distinguishing various regional accents of English pronunciation or phonetics symbols 41 For further research, more accents of phonetics symbols should be selected so that a comprehensive insight into the diversity of English language can be obtained 42 REFERENCES Ahmadi, A & Bajelani, M.R (2012) Barriers to English for specific purposes learning among Iranian Univerity Students Precedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, 47, 792-796 Avery, P & Ehrlich S (1992) Teaching American English Pronunciation New York, NY: Oxford University Press Attapol.k (2010) Teaching English speaking and English speaking Tests in Thai Context: A refection from Thai perspective English Language Teaching, 3(1), 184-190 Barros, A (2003) Pronunciation Difficulties in the Consonant System Experienced by Arabic Speakers When Learning English after the Age of Puberty Unpublished M.A Thesis, West Virginia University, 2003.http://etd.wvu.edu/ETDS/E2937/Barros_Ana_Marina_thesis.pdf; visited 15, 9, 2003) Bernaus, M., Masgoret, A., Gardner, R., & Reyes, E (2004) Motivation and attitudes towards learning language in multicultural classrooms International Journal of Multilingualism, 1(2), 75-89 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14790710408668180 Bley-Vroman R (1989) What is the logical problem of foreign language learning? In S.Gass and J Schachter (eds) Linguistic perspectives on second language acquisition Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 41-68 Brown, J D., & Rodgers, T S (2002) Doing second language research Oxford: Oxford University Press Celce-Murcia, M., & Brinton, D M., & Goodwin (1996) Teaching pronunciation: A reference for teachers of English to speakers of other languages Cambridge University Press Cook (2016) Basing teaching on the L2 user V Cook Non-native language teachers, 47-61, Performance and competence in second language acquisition, 57, 1996 103, 1996 Florez, M C (1998) Improving adult ESL learners’ pronunciation skills 43 ERIC Digest Retrieved December 12, 2005, from www.cal.org/caela/digests/ Pronun.html Fraser, H (2002) Change, challenge and opportunity in pronunciation and Oralcommunication Plenary Address at English Australia Conference, Canberra, October 2002 Retrieved December 28, 2006, from http://wwwpersonal une.edu.au/~hfraser/documents/HFChangeChallengeOpp.pdf Fraser, H (2000a) Coordinating improvements in pronunciation teaching for adultlearners of English as a second language Canberra: DETYA (Australia National Training Authority Adult Literacy Project) Retrieved October 31, 2004, from http://wwwpersonal.une.edu.au/~hfraser/docs/HF_ANTA_REPORT.pdf Greenhalgh, T (2006) How to read a paper: the basics of evidence-based medicine, 3rd ed Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Hismanoglu, M (2006) Current Perspectives on Pronunciation Learning and Teaching Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 2(1), 101-110 Hornby, A.S (1995) Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary Oxford: Oxford University Press Kuỗ, A (2008) Problematic Consonant Sounds for Young Learners at JaleTezer College An Unpublished M.A Thesis, Hacettepe University, the Institute of Social Science Lambacher, S (1999) A CALL tool for improving second language acquisition of English consonants by Japanese learners Computer Assisted Language Learning, 12(2):137-156 http://dx.doi.org/10.1076/call.12.2.137.5722 Lenneberg, E H (1967) The geological foundations of language New York: John Wiley and Sons Luu, Tr T (2011) Vietnamese EFL learners‟ Diffiulties with English 44 Consonants.Studies in Literature and Language, 3(2) 56-67 Retrieved from http://www.cscanada.net/index.php/sll/article/viewFile/j.sll.19231563201103 02.434/1995 McCarthy, M (1991) Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers London: Cambridge University Moyer, A (2007) Do language attitudes determine accent? A study of bilinguals in the USA Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 28(6), 502-518 http://dx.doi.org/10.2167/jmmd514.0 Morse, J M (ed) (1991) Qualitative Nursing Research: A Contemorary Dialogue Newbury Park, Sage Nilsen, L F., &Nilsen, A.P (2002) Pronunciation contrast in English Waveland Pr Inc O‟Connor, J D (1980) Better English Pronunciation 2nd edition Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity Press p.150 Shumin, K (1997) Factors to consider: developing adult EFL students’ speaking abilities Forum 25 (3), Somali: A language of Somalia (n.d.) Ethnologue report for language code; SOM Retrieved June 10, 2004, from http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=SOM Somalis Their history and culture (n.d.) Refugee Fact Sheet No Retrieved February 13, 2006 from www.culturalorientation.net Shively, R L (2008) L2 acquisition of [β], [δ], and [γ] in Spanish: Impact of experience, linguistic environment and learner variables Southwest Journal of Linguistics, 27(2), 79-114 Sparks, R., & Ganschow, L (1991) Foreign language learning differences: Affective or native language aptitude difference The Modern Language Journal, 75 (1), 3-16 http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/329830 Swan, M., & Smith, B (2001) Learner English: A teacher's guide to interference and other problems Cambridge: Cambridge Roach, P (2000) English Phonetics and Phonology London: Cambridge University Press 45 Thanasoulas, D (2003) Pronunciation: The Cinderella of Language Teaching University Press (http://www.developingteachers.com/articles_tchtraining/pronpf_dimitrios.h tm; visited, 15, 10) Tielabs (2017) Improving your English language and pronunciation skills Elemental English Copyright Torras M.R., E Tragant and M.L García (1997) Croyances populaires sur l‟apprentissageprécoce d‟une langue étrangère In C Muñoz, L Nussbaum and M Pujol (eds), Acquisition et interaction en langue étrangère 10: 127-158 Ton,N.N.H., & Pham, H (2010) Vietnamese teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions of global English Language Education in Asia, 1, 48-61 Wong, R (1993) Pronunciation Myths and Facts Forum, 31, No 4, 45–46 ຂໍ້ຉ຺ກລ຺ຄວ່າຈ້ວງມາຈຉະຊາຌຫົັກສູຈ຾ຫ່ຄຆາຈລະຈັຍ ຬາຌຸຎະລິຌງາ, ລະຈັຍຎະລິຌງາຉີ ຽລກ຋ີ່ 4127/ສສ.ຆສ/2011 ຌະ຃ຬຌຫົວຄວຼຄ຅ັຌ 03/ 10/ 2011 (Remark of Post graduate‟s national, Bachelor No 4127/ສສ.ຆສ/2011 Vientaine Capital 03/ 10/ 2011) 46 APPENDICES APPENDIX TEST Read each sentence and answer as much as you can I want to know how you think about speaking English words What the problem of the phonetic that you faced with in the class? Name: …………………………………… I Do you pronounce basic English words correctly? Take this short test to find out! You will get point for each correct answer Are son and sun pronounced in the same way? a Yes b no Does basic have an s or z sound? a S b z Are where and were pronounced in the same way? a Yes b no Does of have an f sound or a v sound? a Yes b No Are Plus and put pronounced the same way? a Yes b No Is any pronounced like penny? a Yes b No Which word sound /I/? 47 a Live b leave which word sounds /u/ a bush b flush Which word sound /i:/ a Knee b per 10 Are shoes and wash pronounced in the same consonant sound? a Yes b No I Write your favorite short vowel word for each vowel point per each A ………………, O ………………, u ……………… E ………………., I …………………… II Circle the word in each set that starts with a short (i) sound (1o points) image island ignore ice ill iron issue ideally kiss kiwi twitch polite height flick smile grits knight spill 10 rise III swift write the phonetic symbols in each sound in the blond italic letter ( 10 points) Example: Meet /i:/ wash / shoes / / / 48 seat / / flower / / garage / / zoo / / try / / watch / kiss / 10 knock / IV / / / Write the word for each phonetic symbol ( points) Example: /fri:/ = free /gɑːbidʒ/ …………… /fri:z/ ………… /kætʃ/ ……… /ɒrindʒ/……… /ʃugə(r)/……… 49 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRES I‟m interested in phonetics The way how to correctly say or pronounce English consonant sounds /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/ and /dʒ/; and the pairs of vowels /I/, /i:/ and /e/ and /æ/ is very important, but it is difficult Therefore, I want to know how my students think about phonetics Read the sentences and decide whether it describe what you think about phonetic? There are not right or wrong answers I want to know how you think about the pronunciation of those English words What are the problems of the phonetics that you face with in class? Please tick () “Yes” or “No” to each item listed below No Questions Answers percentage s How often you speak English in the class? a Rarely b Sometimes c Usually d Often e always Do you think pronunciation is difficult to pronounce? a Yes b No What aspect in English pronunciation you find difficulty? a Pronunciation b Vocabulary c Speech habits 50 d Silent letter e Stressed and unstressed syllable When you find a difficult word to speak out what will you do? a Look up in the dictionary for phonetic symbols b Look for another word c Write it down for the teacher/ listener to see it in writing d don‟t be afraid to speak out In speaking class, how often you think you pronounce English words in a correct way? a Rarely b Sometimes c usually d Often e always Please list other languages taken in high school How many types of syllables are there? What aspect in pronunciation you pay more attentions? a sounds b stress pattern c intonation d phonetic symbol In your opinion, how should pronunciation be learnt? a Individually b in group 51 c both in group and individually d whole class How have you improved your pronunciation? a Have regular conversations with people 1o b Not be afraid of mistake c speak out in the class and get feed back What aspect of pronunciation have you studied in the class? a Phonetic symbols and sound practice 11 b Stress pattern c Linking words d Drill e Intonations Which sound you find the most difficult to recognize to accumulate? a /ʃ/ 12 b /ʒ/ c /tʃ/ d /dʒ/ Which of the following item you think is difficult in speaking class? a Stress 13 b Consonant cluster c Short Vowels d Long vowels e Intonation Do you have phonetic class? If yes, how many 14 hours per week? What factors influence your 52 English pronunciation most? 15 a Speaking b Listening c Reading test around Do you have speech training? If yes, how much 16 per year/per week? How important is it for your English Pronunciation to sound natural? a The most important 17 b Very important c Important d Rarely important e Never important 18 On a scale of – 10 how would you rate your pronunciation?(1 = low; 10 = high) 19 What course books you study in pronunciation class? “Foreign language pronunciation cannot be taught in a classroom, only learnt outside it” – How much you agree with this statement a Always 20 b Often c Sometimes d Rarely e never 53 APPENDIX INTERVIEW (For English teachers and Students) Why you think most students have made mistake in pronouncing these pairs s-z; f-v; u-u:;sh-s? Can you recognize the difference? Explain Why are students bad at phonetics symbols? Have you had any lesson for this? Why students only “sometimes” speak in the class? Why is pronunciation difficult? Thank you for your cooperation! 54