Luận văn thạc sĩ Luật học: Những thách thức trong phát âm của sinh viên chuyên ngành Tiếng Anh Trường Đại học Luật Hà Nội khi học kỹ năng nói tiếng Anh

For that reason, I chose the topic “The significance of Pronunciation inimproving English speaking skills for English - major students at Hanoi Law University” to study and present for m

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN BINH XUAN

BỘ TƯ PHÁP BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC LUẬT HÀ NỘI

NGUYEN BÌNH XUAN

443006

KHOA LUAN TOT NGHIEP

Những thách thức trong việc hoc phat âm ma sinh viên chuyên ngành ngôn ngữ anh ở trường Dai học Luật Ha Nội

phải doi mặt khi học kỹ năng nói.

GIẢNG VIÊN HƯỚNG DAN:

Th.S Nguyễn Thị Hường

Hà Nội - 2023

I hereby state that I am Nguyen Binh Xuan, being a candidate for the degree

of Bachelor ofA, accept the University requirementsity relating to the retention anduse of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in

the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in

accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan

or reproduction of the paper

April 4", 2023 Supervisor Student

Nguyen Thi Huong, MA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSFirst of all, I would like to express my sincere gratefulness towards my

supervisor, Ms Nguyen Thi Huong, MA for her support towards my research with

her great patience, profound insight and experience Ms Huong has been veryattentive to me and guided me through the difficulties I have in the process of writingthis thesis

Besides my supervisor, my sincere thanks go to all the Members of the ThesisCommittee, the lecturers who work hard to evaluate this research of mine, give

insightful comments and questions, as well as provide me with detailed feedback tohelp my future studies I am deeply grateful that the University creates such

opportunity for me to enhance my writing and research skills Via this activity, I and

other students shall gain a variety of useful knowledge and experience for our futurecareers Last but not least, I am particularly grateful for my family members andclose friends who have been supportive and caring throughout the journey with theirunconditional love, understanding and kindness I thank my fellow K4429 andK4430 classmates for the tremendous amount of advice and cooperation to support

me in the writing and survey process In particular, I would like to thank the freshmen

and sophomores of Falcuty of Legal Foreign Languages at HLU for their enthusiasm

in participating in the survey and for their contributions to the completion of this

research

il

ABSTRACTLearning languages is not an easy task There are many things to consider, like

difficult grammar rules, and extra vocabulary Having difficulty speaking andpronouncing words properly is a common problem for many English language

students For that reason, I chose the topic “The significance of Pronunciation inimproving English speaking skills for English - major students at Hanoi Law

University” to study and present for my graduation paper

The study attempts to investigate the significance of pronunciation in

improving English speaking skills for English - majored students at Hanoi LawUniversity, find out the difficulties of students in pronunciation, and give someeffective solutions to deal with those

For the objectives, about 60 English — majored students in 2 courses at HN

law university were invited to participate in this study They were asked to do asurvey questionnaire which help to identify the problems in pronunciation and theirattitude about the importance of pronunciation in English speaking skills

Through the study, I found that most English majors at HLU are quiteconfident with their pronunciation However, there are still a large number of

students who have not really pronounced correctly nor really have a suitable method

to improve pronunciation In addition, some suggestions were proposed to help

students solve these problems and enhance their English-speaking skills

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

HLU Hanoi Law university

Ll first languageL2 second language

IV

TABLE OF CONTENTSDECLAIRA TIƠNNG G0 cọ cọ TH Họ Họ 0 0 000000001000 iACKNOWLEDGEMENT S aicsssssssecssssssvsvsncsascessssvsstesvansesonsswessccssscencssonvasseesssvonsionss iiALS DRA CT nuơnnerttdistatirtetavgviiginiitetotiptotlinitipAiGĐ1016010140.001001039800400010000101461003ĐN1300G00/310001/615% iiiLIST OF ABBREVIATIONS wssssenssscensssapssssnscenndsanansssnnsisnnssennnscanns toandsnseascavansienosnse ivTABLE OF GON TIỀN LS®isssvccsssnssgesscgumpgsnsasgepocnesvexened nggeverscanvtaceverssvecaneonesevins VLIST OF FIGURES/ TABLES 5-5 55 << 5 5 9 9 9v 0v 9 009800996 ViiiINTRODUCZTIORE.S n an ^ e 1

1 Rationale of the SẦUCỈY c 055 <5 5 5 99.9 9 990.9 000000000000 00880906 1

2 Airmns Of Tentiiiy 2

3 RcscaPeh qg Hon s ự 24.Scobe OF GH sim .Ầ 3iti om oY A | a ee oe 3

6 Organization Of the SÍUY 0555 5 5 5 59 9 09.0000 00008008 06 3CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEWW cccc co c n2 0001011120 1996661520888665650660856 61.1 Definition Of DFORUTICÏ3ÏOIN o5 << G 5 5 55 9 9999999 9 8996095605 880906 61.2 Problems faced by students when learning pronunciafion 91.2.1, Wilh aly si knisi 00c nan ss.cnccc ou P, Ả JẾ Ẻ 91.2.2 What students Can Say .- - - c 1211112911111 1111118111118 11 ng nv nrry 10

1.2.4 English pronunciation €TTOTS + +23 1333 EESEEEexeeeererreerreres II1.3 Factors causing the problems in learning pronunciation 131.3.1 Mother tongue interference (c1 3221113211113 1111111511111 xxre 131.3.2 Sound system differences between L1 and L2 - «++>+-<+ 14

13.3 Ineonsisteney of Bavclish, WOW Stuns: uanaannnaugia coasasmasansas umnnscoxacaawns Là8g4:206 15

1.3.4 Influence of spelling on pronunciation - -‹‹-s-sss+<sss++se++sesss 151.4 The importance of pronunciation in speaking English 16

1.5 SUMMALY secessssscnsosceenssnesssesssserssnevensesevsssnsuscasnsevavseevessveresusceseraseoseraseocersnvesess 18CHAPTER 2: METHODOLUOY o 5 - << 55s 9 9 1 008.5000908 192.1, Populations! Participants sai coineeieeecaeinigiiikeisiisia600001660591056035900001216365659506 19Pods Data, POMS CHO TIFUGEDHEESxseseseenenororrovekoitdexteniiDioivotSAnEEESID001001015009M100S.9)2NSX5010009408 19Date LVR BAVA CN nhàn go t2 bãi 2kG123148%k555u653195E58:8.434kbs33Ebä90S90485083002588u254651554858189g558ã 20Jef: TU TTTHNTOYSessaaxeosffSroaeernosexkVgitaĐBBES8090C56111011E5Ẩ agg cài trgi080061364010000010 60604006508 21CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION o SG S55 233.1 Rescapch ñufssi 7 <£ « 23

3.1.1 Reality of pronunciation practice time of students majoring in English at

Ce | -— ———— ee oo, ẻ 243.1.2 Attitudes of students majoring in English at HLU about the importance ofpronunciation for improving speaking skIÏÌS 5s + ++<££++sxs++eeesss 293.1.2.1 The difficult areas of English pronunciation «<5 5 << ss£+sss++ 29

3.1.2.2 Attitudes of students majoring in English at HLU about the importance

of pronunciation for improving speaking SKIS «sss«<<<s£+ssxs+sss+ 303.1.3 Challenges that students majoring in English at HLU have faced whenlearning 0491100151612151905 2222222277 363.2 Discussion about the significance of pronunciation in improving EnglishSPeaking SÌKÏÌÌS <5 5 9 9.9 9.0 00 0 0.00000090660001 06 44CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS .cssssscosssosscscstocssocsscssscsestecssoessoescens 464.1 Some suggested solutions help freshmen and sophomores English —majored students at HLU improve their English pronunciation 464.1.1 Practice hearing the sounds of English ‹ «+++<s+s++s+ss+2 464.1.2 Pay attention to word and sentence Sfr€SS «5+ +++5<s+s++ssss2 474.1.3 Practice linking sounds together and connected speech 48

4.1.4 Read out loud and recording . - ¿+ 2+1 * 3+ E++ee+eeereeeereess 50

4.2 Recommendations for future r€s€aFCH 5 << 555 <<< se sseeese 52

vi

CONCLUSION scceceerrrenienriernrirdrriinnnioiianiiaiEiESEAGEEIAEESLESSEEEESEISEESXSE-E16200756555 54

1 Implication Of the SÍUỦY co G5 5 5 55 99 0 0009090008086 54

2 Limitations 0Ÿ The Study sissies sscsssscsconssssovessseeccnnsssensssusurecsnsavessssrovssesvensssvensaes 55

2, COCO CE TE SEY nueereesseetertiterotrowetoevtotinofitoit02903800000191510029505M900M48001000986 56FREE EARS EUG Ei sats casa aaacniniainaa sanbakiwhasagenesa gb cnghs 0100 48ã866403ả115164815Ek048D6Li8k2%81ãk60138258802346 58APPENDIX csssscuncocsncsonygetliavensnesncnennggecaggemmesonasupgsssvccavsonel Muggs usnsvensenssunnsvesnavenssesnaes 60

LIST OF FIGURES/ TABLESFigure 3.1 Chart of Participants’ Gender -‹ 23

Figure 3.2 The native place of survey participants 24

Table 1 Frequency of English pronunciation practice by students majoring in „8English at HLU nnn ene eee eee eens SE kheFigure 3.3 Confidence level in English pronunciation 26Figure 3.4 The difficult areas of English pronuncIation 29Table 2 Attitudes about the importance of pronunciation for improving English

Skllls , / = ft lll ee a * À "

Figure 3.5 IPA's necessary for correct pronunciation 32Table 3 The challenges in studying pronunciation a7

vill

1 Rationale of the study

In recent years, English has become a global language in the world andVietnam as well Speaking is considered an important English skill and essential

to human communication Nowadays, there are more than 50 countries around the

world use English to communicate Being capable of speaking English, we can

talk with anyone without any difficulty Moreover, learning to speak English is a

good way to upgrade yourself so you can assimilate into a new era of globalization

Therefore, English plays an important role in the Education sector as one of themain subjects in many schools in Vietnam This shows the importance of English

in all fields of economy, culture, society, etc

However, it is not easy for all students to be good at speaking English major

students at Hanoi Law University (HLU), especially freshmen, must overcomemany difficulties in learning and practicing English speaking skills A sad fact isthat Vietnamese young people are learning English as a formal subject at school

are but almost still express to be of lack self when communicating with foreigners

In high school, they generally focus on learning grammar, reading, and writing,maybe a little listening and speaking Learning environments in high school withrepetitive and boring lessons, without exciting activities prevent students frompracticing and improving their English They don’t get effective results in learning

to speak in university because lack of practice environment, fear of mistakes andold teaching methods from high school Meanwhile, English communication,which requires much speaking, is getting more and more important in the future

In the hope of finding out the difficulties of speaking that English majorfreshmen normally get, a study entitled “The challenges in pronunciation faced by

english — majored students at Hanoi Law university when learning english

-speaking skills” has been created because of all above mentioned reasons This

study will research the difficulty in pronouncing words of English major students

at HLU and provide them some effective methods to improve their speaking skill

I really hope this study could help English major students at HLU in general and

our English major, in particular, to identify the importance of pronunciation inspeaking English, rising attitude in practicing speaking English on the daily basis

and improve their English skills

2 Aims of the study

Initially, this study is an attempt to investigate the attitudes of the students

at course 46, 47 at HLU towards the importance of English pronunciation

Secondly, this study finds out the most common pronunciation errors made

by English — major students of HLU, then figure out some challenges faced bythem during their studying English pronunciation, their habits to study Englishpronunciation

Third, by pointing out the challenges faced by language majors, the author

points out the importance of being good at pronunciation in learning the speaking

skills of language majors at HLU

Finally, researcher give some solutions and suggestions to help them step

by step learning English pronunciation so that they can improve their speakingskills

I really hope that this study can truly help English - major students at HLUimprove their speaking skill; be confident to communicate with foreigners inEnglish and study Legal English better

3 Research questions

3.1 How are attitudes of English — major students at HLU toward theimportance of pronunciation in improving English speaking skills?

3.2 What are the challenges in pronunciation faced by students at faculty

of Legal foreign language at HLU?

4 Scope of the study

This study is about the challeges in pronunciation when learning Englishspeaking skill for 60 English - majored students at HLU Because of the limitations

of time and knowledge, the lack of reference material, this study cannot cover the

whole category of speaking skill Furthermore, the study cannot touch upon all the

students at HLU It is confined to English - majored of 2 courses: 46,47 at Faculty

of Legal foreign languages Based on the study, I could find out the reality oflearning English pronunciation to them in order to draw experiences and learning

methods for themselves in particular as well as for students to improve English

speaking skills

5 Methods of the study

A quantitative method was applied to carry out this study Also, analysismethod is used to finalize the difficulties faced by the English — majored students

at faculty of English in terms of their attitudes, language and cultural knowledgewhen joining in everyday conversation Statistic technique is also applied tocalculate the results collected from survey questionnaire to figure out somespecific problems and solutions to the students

The survey was broadened and make in detail from their experiences to suggestappropriate methods to help them learn speaking more effectively Informationand evidence from friends, books, and internet about speaking skill were searched

for my survey questionnaire to understand this study deeper An important part ofthis study refers to ideas from Ms Nguyen Thi Huong who has been helping me

to complete this study

6 Organization of the study

The study includes 3 main parts organize as follows:

- INTRODUCTION

In this part, rationale, aims, methods, scope, and design of the study wereprovided to introduce and to become basic for next chapter Theoretical backdrop

about English pronunciation, ending sound and other errors will be presented insecond

- DEVELOPMENT

o Chapter I: Literature review

Theoretical background provides the definition of English pronunciation its

importance and some opinions of pronunciation errors Consonants and intonation

are also presented in this chapter

o Chapter 3: Findings and discussion

Basing on the data collection from the survey questionnaire, the issues will

be analyzed in depth in order to provide realistic information about ending soundmistakes, intonation mistakes of English major students in English speaking skill.This chapter also is about some suggestions to avoid students’ pronunciation

problems which are mentioned above and solutions in order to help them have

good pronunciation and study English speaking better

The analysis of the questionnaire also helped the author to know the

students' attitude towards the importance of pronunciation in speaking practice as

well as the frequency of their pronunciation practice The difficulties and

challenges that each student faces as well as how they overcome those difficulties

will also be analyzed in this chapter

o Chapter 4: Recommendations

This chapter includes some suggestions for futures study related to thistopic.

- CONCLUSION:

In this section, the author gives solutions for English — majored studentssolve the problems in pronunciation At the same time, the limitations of the

research paper due to subjective and objective causes are also given Finally, a

summary of all information in this research paper is also given for readers to havethe most concise overview of the author's research topic

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEWThe aim of this chapter is to review theoretical background which related topronouncing, English ending sound errors, intonation mistakes Basic knowledge

will be provided in order to help English major students consolidate their

knowledge and master in English speaking skill

1.1 Definition of pronunciation

English pronunciation is one of the most difficult skills to acquire and

learners should spend lots of time to improve their pronunciation (Aliaga Garcia,

2007!; Martinez-Flor et al 2006; Pourhosein Gilakjani, 20162) Understandablepronunciation is one of the basic requirements of learners’ competence and it is

also one of the most important features of language instruction Good

pronunciation leads to learning while bad pronunciation promotes to greatdifficulties in language learning (Pourhosein Gilakjani, 2012)

To every English learner, the first thing they need to learn is pronunciation

They have to know how to pronounce a word exactly before they learn the other

things, so what is pronunciation?

Pronunciation, in a most inclusive sense, the form in which the elementary

symbols of language, the segmental phonemes or speech sounds, appear and are

arranged in patterns of pitch, loudness, and duration In the simplest model ofthe communication process in language—encoding, message, decoding—pronunciation is an activity, shaping the output of the encoding stage, and a state,the external appearance of the message and input to the decoding stage It 1s what

the speaker does and what the hearer perceives and, so far as evaluation is called

for, judges It is so basic to language that it has to be considered in any general

discussion of the topic

! Aliaga Garcia, C (2007) The role of phonetic training in L2 speech learning Proceedings of the phonetics teaching and learning conference (PTLC2007), University College, London.

? Pourhosein Gilakjani, A (2016) What factors influence the English pronunciation of EFL earners? Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)

Cook (1996 as cited in Pourhosein Gilakjani, 2016) defined pronunciation

as the production of English sounds Pronunciation is learnt by repeating sounds

and correcting them when produced inaccurately When learners start learningpronunciation, they make new habits and overcome the difficulties resulting from

the first language According to Yates (2002 as cited in Pourhosein Gilakjani,

2016), pronunciation is the production of sounds that is used for making meaning

Pronunciation is the production of a sound system which doesn't interfere withcommunication either from the speakers’ or the listeners’ viewpoint (Paulston &Burder, 1976) Pronunciation is the way of uttering a word in an accepted manner (Otlowski, 1998*) Furthermore, Richard and Schmidt (2002) definedpronunciation as the method of producing certain sounds

Yates and Zelinski in Hasan (2014:31) state that pronunciation refers to how

we produce the sound that we use to make meaning when we speak It includes

the particular consonants and vowels of a language (segments), aspects of speech

beyond the level of individual segments, such as stress, timing, rhythm, intonation,

phrasing (suprasegmental aspects) and how the voice is projected (voice quality)

Gilakjani (2012:119) assumes that pronunciation is a set of habits of

producing sounds The habit of producing a sound is acquired by repeating it over

and over again by being corrected when it is pronounced wrongly On the otherhand, Dalton in Hassan (2014:32) defines the pronunciation as production of asignificant sound which 1s used as a part of a code of particular language and toachieve meaning in the context of use

Pronunciation is the most important thing that we have to master.Otherwise, people cannot receive the message we say Pronunciation is the sound

of the language, or phonology; stress and rhythm; and intonation and includes the

3 Paulston, C B., & Burder, M N (1976) Teaching English as a second language Techniques and procedures Cambridge: Winthrop Puplishers, Inc.

4 Otlowski, M (1998) Pronunciation: What are the expectations? the internet TESL journal 5(1) Retrieved From June 26, 2016, from: http://www iteslj.org./ Article / Otlowski poronunciation.html.

role of individual sounds and segmental and supra segmental sound (Penny Ur

(2001)°, Jack C Richard (2002).

Pronunciation is the way words are spoken Sometimes you can tell wheresomeone is from by their pronunciation of certain words Pronunciation is one of

the hardest parts of learning a new language

Reading a language and speaking it are two very different things In English, thepronunciation of some words varies, depending on where people are saying them

For example, Americans say “tomato” and the Brits say “tamahto” The wordpronunciation comes from the difficult — to — pronounce Latin rootpronuntiationem, which means “act of speaking” or “a proclamation”

In the AMEP (Adult Migrant English Program) Fact sheets:

“Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning Itincludes attention to the particular sounds of a language (segments), aspects ofspeech beyond the level of the individual sound, such as intonation, phrasing,stress, timing, rhythm (suprasegmental aspects), how the voice is projected (voicequality) and, in its broadest definition, attention to gestures and expressions thatare closely related to the way we speak a language Each of these aspects ofpronunciation is briefly outlined below, and references for further study aresuggested.”

There are so many different definitions of pronunciation, this is one whicheasier to understand: "Pronunciation" refers to the way in which we makethe sound of words

> Ur, P (2000) A course in language teaching: practice and theory Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

5 https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/amep-subsite/Files/amep-learn-english-for-free-factsheet.pdf

7 Funded by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs through the AMEP Special

Project Research Program

To pronounce words, we push air from our lungs up through our throat and

vocal cords, through our mouth, past our tongue and out between our teeth and

lips (Sometimes air also travels through our nose.)

To change the sound that we are making, we mainly use the muscles of our

mouth, tongue, and lips to control the shape of our mouth and the flow of air If

we can control the shape of our mouth and the flow of air correctly, then our

pronunciation is clearer and other people understand us more easily

As well as creating correct vowel and consonant sounds using the muscles

of our mouth, tongue and lips, there are other important aspects of pronunciation,

including:

© word stress - emphasis on certain syllables in a word

© sentence stress - emphasis on certain words in a sentence

o linking - joining certain words together

o intonation - the rise and fall of our voice as we speak

From the explanation previously, the researcher concludes thatpronunciation is the way person utters a word or language

1.2 Problems faced by students when learning pronunciation

Harmer (2007:249°) explained that some problems are much pronunciationteaching and learning; those are:

1.2.1 What students can hear

Some students have great difficulty in hearing pronunciation features whichwant to reproduce Frequently, speakers of different first language have problemswith different sounds There are two ways of dealing with this The first place, theteacher can show students how sounds are made through demonstrations,diagrams, and explanations The teacher can also draw the sounds to their attentionevery time they appear on a recording or in conversation In this way, the teacher

8 Harmer, J (2001) The practice of English language teaching London: Longman

gradually trains the students’ ears When the students can hear correctly, they are

on the way to be able to speak correctly

1.2.2 What students can say

All babies are born with the ability to make the whole range of soundsavailable to human beings But as the students grow and focus on one or two

languages, the students lose the habit of making some of those sounds Learning a

foreign language often presents the students with the problem of physicalunfamiliarity To counter this problem, the teacher needs to be able to show and

explain exactly where sounds are produced (e.g, where is the tongue in relation to

the teeth? What is the shape of the lips when making a certain vowel?)

1.2.3 Intonation problems

For many teachers the most problematic area of pronunciation is intonation

Some of people (and many of students) find it extremely difficult to hear ‘tunes’

or to identify the different patterns of raising and falling tones In such situation,

it would be foolish to try to teach the students

This research attempts to identify the problem relates students’

pronunciation, so it deals with how students produce sounds

Intonation can be a challenging aspect of pronunciation for students tomaster, particularly for non-native English speakers Here are a few problems that

students commonly face when learning intonation:

- Incorrect word stress: English is a stress-timed language, meaning that speakersuse stress and rhythm to give emphasis to certain words in a sentence If studentsplace stress on the wrong word, they can change the entire meaning of a sentence

- Monotone speech: Some students may struggle to vary the pitch of their voice asthey speak, leading to a monotone speech pattern This can make it difficult forlisteners to follow and understand the intended meaning of the speaker

10

- Inappropriate intonation patterns: Intonation can convey different emotions,

such as happiness, sadness, surprise, or incredulity If students do not use

appropriate intonation patterns, they may convey unintended emotions and affect

the communication of their message

- Regional accent: Depending on the students’ native language or regional

background, they may have a natural accent or intonation pattern that can make it

difficult to adopt correct English pronunciation and intonation

- Limited exposure: Students may have limited exposure to authentic Englishspeech, particularly if they are studying in a non-English-speaking environment

Without regular exposure to natural intonation patterns, students may struggle to

develop accurate intonation skills

To overcome these challenges, students need to practice intonation through

listening to authentic English speech, practicing with a teacher or tutor, and

receiving feedback on their pronunciation It's also helpful for students to learn

about the variations in English intonation patterns that can convey differentmeanings and emotions With consistent practice and feedback, students canimprove their intonation and become more effective communicators in English

1.2.4 English pronunciation errors

Hornby (1987)? states that the error is something done wrong or condition

of being wrong in beliefs or conduct The term error also means the flawed side oflearners’ speech or writing According to Nguyen (2007)", errors in pronunciationare defined as “variants of pronunciation which prevents one communicator fromunderstanding the propositional content of the other’s utterances” According tothe process of learning language, every English learner would make pronunciation

? A.S Hornby, Oxford Advanced Learn’s Dictionary of Current English, London : Oxport University Press, 1987.

10 Nguyen, T.T.T, Difficulties for Vietnamese when pronouncing English final consonants Hégskolan Dalarna, Engelska C Uppsats, 2007.

mistakes at least several times before they are able to produce the sound with

minor errors

A list of common English pronunciation errors made by non-native

speakers:

- Mispronouncing vowel sounds: English has many vowels sounds that are not

present in other languages, so non-native speakers may struggle with

distinguishing and producing them accurat

- Inconsistent consonant sounds: Many English consonants have different sounds

depending on their position or the other letters they are paired with, and non-native

speakers may struggle with consistency in these sounds

- Misplacing word stress: English 1s a stress-timed language, which means that the

meaning of a word can change depending on which syllable is stressed or

unstressed Non-native speakers may struggle to identify the correct stress pattern

- Incorrectly pronouncing silent letters: English has many silent letters in words,and non-native speakers may struggle to distinguish whether a certain letter should

be pronounced or not

- Overemphasizing or underemphasizing syllables: Some non-native English

speakers may put too much emphasis on certain syllables or not enough emphasis

on others, which can affect overall meaning and comprehension

- Difficulty with distinguishing and producing consonant clusters: English has

many words with consonant clusters (such as “strength” or “squirrel”) which can

be challenging for non-native speakers to distinguish and produce

Overall, there are several challenges that non-native English speakers face

when it comes to English pronunciation With practice, exposure to authenticEnglish speech, and feedback from knowledgeable English speakers or instructors,

however, these challenges can be overcome

12

1.3 Factors causing the problems in learning pronunciation.

Researcher and linguist have pointed some linguistic factors such as the

differences of the sound system between the first language (L1) and secondlanguage (L2), the inconsistency of some sounds in English language, the mother

tongue interference, and the influence of spelling on pronunciation All these

factors will be discussed separately in detail as follows:

1.3.1 Mother tongue interference

Ladefoged (2001) in Hassan (2014:33) showed that mother tongue has clearinfluence on learning L2 pronunciation Where LI and L2 rules are in conflict,

errors are expected to be committed by foreign learners All that can be linked towhat is known as the interference between L1 and L2

Yule (2003) in Hassan (2014:33) reported that the main problem of Englishpronunciation is build a new set of sounds corresponding to the sounds of English,and to break down the arrangement of sounds which the habits and the systems ofour L1 have strongly built up That means we use new ways of using our organs

of speech It is too difficult to change such habits which a learner has obtainedsince his childhood or at least it needs very long years to be changed

Mother tongue interference is one of the primary factors that contributes toproblems in learning pronunciation for non-native English speakers Whenlearning a new language, students often transfer the pronunciation patterns of theirnative language to the new language, resulting 1n mispronunciations

Here are some examples of how mother tongue interference can cause problems

in learning English pronunciation:

- Different sound systems: English and many other languages have different sound

systems, and speakers of one language may find it difficult to distinguish andproduce certain English sounds that are not present in their mother tongue For

example, the hard "th" sound in English (as in the word "think") does not exist inmany languages.

- Different intonation patterns: Each language has its own unique intonation

patterns or the way in which speakers use pitch to convey meaning, and studentsmay find it challenging to adjust to the English intonation patterns For example,English is a stress-timed language, which means that stressed syllables are

pronounced longer and more prominently than unstressed syllables This is

different from languages that are syllable-timed, where each syllable has the sameduration and prominence

- Pronunciation habits: Students may have developed certain pronunciation habits

in their mother tongue that interfere with their ability to learn English

pronunciation For example, in some languages, final consonants are not

pronounced or are pronounced differently, which can lead to errors in English

pronunciation

- Vocabulary familiarity: Non-native English speakers may find it challenging topronounce English words that are not familiar or which they have neverencountered before They may try to apply their native language's pronunciationpatterns to these unfamiliar English words, which can result in mispronunciations

1.3.2 Sound system differences between L1 and L2

Alkhuli (1983) in Hassan (2014:33) showed that the main problem inteaching and learning English pronunciation result from the differences in thesound system of English and the native language, so as a speaker of Indonesian is

not accustomed to pronouncing for instance /ð/ - sound, because they do not find

in his native language This means that the organs of speech of the learner are not

trained to produce such sound systems because they are unfamiliar to that; that iswhy people use the nearest sounds such as /d/

14

Sound systems or phonological systems refer to the set of sounds that make

up a language and how these sounds are organized and used to distinguishmeaning

When learning a second language, speakers often transfer the sound system

of their first language to the new language, which can lead to difficulties inpronunciation

1.3.3 Inconsistency of English vowels

One of the important problems faced by the students of English in general

is that each English vowel has more than just one pronunciation This causes many

difficulties to the learners and leads them to a mispronunciation

O’Connor in Hassan (2014:34) reported that it is not simple to know theexact sounds of the letters in a certain word The learner, who does not havesufficient knowledge of different pronunciations of the vowel, meets somedifficulties, since he uses different variants of their pronunciation

Moreover, Cruttenden (1994) in Hassan (2014:35) also states that theinconsistency of English vowels causes difficulties for other language learner of

English For instance, if we take /o/ in some words like some, move, home,women, in each word it has different pronunciation, so the English learners who

do not have the mastery of the pronunciation of such words will also facedifficulties

1.3.4 Influence of spelling on pronunciation

The sounds of speaking English do not match up with letters of written

English Some words which are ordinarily spelt in the same way, are different in

their pronunciation, for example lead which is pronounced /li:d/ in a phrase leadthe way, but /led/ in another phrase lead pipe Also, there are some words speltdifferently, but sound the same, for instance rain and reign, both are pronounce/rein/ The learners who still do not have the mastery of pronunciation of such

words, pronounce each of them by looking at its spelling So, if the learner does

not know such relationship between sound and spelling, he will mispronounce

words by just looking at the spelling, Hassan (2014:35-36)

1.4 The importance of pronunciation in speaking English

English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world and is

considered the global language of communication With more than 1.5 billion

people speaking English worldwide, it has become essential for individuals tomaster the language's pronunciation Correct English pronunciation is importantfor many reasons, including clear communication, a professional image, and

opportunities for advancement

Why having good pronunciation plays an important role? it helps us make

a good impression when speaking the language Having good English

pronunciation will make foreigners understand you easily and be willing to listen

to you When we talk to someone in everyday life, our pronunciation 1s the firstthing that they notice in a conversation Besides, it will be the key to help learners

be more confident in communicating with native speakers and assert their Englishability with them since wrong pronunciation might lead to misunderstanding Inaddition, having good pronunciation will help us learn other skills easily such aslistening and reading skills Fangzhi (1998)!! states that it is important to payattention to pronunciation since it results in whether someone's message can bepassed or not by other people Additionally, Burns (2003)!? says that “Clearpronunciation is essential in spoken communication Even where learners produceminor inaccuracies in vocabulary and grammar, they are more likely tocommunicate effectively when they have good pronunciation and intonation”

!! Fangzhi, Cheng, The teaching of pronunciation to Chinese students of English English Teaching Forum, vol.

39, no 1, pp 37-39, 1998

Burns, A, Clearly speaking pronunciation in action for teachers, National Center for English Language

Teaching and Research, Macquaire University, Sydney NSW 2109, 2003

16

(Burns, 2003) Therefore, learners need to practice their pronunciation every day

to improve their English-speaking skills

One of the essential reasons for mastering English pronunciation is theability to communicate effectively With so many people speaking English as a

second language, accurate pronunciation is essential in ensuring that words are

understood correctly Furthermore, communicating effectively in English

becomes critical in today's globalized world, where businesses work acrossborders and cultures

Correct English pronunciation also contributes to a professional image

Language and communication are vital aspects of creating and maintaining

professional relationships When speaking with native English speakers, a proper

accent and tone lend credibility and make a better impression Moreover, beingable to enunciate words with precision and clarity reinforces one's professionalexpertise and serious intent in one's work or studies

Furthermore, mastering English pronunciation opens opportunities foradvancement Engaging in international trade or being employed in amultinational organization necessitates strong communication skills in English.Being able to pronounce English words with proficiency and confidence can giveone the leading edge in job promotions and other professional opportunities

Additionally, correct English pronunciation increases cultural awarenessand sensitivity Language is a central aspect of any cultural identity, and masteringEnglish pronunciation helps individuals to understand English culture better Thisunderstanding promotes intercultural dialogue and recognizes cultural differences,enabling people to bridge gaps and connect hearts and minds, regionally andinternationally

In conclusion, English pronunciation is essential in today's multiculturalworld Its importance extends beyond the language itself and contributes to

personal and professional growth Learning correct pronunciation can help

individuals communicate clearly, create an image of professionalism, advance

their careers, and demonstrate cultural sensitivity Anyone wishing to speak the

English language correctly can commit to learning and practice to achieve thesebenefits, which lead to improved interactions and a multicultural connectivity thatenriches everyone's lives

1.5 Summary

Pronunciation is one of the most important things that students must master

in order to communicate appropriately and fluently According to Fangzhi

(1998:39), that it is important to pay attention to pronunciation since it results in

whether someone's message can be passed or not by other people Moreover,Gilbert (cited in Otlowsky, 2004:3) stated that if someone cannot hear English

well, she or he is cut off from the language

In this chapter, the author has given general theoretical information aboutthe definition of pronunciation, the elements of pronunciation, problems inpronouncing English as well as the causes of those problems From there, theauthor gives the most general views on the role of pronunciation in learningspeaking skills Also, the comments, ideals, and views of other authors in many

different research articles have been researched, cited, and analyzed so that theauthor draws the most useful information

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGYThis chapter will be highlighting the research method which is used for

collecting data in this research It covers research design, population and sample,data collecting technique, and data analysis techniques

2.1 Populations/ Participants

This study investigates the difficulties, challenges, the attitude about the

important of pronunciation and ways to overcome the English-speaking skills of

students at HLU With the purpose of investigating the difficulties of English

majors in learning speaking skills at HLU, we have chosen a survey research

method, which is a descriptive study To collect data for this study, 60 students

were invited to participate

The students came from different classes, faculty in English — majored, andwere all randomly selected The content of the survey is to help students clearly

identify problems about difficulties when learning speaking skills at HLU Besidesthem, 10 lecturers who teaching at Faculty of legal foreign languages alsoparticipated in this study

2.2 Data collection procedures

According to Creswell (2012), there are five steps in process of collecting

data The five steps of data collecting are as follows:

a Identifies participants

b Selecting procedure The writer selects participants based on the characteristicthat writer needs to this study (the students who got the score C in vocabulary andpronunciation subject)

c The writer needs to consider the types of information that will give the bestresearch question answer

d Designing the instruments for collecting or recording the information

e The writer needs to manage the data collection to arise the proper result

In this study, survey questionnaire has been applied The information from

questionnaires can help to draw a picture about the reality of learning English

pronunciation I am allowed to be in class of K46 and K47 (the freshmen andsophomores) to do a survey related to the attitudes of the students while they are

studying in an English pronunciation lesson

In Chapter I, the theoretical background of English pronunciation has beencovered However, in order to gather the desired information for answering theresearch questions, 60 freshmen and sophomores English — majored at Faculty of

English of HLU have been selected as target population of the study They wereinvited to take part in a survey by completing questionnaires The researchunderwent the following steps:

o Designing survey questionnaires

o Delivering questionnaires to the freshmen and sophomore’s students andlecturers

o Collecting the results

o Analyzing collected data

o Proposing some remarks and comments from the results and giving some

suggestions

2.3 Data analysis

The questionnaires (see appendix) designed with seven main parts,

consisting of questions ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree, fromalways to never In addition, open-ended questions are also asked so that the author

can better understand each student's perspective related to the research topic The

questionnaires then were given to sixty freshmen and sophomore English majorsgroup from K46 and K47 at HLU These students are almost at the age of 19, or

20 They all have different abilities to speak English because they come from allparts of the country: big cities, provinces, remote areas, and mountains, where

20

their English teacher at high school did not focus on the pronunciation skills ofstudents.

The questionnaire includes specific multiple-choice and open-ended

questions The first part, whose purpose is to determine the participants’

background information as well as their practice time; their general attitude towardpracticing English pronunciation And second part of the questionnaire is to find

out some specific problems the students met when they study English

pronunciation And finally, which is aimed at finding out the methods they use toimprove pronunciation The results from 60 valid collected copies were analyzed

in form of statistic tabulation and graphics and charts

- Part 1 consists of 3 questions about general information of the respondents

- Part 2 consists of 5 questions about the pronunciation practice time of first- andsecond-year English majors at HLU

- In part 3, students' perceptions of the importance of pronunciation in speaking

skills were surveyed through 7 questions on the level of agreement

- Part 4 consists of 6 questions related to the challenges students face in learningpronunciation

- Part 5 is used to collect methods that students consider effective for improving

pronunciation

- Part 6,7 are specific questions to clarify more about the difficulties as well as the

contributions of students to speaking classes so that pronunciation is improved.2.4 Summary

The methodology used in the study about the significance of pronunciation

in improving English speaking skills typically involves a range of techniques and

tools, such as surveys, observation, and assessments

Survey methods were employed to collect data on learner attitudes,

preferences, and beliefs about pronunciation

Participant observation could involve researchers observing learners in a

classroom setting or during a language task to gain insight into the learners'

behaviors and interactions

Overall, the methodology used in the study about the significance of

pronunciation in improving English speaking skills typically involves multiple

approaches and tools to collect data from learners and assess their pronunciation

proficiency The resulting data are analyzed to identify trends, highlight areas of

challenge, and inform recommendations for improving the learning of English

pronunciation

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CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONThis chapter describes the findings obtained from the questionnaire and the

interview to identify the challenges in learning pronunciation which freshmen andsophomores English — majored students at HLU In addition, the opinions of

English lecturers at HLU on the importance of pronunciation for speaking skills

as well as effective pronunciation learning methods are also analyzed in this

chapter

3.1 Research findings

The questionnaire consists of participants’ personal information and the

factors of pronunciation learning strategies The data results of participants’information are as followed:

Figure 3.1 Chart of Participants’ GenderParticipants in this study were 60 freshmen and sophomore studentsmajoring in English 100% of the respondents completed the full content of thequestions From diagram 3.1, the data result is participants dominated by femaleswith 66.7% and 33.3% for males from the total of participants

In this general information section, the author also asked questions aboutthe hometowns of 60 students participating in the survey (in Hanoi / Ho Chi Minh;

in other provinces, or in mountainous areas) This information is a tool for the

author to assess the impact of the learning and living environment on students'

English pronunciation ability as well as confidence in English pronunciation In

addition, the learning conditions of students in each region are also a reason whysome students do not really pronounce correctly The table below shows the

percentage of students from each region (corresponding to question number 3 inthe general information section)

3 Where is your native place?

60 câu trả lời

@ Hanoi/ Ho Chi Minh city

@ Mountainous area

@ Other provinces

Figure 3.2 Native place of survey participants

3.1.1 Reality of pronunciation practice time of students majoring in English

at HLU

In this section, the students surveyed reported the frequency they practiced

English pronunciation in each aspect

The author gives the survey sample in 5 levels

1 2 3 4 $

No Statements

% % % % %You are confident

17 13 20 7 3

1 | about your English

(28.3%) | (21.7%) | (33.3%) | (11.7%) | (5%)pronunciation

Table 1 Frequency of English pronunciation practice by students majoring

in English at HLU

According to Table 1, When asked about confidence in Englishpronunciation, most students consider themselves confident with their

pronunciation ability at an absolute level (33.3% often, 28.3% always and 21.7%

usually) These are positives fingures, when the era when English plays an

important role in study, work as well as life Good pronunciation is important inimproving speaking skills, because for a few reasons:

Confident pronunciation helps speakers be confident and persuasive whencommunicating If the pronunciation is incorrect or not confident, the speaker maynot be heard or understand what is being said

Confident English pronouncers are more likely to convey thoughts andideas more easily The correct pronunciation makes it easy for speakers to grasp

different words and sentence structures of English correctly

Confidence in pronunciation can help students learn English more

effectively If students are not confident in their pronunciation skills, they may

find it difficult to participate in group activities or discussions, and they may loseopportunities to hone their English communication skills

Moreover, pronouncing confidently can help students feel confident and

motivated to speak English naturally This can help them progress faster in

Figure 3.3 Confidence level in English pronunciation

It is easy to see that up to 83% (corresponding to 50/60) of studentssurveyed said that they are confident with their pronunciation This is a good

premise to help them not only learn good skills and specialized subjects at HLUbut also help them easily get a good job after graduation

However, as students majoring in English, 12% (7/60) of students are not

really confident with their pronunciation; and 5% chose the confidence level as

"never." So, why they don’t have this confidence? There are many reasons, such

as: many students do not have enough knowledge and experience to pronouncecorrectly They may not be used to the new sounds or different pronunciations in

26

English Moreover, like any other skill, pronunciation also needs enough practice

to improve, if studentsdo not regularly practice pronunciation may not achieve

Teachers: Correct pronunciation is an essential factor that teachers must

ensure when teaching English If the teacher pronounces it incorrectly or

incorrectly, it can discourage and confuse students when learning that word

Study materials: Study materials can also affect students' Englishpronunciation If the material includes many new words or they are not instructed

on pronunciation, it may be difficult for students to use for the purpose of honingtheir pronunciation skills

Learners: A student's ability to learn pronunciation is also influenced by astudent's hard work, mindset, and attitude If students want to improve theirpronunciation skills, they must be conscious and absorb knowledge from theinstructor

Also from the collected data, the author found that most language studentshave a sense of practicing and improving pronunciation every day The forms ofpronunciation practice that the author mentioned in the survey were practiced by

students with almost absolute frequency Not only practicing pronunciation on

their own, but students also improve their pronunciation through classes, togetherwith lecturers in speaking skills classes and practice regularly in daily life Thefact that English students at HLU have confidence in pronunciation as well as