a study on the effects of english songs on learning english pronunciation of the first year english majors at phenikaa university

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING PHENIKAA UNIVERSITY GRADUATION PAPER A Study on the Effects of English Songs on Learning English Pronunciation of the First-year English Majors at Ph

Ha Noi - 2024

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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

PHENIKAA UNIVERSITY

GRADUATION PAPER A Study on the Effects of English Songs on Learning English

Pronunciation of the First-year English Majors at Phenikaa

Ha Noi - 2024

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This study aims to investigate the effects of English Songs on learning English pronunciation of the first-year English majors at Phenikaa University The participants of this study included the first-year English majors of Phenikaa University The study data was collected from a Google form questionnaire which was given to 272 first-year English majors, and 15 volunteered first-year English majors were interviewed for more in-depth data The results of the study found that by using English songs for learning English pronunciation, students were able to improve their English pronunciation skills They were able to identify intonation, connected speech and stress patterns that present in English songs However, the study results also show some difficulties that students encountered when listening to English songs to learn English pronunciation In conclusion, using English songs for learning English pronunciation is a viable method of learning, and the effectiveness of using English songs can be dependent on factors like song genre and student motivation

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DECLARATION

I, Truong Khanh Duy - Student ID No 20010043, certificate that no part of the study has been copied or reproduced by me from any other person’s work without acknowledgements and that the study is originally written by me under strict guidance of my supervisor

Hanoi, 2024

Supervisor Student

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, MA, MSc Tran Thuy

Linh, for her both tangible and intangible support Also, if not for Msc Tran Thuy Linh patience and guidance, I could not have undertaken this study alone I would also like to acknowledge the study participants for their advice and suggestions Lastly, I would like to mention and give thạnks to my family for their moral support

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.1.1.2 Studies from 2000 – 2015 5

1.1.1.3 Studies from 2016 – 2024 7

1.3 The importance of accurate pronunciation 19

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1.4 Literature review summary 20

3.1.1.1 Participants basic information 23

3.1.1.2 Effects of English songs on student English pronunciation and difficulties that students encountered 29 3.1.1.3 Students recommendation and suggestions 38

3.1.2.1 Participants basic information 40

3.1.2.2 Effects of English songs on student pronunciation

3.1.2.7 Students suggestions in using English songs for learning English pronunciation 48

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LIST OF TABLES Number of

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LIST OF CHARTS Number of

Chart 3.3 Self-rating of participants English pronunciation

Chart 3.4 The amounts of times that participants listening to

Chart 3.5 Type(s) of music that participants usually listen to 26

Chart 3.8 English songs effects on student pronunciation

Chart 3.12 Students develop accurate pronunciation sounds

Chart 3.13 Participants difficulties when listening to English

Chart 3.14 Participants recommendation to use English songs

Chart 3.15 Participants suggestions for learning pronunciation

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INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study

Due to globalization, English has become one of the most important languages for many years The English language is not only an international language but also it plays an essential part in many dimensions, not only for the purpose of communication but it also serves as a tool for all sorts of media, businesses, job opportunities and education Because of this, many Vietnamese students would choose to major in English in university or college after they graduated from high school, this can be said the same for Phenikaa University English major students As English is still an essential subject for Vietnamese students in high school and middle school, a good number of first year English majors would have little to no hard time in learning English at Phenikaa University as they would already accumulate the fundamental knowledge But sometimes, some student would show great skill of grammar or vocabulary, they would have a poor display of pronunciation as these students would struggle to pronounce a word correctly, as students tend to speak with their mother tongue accent and this problem can be hard to get rid of and can be carry on all the way throughout the university years, this undoubtedly can cause students to make

regrettable mistakes while hearing, speaking and reading English For example,

according to the research of S F Alsadae and A S Sase [1] the sound of the word “they” -/ðei / and the sound of the word “day” -/dei/ can easily be mistook for their mispronounce, this can cause the distortion of meaning hinder a successful communication, especially when speaking with a native English speaker This can

lead to frustration for both the speaker and the listener

Of course, learning a foreign language is not a simple task, as most of the times, when stumble upon a new English word or a word that the learner simply forgot, the only things that was form in their head at that moment would be nothing but gibberish, meaningless sound that make little to no sense This not only would apply to novice English learners but can also be applied to English major students, this can cause learners’ anxieties and decrease the learners’ motivation As a result, a good chunk of students would quickly skim through the word and make no adjustment toward their pronunciation, this can quickly develop into a hard to get rid of habit as students would simply carry their error of pronunciation all the way to university, and university students would spend majority of time to study by themselves so their pronunciation might stay the same and have a next to none improvement Based on this problem, many methods have been put to use, including using English songs for learning pronunciation

The average teenager spends more time listening to music and watching music videos than he (she) does in the classroom – twice the time and in some of the overseas

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surveys, two out of three college students listed music as one of the most important things in their life [2, p13] This opens to the potential uses of music and songs that can be the essential tools to increase the learners’ motivation and decrease their anxiety, effectively improving the English pronunciation learning process Moreover, music has beneficial effects on the brain, and it helps listeners to learn and remember things more easily [3]. Music stabilizes mental, physical and emotional rhythms to attain a state of deep concentration and focus in which large amounts of content information can be processed and learned [4] This shows how English songs can be used to help in optimizing language learning, particularly in pronunciation learning, as the usage of English songs in learning English pronunciation has been increasing in the modern days as technology is more accessible now than ever

2 Objectives of the study

The development of a functional intelligibility, a functional communicability of students are important, for they can improve student self-confidence and their speech monitoring abilities during communication [5] And with the potential of using English songs for English pronunciation learning, the study aims to research the effects of English songs on first year English major English pronunciation skill at Phenikaa university, the benefits of using English song for the purpose of learning pronunciation and to input application of using English song for learning English pronunciation, for the purpose of enhance the experience of learning English at Phenikaa University for the first year English majors and Phenikaa University students in general.Overall, this study aims to provide insights into the role of English songs in improving English pronunciation skills among first-year English majors and which factor can affect the effectiveness of using English songs for learning English pronunciation The findings of this study can inform learning practices and lead to more effective language learning strategies

3 Scope of the study

Due to the nature of the research target, which is the first-year English majors of Phenikaa university and to acquire full and precise research data, the study will be confined within Phenikaa University and only first year English majors of Phenikaa university will participate in the study survey and interview

4 Significance of the study

“If students want to change the way of pronouncing English words, they have to change the way they think about the sounds of those words” [6, p1] As such, learning pronunciation is an important and not an easy task for students that haven’t interacted much with the English language, because of this the usage of songs come in and have been proven to be effective if mostly bring out positive results by various research

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and research The significance of this study is its potential in contributing to the pronunciation development of students, and to provide first-year English majors of Phenikaa University viable pronunciation learning strategies by collecting and analyzing data that is acquired throughout the study

With the participation of the first-year English major in the study, this study aims to explore and expand the potential benefits of using music as a tool to improve English pronunciation, which can provide a new perspective on language learning To shed light on how English learners engage with music-based language learning and how this engagement can lead to improved pronunciation ability, and to inform the first-year English major of Phenikaa University and English learners in general about the effectiveness of this approach in improving pronunciation skills

5 Practical implications of the study

The findings of this study can be applied to improve English pronunciation, enhancing the overall language proficiency of students in general and first-year English majors of Phenikaa University specifically Using English songs in learning English pronunciation can be more engaging and make the whole process of learning pronunciation more enjoyable, more relaxing and fun, especially for modern day students [7] Phenikaa University students can utilize English songs as a tool to create a more interactive and immersive experience for them, leading to increased motivation and participation in the process of learning English pronunciation

6 Research questions

Based on the objective of the study, the following research questions were created: Is using English songs for learning English pronunciation a viable method for the first-year English major of Phenikaa University to learn English pronunciation?

What are the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of English songs in improving students' English pronunciation?

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CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Previous studies overview

Pronunciation is a crucial aspect of language learning, as it can significantly affect communication and how individuals comprehend spoken words Despite this, many would struggle in mastering their pronunciation skill

Many studies from the earliest to most recent have proposed that singing songs in English is a potential way to improve pronunciation as it can also provide a fun and engaging experience at the same time But there are still some signs of lacking in research on the effectiveness of English songs in improving pronunciation among non-native speakers

This literature review aims to provide an overview of the existing research on the effect of singing songs in English on pronunciation among non-native speakers (preferably students) The review will examine the findings of studies published over the past century, from the 1900s to the 2000s, to identify trends, patterns, and gaps in the literature By synthesizing the existing research on this topic, this review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between singing songs in English and pronunciation among non-native speakers, and to inform future research and practice in this area

1.1.1 Overview on foreign studies

Numerous foreign studies have investigated the impact of English songs on pronunciation among language learners These studies delve into how exposure to English songs influences pronunciation

Wong [9] explored the method of teaching pronunciation focusing on rhythm and intonation In the document, Wong [9] would examine what rhythm and intonation is and explain how they function in the English language

These documents may not directly mention the effects of English songs on pronunciation However, they lay out the basis for the potential of using English songs

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in learning English pronunciation, such as how words in a song and how rhythm from a song can affect each individual pronunciation after the process of listening to a song with the purpose of learning pronunciation

1.1.1.2 Studies from 2000 – 2015

R Lake [10] elaborated on his usage of music in his classroom From his observation, he sum-up quite a few benefits of the using music in English learning, not only does it help his students in improving their pronunciation, this approach of using music also helped them in grammar, help understand vocabulary for easily, also improve the classroom spirit as they would enjoy the class more While admitted that the usage of using music in learning pronunciation is hard, R Lake [10] still concluded that language and music are closely tied together in brain processing by pitch, rhythm, and syntactical phrasing, and that students can have a relaxing way to acquire, process and produce English words while have some fun along the way of learning the English language While R Lake [10] observation generate genuine benefits to his study and many positive discoveries, his findings are still very limited as they only seem to focus only on language acquisition in general without elaborate further on how can music affect specific sounds or other aspect of pronunciation such as intonation, linking word or stress and the data was largely collected from a small scale of a classroom In conclusion, R Lake [10] observation suggested that music does positively affect learners in the long term as his students show significant improvement in pronunciation at the end of the year

In her study, V.Rosová [11] stated that some sounds in the English language can be hard to pick out as these sounds doesn’t exist in the learner mother-tongue, force the learner to produce certain sounds that was unknown to them, leading to an incorrectly pronounced sounds that can create a strain in communication, and it can also change a meaning of a phrase entirely For example, Vietnamese students seem to have the tendencies to skip most of English consonant sound and sound like /ʒ/, /ʤ/, and /ʧ/ in the ending positions are hard to generate [12] V.Rosová [11] also stated that the rhymes in songs provide listeners with repetition of similar sounds, and when the students choose to listen to songs time and again, they are indirectly exposing them to these sounds, repeating them, getting better at recognizing them and finally producing them Aside from that, V.Rosová [11] also delved into the effect of using songs on learning English pronunciation that are focused on words and connected speech V.Rosová [11] research data was collected from 53 students by the method of questionnaire based on songs and poems From her findings, V.Rosová [11] concluded that songs can be a useful tool for learning English as it can help students to improve varieties of English skills, including pronunciation skill, as students can still both have fun and accumulate knowledge while in class or at home However, Veronika findings

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are mainly focused on how the usage of song can help in English language acquisition in general, without elaborating any further on how English pronunciation can be affected by songs and music

K Pimwan [7] explores the effect of teaching English pronunciation with the uses of songs By collecting data from 22 students of Watratchaphatigaram school in Bangkok The study of K Pimwan [7] shows that the usage of songs in teaching English pronunciation for students has helped them to pronounce the final sound to a more accurate degree and only 4 out of 22 are still needed to improve their pronunciation Aside from that the study also shows that students are more willing to learn as they would sing along with the songs, these students would show improvement would not only develop their pronunciation on the final sounds they pronounce they would also recognize the definition of word more easily [7] K Pimwan [7] even pointed out a disadvantage that to use English songs in learning English pronunciation requires a variety of activities for students to really get into it Despite this, K Pimwan [7] study data results were mainly focus on pronunciation in general and to discussed the effect of English songs on the final sounds without elaborate upon how the songs would affect the student vowel, consonant sound nor how their connected speech or word stress would get affected by listening to English songs

A year later, a study about the effects of English songs on pronunciation of Z Farmand and B Pourgharib [13] emerged Their study data was collected from 30 intermediate level students of Kish air institute in Sari, Mazandaran, and through the method of using questionnaire [13] Z Farmand and B Pourgharib [13] would find that students who learned English through songs were able to improve their English pronunciation, they were able to pronounce words from the songs more accurately Z Farmand and B Pourgharib [13] would also point out that students enjoyed the learning process more as they would sing along and have fun in the process, Z Farmand and B Pourgharib [13] would also sum up their study, that it can take about 5 – 10 minutes to listen to songs so that the positive effect can take hold on the learner pronunciation skill The findings from this study seemed to have similarity with the study of Pimwan

[7] As both studies only elaborate on how the usage of English songs in learning English pronunciation would affect the learner pronunciation skill in general, without going into any specific aspects of pronunciation such as intonation or word – stress Both studies also would point out that by using songs in learning pronunciation, students would have more fun and enjoy the class more as they would be willing to sing along with the songs [7, 13]. But with such a small scale of participants from both studies, from 22 to 30 respectively, the data that was gathered from both studies can be seen as lacking in variety as the results collected form questionnaire and practices was only gathered from the scale of a classroom, and the finding from both of this

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research may or may not be change as the result can be vary and affected by the attitude of students if the scale of research was expanded to a larger number of participants

All four studies above came to the same conclusion that using songs in learning English pronunciation can help improve learner pronunciation in general while having a fun and relaxing learning process in class However, most of these studies doesn’t mention nor does they go into detail how song can affect aspects of pronunciation like intonation or stress, vowel sound and consonant sound, nor does they mention the aspect of age and gender play a part in the effect of song on pronunciation Furthermore, most of these studies data was collected from a small scale of participation with mostly confined within one classroom worth of students Additionally, there is a need for more studies that investigate the effects of English songs on learners' pronunciation skills in different contexts, such as classroom settings, self-study settings

1.1.1.3 Studies from 2016 – 2024

In recent years, more and more studies about the topic of songs or music effects on English pronunciation have been conducted Overtime, more light has been shed toward this topic as its potential in utilized music and songs in learning English as a whole and English pronunciation in particular have been explored further

S Iman and F Mohammed [14] aimed at investigating the effect of using children's songs in developing the elementary graders' vocabulary and pronunciation, and aimed also to investigate teachers' attitudes towards the use of songs in their English classes S Iman and F Mohammed [14] study data was collected from 123 participants with all of them being fourth graders By using the method of questionnaire, the data they gathered reveal that both vocabulary and pronunciation of students have improved after listening to songs [14] Aside from that, the study also shows that songs have positive effects in increasing students' achievement, interest, and motivation in learning English [14] They also pointed out that students' achievements were not affected by gender While S Iman and F Mohammed [14] study has achieved what was it set out to find and the data was gathered from a larger number of participants comparing to previous studies, the study still had the same gap as the studies from 2000 – 2015, as it does not elaborate more upon the effects of songs on other aspects of pronunciation like intonation and stress or specific sound like vowel or ending sound

R Iqbal [15] conducted qualitative research, in which the data were collected from five students of UIN Ar-Raniry R Iqbal [15] study aimed to explore students‟ perception about the impact of English pop songs toward their English pronunciation

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skill Based on findings of the study, R Iqbal [15] found that there were mainly three different perceptions and preferences toward their English pronunciation when and after listening to English pop songs Firstly, students could practice the pronunciation through English pop songs even if there are some difficulties while listening to the song [15] Secondly, difficulties that are usually met were caused by singers‟ pronunciation and the fast rhythm used in the songs, these difficulties influenced student comprehension and listening to English pop songs [15] A way to solve these difficulties was suggested in the study, mainly read the lyrics while listening to the songs because it would help students‟ comprehension about the lyrics and students could imitate the way the singers sang the songs by reading lyrics [15] Lastly, by listening to English pop songs, students believed that they could learn English pronunciation in a fun learning environment and it could help them strengthen their English pronunciation skill [15] R Iqbal [15] also stated that it was an effective method because they could play the songs wherever and whenever they did anything else R Iqbal [15] has made some good suggestions on how to utilize English pop songs as a good material and resource for students to apply in English learning and even pointed out that the materials should be chosen based on their appropriateness and the clarity of pronunciation in the chosen songs However, the study revolved around the opinion of five students, as the conclusions of this study could possibly be changed if the number of participants were expanded Furthermore, R Iqbal [15] study continues to follow the same trend as other previous studies as it barely mentions any significant changes in pronunciation aspects like intonation or different kinds of sounds after listening to English songs

D Palupi with E T Prasetyaningsih and S Bilandari [16] enacted a study aimed to study student pronunciation improvement through the usage of songs The subjects of the research were 23 young learners, all are fourth graders [16] When collecting the data, D Palupi, E T Prasetyaningsih and S Bilandari [16] use various techniques and instruments based on the techniques applied For collecting qualitative data, D Palupi with E T Prasetyaningsih and S Bilandari [16] directly observed the classrooms that they are doing their study in, interviewed the teachers and the students Through this method, the study concluded that the students’ pronunciation skills were improved through the usage of songs during the learning process [16] The motivation and confidence of the students were also increased after some additional movements within the songs being implemented in the class [16, pp.30] The students become motivated and start to be interested in learning English, then they start to speak in English by using correct pronunciation [16, pp.30] Despite discovering many fine results, this study follows the same trend as most other previous studies While the collected data suggest that using songs in learning pronunciation would mainly yield

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positive effects, it still didn’t elaborate further upon other aspects of English pronunciation

One of the more recent studies that enforce the positive view on the effect of songs on English pronunciation was conducted by L V G Situmeang and N B Panjaitan

[17] Their study aimed to determine students' perceptions regarding the use of songs as a tool to improve English pronunciation easily [17] In their research, they mention a possible reason why songs are effective for English pronunciation learning, is that songs provide the listener with a model for correct pronunciation [17, pp 1252] L V G Situmeang and N B Panjaitan [17] stated that when students listen to and sing along with the songs, they are exposed to the correct pronunciation of words and phrases, which can help them develop a more accurate pronunciation L V G Situmeang and N B Panjaitan [17] found that songs help students feel at ease, like they are lost in a calm environment and they can pick up the language much quicker as their pronunciation gets better Students also become more open to learning as a result of lowering their affective filter [17, pp 1262] This study alsodiscovered that songs also aid students in better comprehending and pronouncing key phonological elements and they also suggested that considering a variety of factors such as the student's skill levels, ages, and preferences of students, in addition to the songs' rhythm and degree of difficulty of songs that are used by students to learn pronunciation, suggested that English songs should be carefully chosen for the matter of English learning [17] L V G Situmeang and N B Panjaitan [17] also suggested that songs are very influential in the development of English pronunciation because when learners learn English monotonously, it is very difficult for them to imitate, but when they learn pronunciation accompanied by music that has melody and rhythm, it will be easier Learning by lítening to songs will make the class atmosphere more comfortable for learning English and easier to understand [17] The study of L V G Situmeang and N B Panjaitan [17] has brought ups many great suggestions and continue to enforce the positive effect of using song in learning English pronunciation, but yet it still met the same gap as the other studies for not discuss the effect of songs on student English pronunciation in more detail about aspects of pronunciation like intonation and connected speech, also the small number of participants in this study may suggest that different possible results can still be collected if more students were interviewed Overall, these studies have the same trend and pattern as they continue to enforce each other finding as they painted the effect of using songs in English pronunciation learning in a positive light, and yet none elaborate on how they affect aspects of English pronunciation in detail Furthermore, most of these studies findings may be subject to change as the collected data mostly come from a small circle of students 1.1.2 Overview on domestic studies

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In the time of globalization, the impact of popular culture on language learning has become more significant To Vietnamese students English is a crucial tool for communication and advancement, but there may be some difficulties that they can face in the process of learning this language In recent years, English songs have become a staple of Vietnamese popular culture However, despite the widespread exposure to English lyrics, there is a lack of understanding about the effect of these songs on Vietnamese students' English pronunciation This overview aims to provide a comprehensive examination of the domestic studies on the impact of English songs on English pronunciation among Vietnamese students by exploring the existing research that is related to this topic

N C Tien and N B Huan [18] enacted a study which aims to examine teachers’ perceptions about the use of songs in vocabulary instruction to young learners The data of this study (collected from seventy-five teachers at a foreign language center in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam), aside from showing teachers positive perceptions about using songs in teaching students, the study also claimed that songs help young learners pronounce the sounds or words set in songs more accurately by listening to songs and students would improve their pronunciation of words because some songs contain standard accents, which young students can listen to and repeat many times as they want until they can get it right [18] The study of L T N Dieu and N D Khang [19]

and the results of previous studies [11, 15, 17] would solidify this claim, as their suggestion supported the idea that a good way to create a good English language acquisition environment is to utilize English media like English songs included The study claimed that songs are a great tool for learning English pronunciation, as students can mimic the way the singer produces sound in song with a clear pronunciation and natural intonation

L Tuan [20] study was conducted with a participation of 49 English majors at Can Tho University From the collected data, the study found that while students hold positive attitudes, and frequently use songs to learn English, they still face a number of challenges, especially those problems connected to understanding cultural and linguistic aspects of song lyrics [20, pp.226] Also, L Tuan [20, pp.226] suggested promoting the usage of songs in language learning as well as forming clubs or informal gatherings for students to share ideas and opinions regarding the songs they choose for learning practice However, this study didn’t discuss the effect of song on vowel or consonant sound and the study participants were few in number and they were students from one program only, this can cause the study result to change if a wider range of participants were included

Unfortunately, there are many gaps in Vietnamese studies on the topic of effects of English songs on students' English pronunciation These studies would mostly discuss

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the general effects of songs without elaborate on aspects of English pronunciation like vowel or consonant sounds and the data collected were originated from a small number of participants

1.1.3 Summary of previous studies Both foreign and domestic studies on the topic of the effect of English songs on students' English pronunciation pointed out the positive effects of using English songs in learning pronunciation These studies would claim that not only does songs have a positive effect in learning pronunciation, they can also make students become more engaging and more willing to learn pronunciation, creating a more fun and active learning environment Yet, these studies

1.2 Theoretical framework

This framework will explore English pronunciation and songs, drawing on relevant theories, concepts, and principles This will enable the study to develop a deeper understanding and identify key factors of the topic

1.2.1 Sounds Sound is everywhere around our lives We use our sense of sound to navigate our environment, to communicate and to enjoy music According to an article that was written by G Towell [21], sound is a type of mechanical wave or an oscillation of matter A wave is a disturbance that travels from one location to another in a medium

[21] and they are created by an initial disturbance or vibration G Towell [21] also elaborated that when a person speaks, they vibrate their larynx, which in turn vibrates the air around it, which then propagates the sound energy to the listener By contracting and expanding the tissue in the larynx as well as manipulating the articulators in the mouth (lips, tongue and other mouth structures), different sounds can be created [21, 22] All objects can be sound sources that create sound in the same way – by vibrating and transferring those vibrations to an adjacent medium, such as the air [22]

1.2.2 Definition of pronunciation There are many interpretations of what is the definition of pronunciation According toCook (1996, as cited from [6]) pronunciation is the production of English sounds.Pronunciation is learnt by repeating sounds and correcting them when produced inaccurately, when a non-native learners start learning English pronunciation they can make new habits and overcome the difficulties that can be the result of using speech patterns from their mother tongue language [6] M C Murcia study [23, pp.5-6]

promotes the idea that pronunciation is the production of sounds that is used for making meaning To C B Pauston and M N Bruder [24] pronunciation is the

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production of a sound system which doesn't interfere with communication either from the speakers’ or the listeners’ viewpoint While M Otlowski [25] would define pronunciation as the way of uttering a word in an acceptable or understandable manner

To pronounce words, the speaker would require to push air from their lungs up through their throat and vocal cord air can also travel through the nose To change the sound that one make, the muscle of the mouth would be use, the tongue and lips would be uses to control the shape of the mouth and the flow of air, if doing this correctly the pronunciation of the speaker would be clearer and can be easier for listeners to understand [26]

Overall, pronunciation can be understood as the act or manner of speaking a word, in a way that can be viewed as acceptable and can be generally understood

1.2.3 Vowel and Consonant According to D Yashinsky [27], while writing or speaking, in principle, certain letters represent consonants and the sounds they make Others similarly represent vowels Vowels and consonants have similar relevance and space in writing and speech in the English language

Because of this, it’s useful to understand vowels and consonants in order to acquire the most precise pronunciation

P Roach [28, pp.10-14] stated that a vowel is a sound in which there is no obstruction to the flow of air as it passes from the larynx to the lips In other way, the simplest definition of a vowel is a sound of speech, syllabic in nature The sound of any given vowel is pronounced or made without any constriction of the vocal cords while speaking

According to the P Roach [28, pp.18-22], vowels comprise one of the two main categories of sounds of speech, the other being consonants The 5 English letters “A, E, I, O, U” are called vowels, because of their representation to the sound of vowels According to the International Phonetic Alphabet charts, there are 20 vowel sounds,

divided into 3 types of vowel sounds: long vowel, short vowel and diphthong Short vowel sounds are usually spelled with a single letter, while long vowel and diphthong sounds are generally spelled with combinations of letters [28, pp.18-22]

It is important for students to note that the terms "long" and "short" do not describe the length of time a vowel sounds or is said

Table 1.1: List of vowel sounds and type of vowel sounds

Pure vowel – 12 sounds Diphthong – 8 sounds

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Short – 7 sounds Long – 5 sounds

/æ/ - cat, lad, bat, … /i:/ - week, feet, media,

/ʊə/ - tour, pure, mature, …

While on the subject of vowels and consonants, both parts of phonetics and articulation, it is important to define the consonant According to whats P Roach [26]

had written in his book, we can come to a conclusion that consonant is one of the speech sounds or are letters of the alphabet that did not identify itself as a vowel and they are pronounced by stopping the air from flowing easily through the mouth, especially by closing the lips or touching the teeth with the tongue In other way, consonant is a sound of speech that is typically articulated with partial or complete closure with regard to the vocal tract For example, in the word ‘rat’, the ‘r’ and ‘t’ characters are consonant

The English letters that are consonant are “B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z (the letter W and the letter Y are sometimes can act as vowels, for example ‘happy’ and ‘show’)” [28, pp.31-56] In English, voiceless consonants and voiced consonants are frequently used as ending sounds They are sounds that occured at the end of a word, there are three types of ending sounds, /s/, /es/ and /ed/

According to the International Phonetic Alphabet, there are 24 consonant sounds and they are divided into 2 main groups Voiced consonant and voiceless consonant sounds Voiceless consonant sounds means that there is no vibration or voice coming from the larynx when the sound is pronounced A voiced consonant means that there is voice or vibration coming from the larynx when the sound is pronounced [29]

Table 1.2: List of voiced sounds

/b/ - ball, hobby, herb, … /d/ - dog, added, played, … /dʒ/ - joke, damage, large, … /g/ - green, game, bag, … /v/ - video, move, vine, …

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/ð / - then, other, with, … /z/ - cozy, zebra, crazy, … /ʒ/ - measure, Asia, television, …

/m/ - mail, humour, some, … /n/ - nail, funny, fine, …

/j/ - onion, yes, view, … /l/ - light, feel, smelly, … /r/ - right, berry, wrong, … /ŋ/ - sing, uncle, angry, … /w/ - win, we, where, …

Table 1.3: List of voiceless sound

/p/ - pen, happening, jump, …

/t/ - table, little, watched, …

/tf/ - itch, chips, picture, … /k/ - key, luck, car, … /f/ - fire, laugh, phone, … /θ/ - thin, method, both, … /s/ - see, city, notice, … /ʃ/ - pushing, rush, show, … /h/ - house, hungry, heals, …

1.2.4 Stress When it comes to learning English, pronunciation can be the most difficult thing to grasp for learners There are also many difficult sounds to produce that are fundamental to the language Now in the modern day, a precise language is important, using the proper terms to refer to everything is important

In day from day scenario, the word stress usually refers to a state of anxiety, but in the context of linguistics,stress is identified as a feature of English pronunciation that put emphasis on words or sentences, it serves as a way for a good pronunciation and help English learner to be more competent in communication in English [30]

Stress can also be understood as that one element which stands out from a phrase, verse as it has a longer, phonological element [30]. According to what J Kenworthy

[32] had written in his book, correct stress patterns in English can be seen as an essential element that serve as the base for the English language students to improve their English pronunciation perception and English sound production when they engage in dialogue

In J Kenworthy book [32, pp.3-6], it is also stated that if a non-native speaker is to produce a word during a conversation with a native speaker, but apply their mother tongue speech pattern into the the English language, like if they incorrectly placed

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stress pattern dủing the conversation, can possibly causes difficulty for the listener, especially for those that are native to the language There still a high chance that the native speaker can still guess what is the non-native speaker trying to say, but most of the time the native speaker would ask them to repeat what the non-native speaker just said, creating an awkward situation if the non-native speaker continue to make error in their pronunciation This can mean that the meaning of the words would maybe result in a change of meaning, if a particular pattern of stress is to be expected by the native-speaker then the non-native speaker might not understand what the native speaker words mean

According to the research of B Sonia and B A Lotfi [30], they pointed out that if the speaker places the stress pattern in the wrong placements, then the vowel of the word would have a shift in quality and the meaning of the words that the speaker was trying to convey may possibly get their meaning changed, based on the context of the conversation For example, by placing the stress pattern on the second syllable, the word “present” - /ˈpreznt/ would transform into /pre’zent/ turning the meaning of the word from indicating a gift, to a word that indicate an act of showing something at the moment

With how the usage of music is to express and convey the emotions, messages that singers want to send to their audiences, to make them hear what the singer wants to convey and feel the emotions in the songs [4], word stress can be considered an effective factor that helps the singer in this regard By utilize stress pattern for their song lyric, singers were able to conjure up the emotions that they want to put in the song, sometime just by placing a singular stressed syllable in a word, the desired messages were able to come up to the listener, make them resonate with the lyric and help them to both memorize and identify the stress pattern that apppears in the song

[33]

Overall, a stressed syllable is very important as it not only can change the meaning of a word or sentence if the stress was used incorrectly, it is also an important factor for English songs to relay the emotions and messages of the singer to the listener

1.2.5 Intonation From the study of A D Patel with M Wong also J Foxton with A Lochy and I Perezt [34] intonation is defined as the melody of speech, it dictates how the pitch of the voice rises and falls Intonation also carries different functions which contribute to the achievement of meaning and intelligibility in conversation, it is also essential at determining the nature of a conversation and the meaning of a spoken word or sentence

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In the book ‘The Intonation Systems of English (2015)’ of P Tench, he identified and listed out the following major functions of intonation:

Firstly, organizing information in an utterance is seen as the most important function of intonation In a word or sentence we can distinguish between two kinds of information, given (not important) and new (significant) These pieces of information are distinguished and determined by the use of pitch High pitch indicates that a syllable in a word is the most important and has a contrastive focus in a word or sentence; therefore, regarded as the new information For example, when saying the

phrase “Anna just hit a man” with the word “Anna” in a higher pitch when compared

to other words in the phrase, the listener can interpret that “Anna “is the one who hit a man

Secondly, intonation is able to modify the function of a word or sentence by altering a simple statement to a question, request or an order For example, when saying the phrase “Simon is in the house", by just changing the pitch at the end to a higher degree, the phrase would transform into “Simon is in the house?”, by doing this the phrase was turned from a statement into a question

Thirdly, Intonation has an important role in expressing attitudes The choice of tone can correspond to a particular attitude For example, when saying the phrase “I will hurt you” with a threatening attitude, the word “hurt” has its tone rised up Or when saying the phrase “I’m sorry” with an apologetic attitude, the word “sorry” has its tone falled down

Intonation is also used as a punctuation marker to indicate grammatical units in order to help the listener understand what is uttered, if the pitch changes are wrongly used, the meaning of the sentence will be altered For examples, when saying the phrase “while I was eating, my brother, my sister and my aunt was in the living”, the word “eating” is used as a punctuation marker with a rise in pitch, to indicate that while the speaker is in the room, their brother was in the living room with their sister and aunt However, if the punctuation was not placed at the end of the word “eating”, the phrase would become “while I was eating my brother, my sister and my aunt was in the living room”, causing a significant change to the context of the phrase

One last important function of intonation is the regulation of discourse which leads to successful conversations It regulates the flow of a conversation and its behaviour by indicating the beginning and the end of speaking, or turn taking process Low pitch, reduced loudness, and rallentando (lengthening of turn-final elements) indicate the end-of-turn in a conversation with an air of finality When non-native speakers who are unfamiliar with the way that English uses intonation pitch will often apply their native language rules when speaking English íntead [9].

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Overall, intonation is a very important element of English pronunciation, as is it a fundamental aspect to learn when learning English pronunciation

1.2.6 Connected speech According to the J Kenworthy [32], connected speech is the alterations which conventional word forms experience owing to the temporal and articulatory restrictions on spontaneous, casual speech, described related speech processes They are the procedures that words go through when their border sounds merge with nearby sounds In short, English words when bumping into each other tend to be reduced when spoken, then being smashed together The pronunciation of words in connected speech may leave vowel and consonant sounds relatively intact, as in some types of linking, or connected speech may result in modifications to pronunciation that are quite dramatic, including deletions, additions, or changes of sounds into other sounds, or combinations of all three in a given word in context

From the research about features of connected speech of A Muhammad with H Abrar and Qureshi [36] connected speech possessed the following feature:

+ Weak Forms and Strong Forms of Words: Some English words can be pronounced in two ways, either in form without simplifications or in its reduced form E.g: “fish and chips” 🡪 “fish’n chips”

+ Assimilation: Assimilation is a process found in languages which cause speech sounds to be modified in a way which makes them more similar to their neighboring sounds E.g: “don’t you” blended into “don-chu”

+ Elision: Elision is sounds which are produced in words pronounced on their own, or in slow, careful speech, but are not found in different styles of speech Elision most commonly in the simplification of consonant clusters, mainly in words ending with /t/ and /d/ Elision occurs when a sound is omitted and it is a typical feature of connected speech E.g: “next door” often gets shortened to “nextdoor”

+ Liaison/ Linking: Liaison is a common feature of continuity and natural flow of speech To link the words means to join them together This happens when a consonant sound at the end of one word gets attached to the first vowel sound at the beginning of the following word E.g: “clean up” often sounds like “cleanup”

+ Silent Letters: English spellings do not have one to one correspondence with the sounds There are some spellings which are not given prominence when they come together E.g: “calm - /ka:m/”, silent /l/ before /m/

When native speakers speak English, they often use connected speech and what they say sounds very different from the way it is written If one wants to speak English like

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a native speaker, then connected speech is very important to master and be able to identify when to use connected speech correctly

1.2.7 Rhythm According to the Cambridge Dictionary, in the context of the English language, rhythm is a strong pattern of sounds, words, or musical notes that is used in music, poetry, and dancing

R Wong [9] claimed that the rhythm of the English language is one of the most difficult features for non-native speakers to learn and for native speakers to unlearn when studying other languages, with how the rhythm of a language is characterized by the timing pattern of successive syllables The study of R Wong [9] also claimed that, non-native speakers tend to unconsciously impose their mother tongue rhythm to the new language, in this case the English language Non-native speakers sometimes unwittingly draw abnormal attention to what they say, even being mistakenly perceived to be insistent Aside from the hazard of being misjudged, not knowing the rhythm system of English is likely to interfere with communication in general because as mentioned in [9], rhythm is an organizing principle of speech Causing even more is that the rhythmic system of the English language is affected by stress, accent, vowel type, pause & syllable structure [9]

1.2.8 Music and Song Throughout human history, music is considered to be an art form that is both rich and complex while being defined by a singular definition It is an art form that is concerned with combining vocal or instrumental sounds for beauty of form or emotional expression, usually according to cultural standards of rhythm, melody, and harmony It is the doorway to the inner realms and the use of music during creative and reflective times facilitates personal expression in writing, art, movement, and a multitude of projects Creation of musical compositions offers a pathway to expressing personal feelings and beliefs in the language of musical sound [4]. A song can be defined as a piece of music performed by a single voice, with or without instrumental accompaniment

Music and song can be used as tools for learning motivation and help students to be able to replicate/mimic the way that a syllable is producing in a song This can help students to develop a more clear and coherent pronunciation, further increase their capabilities in communication, especially in this age of globalization F Z Raxmatovna study on the influence of music on pronunciation [37] claimed that that music can be effective means in improving phonetic skills in a variety of ways, like with the melody combined with the lyrics can effectively provide an excellent opportunity to review pronunciation and enjoy music at the same time

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1.3 The important of accurate pronunciation

“Spoken language is sound and sound give life to grammar and vocabulary [38], Grammar and Vocabulary are the two most important factor in a spoken language, if the non-native speaker uttered a word to a native – speaker with a wrong grammar of that word but their pronunciation was clear and precise then the listener might still be able to understand what the speaker want to convey However, if the speaker pronounces their word wrong, the word might end-up as utter nonsense to the listener After all, pronunciation as a whole is strongly connected with speaking and listening skill, it serves as the base for a successful communication, and because of this if an individual did not pronounce their word correctly, not only the communication of such individual would be unsuccessful, their ability of English can’t not be judge as good as the whole even if they have a wide knowledge and understanding of words

The first thing that a native-speaker of a language notice when converse with a native speaker is their pronunciation, as the clarity of speaking is one of the most important factors when it came to communication between two people, especially between two people with different mother tongue, any mistake that happen in a dialogue could be sticked out like a sore thumb [[32] By training in their pronunciation clarity, one can improve their intelligibility and minimizes effort for interlocutors According to research by G Linebaugh and T Roche [39] pronunciation training can also help develop perception abilities (even though experimental evidence is still limited) In turn, by training the clarity of perception, the abilities to listen and understand the naturally fluent, connected speech will also be improved So, we can come to a conclusion for now that pronunciation practice has the potential to develop listening comprehension along with word segmentation skills (the ability to recognize separate words in running speech) Aside from that, research from L J Ranbom and C M Connine [40] showed that having a precise and clear pronunciation can also help improve both writing and reading skill, as their research pointed out a phonological representation will be a by-product of reading if encounters with written words, and particularly early encounters with written language

non-In conclusion, training for a precise pronunciation not only can help improve learner pronunciation skill in order for the listener to be more willing to listen to the learner more as they can easily understand what must be conveyed It can also help the learner achieve many other English skills along the way such as improved understanding of naturally fluent, connected speech, improve their segmentation skill, and improve both writing and reading skill along the way Proper pronunciation ensures that the learner message is conveyed clearly Mispronunciations can lead to misunderstandings, confusion, and ineffective communication When the non-native speak with accurate pronunciation, they appear more credible and confident People

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are more likely to trust and listen to someone who can convey their thoughts well Also, if a student is in an English-speaking environment, having good pronunciation can help them integrate better into the culture and society It opened the opportunity to participate in conversations effortlessly And when one is in the professional world, clear pronunciation is a highly valued skill that people can have It can impact job interviews, presentations, and overall career advancement

In short, a precise pronunciation is important for English learners, especially to students as they can both improve and utilize all the pronunciation skills they acquired during their times in school

1.4 Literature review summary

This literature review has taken a look at some previous studies and also provided some basic theories that are related to the topic of research Firstly, this literature review has discussed and identified gaps in both foreign and domestic studies that are related to the research topic Secondly, this literature review has pointed out the definition of pronunciation and definition of aspect of English pronunciation and also given out the general definition of music and song This shall serve as the basis and foundation for data analyzation Aside from that, this literature review also discussed the important of accurate pronunciation

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 Participants

This study was conducted within the grounds of Phenikaa University, with the participation of first year English majors of Phenikaa University, who were present in 11 first-year English speaking classes on 12/06/2024 Under the voluntary spirit, the specific number of participantt is 272 students Among these participants, 15 students (12 female, 3 male) volunteered for an interview with the researcher

2.2 Research methods

In order to obtain reliable and fully covered data for the study, both quantitative and qualitative approaches shall be utilized for the purpose of collecting data For quantitative approach, a google form questionnaire is to be filled in by first year English majors from 11 speaking classes For a qualitative approach, an interview with 15 volunteered students among the first-year English majors is conducted by interview face to face with the researcher

2.2.1 Quantitative approach The questionnaire consisted of 15 questions that cover the basic information of participants, how they rate their current pronunciation capabilities and how their pronunciation improved after listening to English songs All questions are presented in a simple manner in order to illustrate the effect of English song on first-year English major English pronunciation The basic information of participants is collected on the the first part of the questionnaire, this included participants gender, age, current level of pronunciation, how often does they listen to music, their favorite type(s) of music and favorite English songs, singers The second part of the questionnaire covers the effect of English songs on participants' English pronunciation and aspects of pronunciation The data collecting process was conducted and finished throughout the day of 12/06/2024 From 11 first-year English speaking classes, 272 answer sheets were collected

2.2.2 Qualitative approach For the qualitative approach, all volunteered students were asked the same 14 in-depth questions from an interview script, in order to provide more insight on how can listening to English songs affected student pronunciation skills and in order to identify the gap of utilize songs in pronunciation learning and problems that students may encounter while using listening to songs Students are encouraged to give examples for their answers, based on their favorite English songs The whole process of collecting data with this approach took place during the timespan from 12/06/2024 to 17/06/2024, within the grounds of Phenikaa University

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2.3 Data collection

First, the researcher goes to each first-year English speaking class that was on the date of 12/06/2024 The researcher then requested the teacher of the class to show a QR code that will lead them to the Google form questionnaire for students to scan Following this, the students then fill in their answers to the questions in the Google form questionnaire Each class takes about 10 minutes to complete the questionnaire After the students finished fill-in the questionnaire, the researcher then asked some of the students to part-take in the direct interview The majority of students are reluctant and show their unwillingness to volunteer for the interview Only 15 students throughout 11 classes volunteered The interview which each student was conducted on the time of the students own choosing, during the time spans of 12/06/2024 to 17/06/2024

2.4 Data analysis

The result of both quantitative and qualitative data will be analyzed in sequence The data that was collected from the questionnaire will be analyzed first, then the data that was collected from the direct interview will be analyzed after All data that was collected in the form of text answers has been extracted and processed into percentages data The percentages of collected data are approximate and have been rounded in-order to betterillustrate the collected data results

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CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Findings

3.1.1 Quantitative results The data from the Google form questionnaire was collected from 272 students of 11 English speaking classes

3.1.1.1 Participants basic information

The first data that was collected for this study are the participants gender and age This can help answer the question of whether gender and age affect the effectiveness of English songs on students English pronunciation or not

Chart 3.1: Gender of participants

Chart 3.1 shows that the number of female students in the research are 82%, while the number of male students are 18% This show a dominance number of female students compare to the number of male students among the first-year English major of Phenikaa University This may suggest that English language is a more prominent and more attractive field for female students

82%18%

Female

Male

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Chart 3.2: Age of research participants

Chart 3.2 shows that the majority of first-year English majors of Phenikaa University which, is 64% are 19 years old, while 30% are 18 years old, and the last 6% are 20 years old

Chart 3.3: Self-rating of participants English pronunciation proficiency

Chart 3.3 shows that a dominance number of 63% of students rate their pronunciation as average, while 21% of participants rate their pronunciation as poor Only 8% of

30%

64%

6%

18 years old19 years old20 years old

63%21%

3% 1%

ExcellentGoodAveragePoorBadOther

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participants rate their pronunciation as good, while 4% of participants rate excellent in their pronunciation Only 3% of participants rate their pronunciation as bad, and the last 1% have other opinions on their pronunciation which they rate themself as worse than bad

This may suggest that while the majority of first-year English majors of Phenikaa University possess an acceptable pronunciation proficiency level, a considerable number of students are still below average in this regard And only a small circle of students is above average This show that to acquire good and accurate pronunciation is not something easy to do as students needed to how to corresponding to the sounds of English language and this mean that the arrangement that corresponding to the sounds of learner native language are needed to be break down by establish a new way of hearing, new ways of using speech organs and new ways of speaking habits This is not something that can easily be done as it requires a great deal of hard work in-order to establish a firm set of boxes corresponding to the sounds of the English language Or the high percentages of students that rated themselves as average and poor are simply the display of uncertainty and that the students weren’t confident enough at their pronunciation skills

Chart 3.4: The amounts of times that participants listening to music

Chart 3.4 shows that 37% of participants listen to music every 30 minutes or less, 40% of participants listen to music one time a day While 15% of participants listen to

37%

40%15%

3% 2% 3%<=30 minutes

One a dayFew times per weeksFew times per monthsRarely

Other

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music a few times per week, only 3% are listening to music a few times per month and 2% of participants are rarely listening to music The last 3% of participants have other opinions on this matter, from listening to music a few times a day to never Judging from the amount of time that students spend on listening to music either for the purpose of entertainment or education

This may help provide insight on the potential that music and songs can be utilized for the purpose of learning English pronunciation by listening to more and more English songs

Chart 3.5: Type(s) of music that participants usually listen to

Chart 3.5 show that 80% of participants usually listen to pop music, 15% listen to jazz, 34% listen to R&B, 6% listen to opera, 7% listen to punk music, 25% listen to classical music, 20% listen to country music, 11% listen to folk music, 16% listen to

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

6%17%

51%

16%11%

20%25%

7% 6%

34%

15%80%

OtherRockRapBluesFolkCountryClassicalPunkOperaR&BJazzPop

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