Scientific report: Improving English pronunciation of students Hanoi Agricultural University pot

J. Sci. Dev. 2009, 7 (Eng.Iss.1): 130 - 135 HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE 130 Improving students' pronunciation at Hanoi University of Agriculture Cải thiện phát âm tiếng Anh của sinh viên trường Đại học Nông nghiệp Hà Nội Ha Thi Lan Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages TÓM TẮT Bài báo này nhằm mục đích đánh giá thực trạng phát âm tiếng Anh của sinh viên trường Đại học Nông Nghiệp Hà Nội và gợi ý một số phương pháp cụ thể để cải thiện khả năng phát âm của sinh viên. Thực tế cho thấy rằng hầu hết sinh viên đều không quan tâm đến phần phát âm từ cho đến khi họ gặp khó khăn khi nói tiếng Anh chuẩn xác và khó khăn trong khi nghe băng đĩa tiếng Anh. Hơn nữa, họ chỉ biết bắt chước người khác phát âm mà họ cho rằng người đó nói tiếng Anh giỏi hơn họ. Tuy nhiên, việc giới thiệu cho sinh viên các ký hiệu phiên âm quốc tế được lồng ghép trong chương trình giảng dạy tiếng Anh tại trường đã phần nào giúp cho sinh viên biết cách phát âm từ mọt cách chuẩn xác hơn. Sinh viên có thể nhận biết cách phát âm từ khi tra từ vựng trong từ điển. Hơn thế nữa, việc giới thiệu cho sinh viên nhận biết trọng âm của từ đã khuyến khích sinh viên chú ý hơn khi nói tiếng Anh sao cho chuẩn xác. Từ khóa: Ký hiệu phiên âm, phát âm, trọng âm. SUMMARY This article aims at assessing the actual situation about students’ pronunciation at Hanoi University of Agriculture and recommending some specific methods to improve the students’ pronunciation. It is found that most students have neglected pronunciation until they have difficulties in speaking pleasant English accurately and listening to English through tapes or CDs. Moreover, they had to depend on imitating English sounds from the others that are considered to be better English speakers. However, introducing the International phonetic symbols is included in the syllabus has helped students pronounce English words accurately to some extent. Students are able to know the pronunciation of words from dictionaries. Also, word stress has been addressed to students, which has motivated them to concentrate on speaking pleasant English. Key words: Phonetic symbols, pronunciation, word stress. 1. INTRODUCTION Why is proper pronunciation important? Hence, Gilbert (1995: 1) believed that the skills of listening comprehension and pronunciation are interdependent, and contends ‘if they (learners) cannot hear well, they are cut off from language. If they (learners) cannot be understood easily, they are cut off from conversation with native speakers.” Likewise, Nooteboom (1983) suggested that speech production is affected by speech perception, and stresses the need of pronunciation in both listening and speaking. Wong (1987) points out that even when the non-native speakers’ vocabulary and grammar are excellent, if their pronunciation falls below a certain threshold level, they are unable to communicate efficiently and effectively. Observations that limited pronunciation skills can undermine learners' self-confidence, restrict social interactions, and negatively influence estimations of a speaker's credibility and abilities are not new (Morley, 1998). Without correct pronunciation- no matter how vast the student's vocabulary may be, no matter how well the student understands and uses grammatical rules, no matter what their level of Improving students’ pronunciation at Hanoi University of Agriculture 131 reading or writing skills may be- if they don't use correct pronunciation it may be very difficult for listeners to understand what they say. And that is a huge hindrance to communication. In addition, some research indicates that if a student can not pronounce a word correctly, they may not be able to hear it when spoken by another person either, which furthers hinders communication. At Hanoi University of Agriculture, most of the students come from different rural provinces of the North of Viet Nam, so their English proficiency is limited. Many semi-structure interviews conducted during break time have indicated that they were taught with the traditional grammar – translation when they were at school. Moreover, their English proficiency was tested mainly in grammar and reading. They did not use to practice listening and speaking in class. Moreover, they only concentrated getting knowledge of the subjects of groups A, and B so as to pass the university entrance exam. As a result, they have a little knowledge of grammar. They have never paid attention to the pronunciation of words. They pronounce words in a wrong way. I often say to them that they can understand each other when they make the same mistakes in pronunciation. However, they will misunderstand each other if they pronounce words differently. They actually speak unpleasant English. Therefore, they find the listening and speaking skills the most difficult when surveyed. It is a big obstacle for them to communicate with English native speakers. This article reviews the current status of pronunciation in EFL classes at HUA. It provides an overview of the factors that influence pronunciation mastery and suggests some ways to plan and implement pronunciation instruction. 2. FACTORS INFLUENCING PRONUNCIATION MASTERY Research has contributed some important data on factors that can influence the learning and teaching of pronunciation skills. Celce-Murcia, Brinton, & Goodwin, (1996), Gillette (1994), Graham (1994) and Pennington (1994) discussed the following factors. "Age". The debate over the impact of age on language acquisition and specifically pronunciation is varied. Some researchers argue that, after puberty, lateralization (the assigning of linguistic functions to the different brain hemispheres) is completed, and adults' ability to distinguish and produce native-like sounds is more limited. Others refer to the existence of sensitive periods when various aspects of language acquisition occur, or to adults' need to re-adjust existing neural networks to accommodate new sounds. Most researchers, however, agree that adults find pronunciation more difficult than children do and that they probably will not achieve native-like pronunciation. Yet experiences with language learning and the ability to self-monitor, which come with age, can offset these limitations to some degree. "Amount and type of prior pronunciation instruction". Prior experiences with such pronunciation instruction may influence learners' success with current efforts. Learners at higher language proficiency levels may have developed habitual, systematic pronunciation errors that must be identified and addressed. "Aptitude". Individual capacity for learning languages has been debated. Some researchers believe all learners have the same capacity to learn a second language because they have learned a first language. Others assert that the ability to recognize and internalize foreign sounds may be unequally developed in different learners. "Learner attitude and motivation". Nonlinguistic factors related to an individual's personality and learning goals can influence achievement in pronunciation. Attitude toward the target language, culture, and native speakers; degree of acculturation (including exposure to and use of the target language); personal identity issues; and motivation for learning can all support or impede pronunciation skills development. "Native language". Most researchers agree that the learner's first language influences the pronunciation of the target language and is a significant factor in accounting for foreign accents. So-called interference or negative transfer from the first language is likely to cause errors in aspiration, intonation, and rhythm in the target language. The pronunciation of any one learner might be affected by a combination of these factors. The key is to be aware of their existence so that they may be considered in creating realistic and effective pronunciation goals and development plans for the learners. For example, native-like pronunciation is not likely to be a realistic goal for older learners; a learner who is a native speaker of a tonal language, such as Vietnamese, will need assistance with different pronunciation features than will a native Spanish speaker; and a twenty-three year old Ha Thi Lan 132 engineer who knows he will be more respected and possibly promoted if his pronunciation improves is likely to be responsive to direct pronunciation instruction. 3. LANGUAGE FEATURES INVOLVED IN PRONUNCIATION Two groups of features are involved in pronunciation: segmentals and suprasegmentals. "Segmentals" are the basic inventory of distinctive sounds and the way that they combine to form a spoken language. English, for example, has approximately 44 phonemes. Pronunciation instruction has often concentrated on the mastery of segmentals through discrimination and production of target sounds. "Suprasegmentals" transcend the level of individual sound production. They extend across segmentals and are often produced unconsciously by native speakers. Since suprasegmental elements provide crucial context and support (they determine meaning) for segmental production, they are assuming a more prominent place in pronunciation instruction (Celce-Murcia, Brinton, & Goodwin, 1996; Gilbert, 1990; Morley, 1991). Suprasegmentals include the following: * Stress a combination of length, loudness, and pitch applied to syllables in a word (e.g., Happy, FOOTball); * Rhythm the regular, patterned beat of stressed and unstressed syllables and pauses (e.g., with weak syllables in lower case and stressed syllables in upper case: they WANT to GO Later.); * Adjustments in connected speech modifications of sounds within and between words in streams of speech (e.g., "ask him," /æsk him/ becomes /æs kim/); * Prominence speaker's act of highlighting words to emphasize meaning or intent (e.g., Give me the BLUE one. (not the yellow one); and * Intonation the rising and falling of voice pitch across phrases and sentences (e.g., Are you REAdy?). 4. PRONUNCIATION INSTRUCTION IN EFL CLASSES AT HUA Most of the writer’s students have their English proficiency at low level. They can not speak English fluently. They have difficulties producing long sentences with fluency and accuracy of pronunciation. As an EFL teacher, my first priority is to help my students develop their pronunciation skills. Without proper pronunciation, other aspects of English such as vocabulary and grammar become useless if a student cannot be understood when he uses the language. When teaching pronunciation, teachers are giving feedback to their students about how they are saying things. This feedback includes what the problem is and what they need to do to correct it. This feedback may include where to place the tongue in the mouth to say particular words, or how the lips should be formed, or the action of the tongue when saying specific sounds. Mastering proper pronunciation is not just a matter of learning individual sounds. Many students can hear and make the different sounds for all the vowels and consonants in English. Unfortunately, they also have to contend with the sound changes that occur with different letter combinations resulting from linking or reduction of vowels and consonants, not to mention stress, pitch, and intonation differences between their native tongue and English. That's basically all there is to teaching pronunciation- giving feedback and ensuring that the student uses the feedback to improve their speaking skills. Some pronunciation instructions that have been implemented by the writer in some classes of course 52 and the class 53 of the advanced education program of crops science at HUA. 4.1. Introducing phonemic symbols Phonemic chart was introduced at the beginning of the Basic English course. The phonemic symbols represent the sounds of the English language. Using them can be a valuable tool to improving your students' pronunciation. The alphabet which we use to write English has 26 letters but (British) English has 44 sounds. Inevitably, English spelling is not a reliable guide to pronunciation because some letters have more than one sound. Also, letters are sometimes not pronounced at all. Moreover, the same sound may be represented by different letters. Especially, sometimes syllables indicated by the spelling are not pronounced at all. Here is a list of core items which were taught to the writer’s students. Firstly, explanation of Improving students’ pronunciation at Hanoi University of Agriculture 133 manner of articulation and place of articulation was introduced to the students. To illustrate this more clearly, the writer posted the picture of the articulators on the power point. Secondly, voiced and unvoiced sounds were presented in pairs so that the students could compare the sounds. Students should be taught this to help with the pronunciation of ‘s’ and ‘ed’ endings. Thirdly, discrimination of sounds in English and in Vietnamese is very important to help the students make effort when pronouncing difficult sounds that are different from some Vietnamese sounds. Fourthly, long and short vowels are emphasized. The students need to be able to confidently differentiate and produce these as they are both challenging and have an effect on meaning. Fifthly, word final consonants were introduced to the students. Vietnamese students often neglect these and constant exercises on final endings should be done attentively during any course. Finally, consonant clusters were addressed to the students. These are not a feature of Vietnamese and therefore are challenging. ‘sts’, ‘ts’, ‘str’, and ‘tr’ appear to be the most challenging for many students. All the phonemic symbols were pronounced carefully and clearly by the writer and repeated by the students. Then the writer posted some words with their transcriptions so that the students could pronounce the words by themselves. Their pronunciation was checked by the writer. 4.2. Introducing word stress  Raise Awareness The writer has asked the students the questions: What is word stress? Why is word stress important? to build their awareness. They are interested to learn about syllables, silent letters and stress, and it has built their confidence in English to know why words are pronounced in a certain way. Here are some details at a possible ‘recipe’ the writer has used for teaching word stress. Firstly, the writers started with two syllable words, and try to choose words with simple phonemes that are not likely to distract students’ attention or undermine their confidence. Secondly, the students were asked to identify the stressed syllable from your pronunciation of the word. Thirdly, the words were written on the board, and the students were asked to copy them into their books. Then they said the word several times and they were asked to underline the stressed syllable. Fourthly, the stressed syllable was underlined on the board and checks their answers. Fifthly, the teacher discussed any errors, and then asked the students, all together then one at a time, to repeat the words back to you. In judging their production, the teacher focused on stress pattern rather than phonemes, but did correct any glaring phoneme errors. Finally, the teacher should comment throughout on the fact that one of the syllables of each word is louder than the other. It is true that stressed syllables are also usually longer and at higher pitch than other syllables, but getting into that can confuse students, because we also talk about length in relation to vowel length, and about pitch in relation to intonation. So the teacher should use these concepts with caution.  Showing the stress The writer has established a clear way of showing my students word stress, and to be consistent in using it. A good way of showing stress is to use small and big circles above the word. Use a clear easy-to-see way of marking stress on the board and on handouts for students. I use the big circle - small circle (O o) method. It is very easy to see and has the added advantage of identifying the number of syllables in the word, as well as the stressed syllable. Students also need to be aware of the way dictionaries usually mark stress - with a mark before the stressed syllable, e.g. 'apple. By knowing this, students will be able to check word stress independently. This is good because you can show the number of syllables as well as the stressed one. It’s important to tell the students that stress is shown in different ways in dictionaries. Often the stressed syllable is preceded with an apostrophe (e.g. ‘teacher). Encourage students to record the stress in words as well as their meaning in their notebooks.  Integrating The most successful way to teach good pronunciation is to integrate it into every lesson. Encourage students to be as curious about the pronunciation of a word as they are about the meaning. Drill the pronunciation and stress. The more students are engaged in a word, the more likely they are to remember it. In short, Pronunciation teaching should be systematic, gradual, consistent, interesting, practical, and integrated. Ha Thi Lan 134 Here are some tips the writer would like to share when teaching pronunciation to your EFL students: –Never be shy to correct your students’ pronunciation in class. Wait until the student has completed the thought and then ask the class to repeat words that you think were not pronounced properly. Never interrupt a student in mid sentence. –When you are teaching an ESL class about a particular topic, always spend at least 10 minutes teaching the pronunciation of new vocabulary words to students. As they use the vocabulary words, correct pronunciation as necessary. –Use fun methods to teach pronunciation. One such method is by using a stick (or some kind of pointer) to point at each word. When you point, the students should repeat the word. If you don’t point, there should be complete silence. There will always be a student or two who will still say the word after you have pointed three or four times and suddenly stop. You can make a competition to see who is paying attention. Divide the classroom into five teams and give each team pictures of the vocabulary words or actual objects if they are available. When you call a word, the team that is responsible for that word should stand up and say the word in unison. As the game progresses, you can try to trick the teams by saying a vocabulary word but pointing at a team that is not responsible for the word. You can grade each team (using stars on the board) based on how every team member reacts, loudness, and togetherness. –Always focus both on the group and individuals when practicing pronunciation. Having the group look at the transcriptions of words and repeat after you at the same is helpful, but it is also important to have individual students repeat after you to make sure that bad pronunciation does not get hidden in the group. –Never allow your students to laugh at one another during pronunciation practice. Being laughed at can seriously damages a student’s inspiration to want to learn English. It is important to promote an environment were students can feel very comfortable with speaking out loud in class. –If your students are having trouble with a particular word or sound, ask them to watch your mouth as you repeat the word. They can attempt to imitate the shape of your mouth which will help improve their pronunciation. Most importantly, always make sure that you are speaking slowly and clearly. No matter what you are teaching, remember that your students are always listening to you so you need to make sure that your English is standard and understandable. Hopefully, you can help your students to understand the importance of pronunciation in ESL class so that they will be inspired to work on pronunciation by themselves. 5. CONCLUSION Pronunciation is very important to successful spoken communication. Pronunciation can be one of the most difficult parts of a language for adult learners to master and one of the least favourite topics for teachers to address in the classroom. Nevertheless, with careful preparation and integration, pronunciation can play an important role in supporting learners' overall communicative power. The writer herself is really interested in teaching pronunciation to students. Also, it was found that most of the students like to be introduced pronunciation. The students taught the phonemic chart and word stress have been more conscious when pronouncing words. Moreover, they have known how to use dictionaries effectively. They look at the transcriptions to pronounce words accurately by themselves. As a result, they are more confident in speaking English with their teacher and their friends. This has made the writer satisfied with her effort because some of the students have improved their pronunciation. Hopefully, the students will be able to communicate in English more confidently after graduation from university. REFERENCES Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D., & Goodwin, J. (1996). "Teaching pronunciation: Reference for teachers of English to speakers of other languages." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gilbert, J. (1990). "Pronunciation: What should we be teaching?" (ED 320 443). Gilbert, J. (1995). Pronunciation practices as an aid to listening comprehension. In D. J. Mendelson and J. Rubin (Eds.), A Guide for the Teaching of Second Language Learning (pp. 97-111). San Diego: Dominic Press. Improving students’ pronunciation at Hanoi University of Agriculture 135 Gillette, G. (1994). "On speaking terms: Practical guide to pronunciation for ABLE/ESL teachers." Euclid, OH: Northeast ABLE Resource Center. (ED 393 323). Graham, J. (1994). Four strategies to improve the speech of adult learners. "TESOL Journal," 3 (3), 26-28. Jordan, J. (1992). "Helping ESOL students to improve their pronunciation." London: Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit. (ED 359 837) Morley, J. (1998). Trippingly on the tongue: Putting serious speech/pronunciation instruction back in the TESOL equation. "ESL Magazine," January/February, 20-23. Morley, J. (1991). Pronunciation component in teaching English to speakers of other languages. "TESOL Quarterly," 25 (3), 481-520. Nooteboom, S. (1983). Is speech production controlled by speech perception? In van den Broecke et al. (Eds.), Sound Structure (pp. 153- 194). Dordrecht: Foris. Pennington, M. (1994). Recent research in L2 phonology: Implications for practice. In: J. Morley, (Ed.) "Pronunciation pedagogy and theory. New views, new directions." pp. 92-108. Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. (ED 388 061). Wong, R. (1987). Teaching Pronunciation: Focus on English Rhythm and Intonation. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents. . Here is a list of core items which were taught to the writer’s students. Firstly, explanation of Improving students pronunciation at Hanoi University of Agriculture 133 manner of articulation. hinders communication. At Hanoi University of Agriculture, most of the students come from different rural provinces of the North of Viet Nam, so their English proficiency is limited. Many. about students pronunciation at Hanoi University of Agriculture and recommending some specific methods to improve the students pronunciation. It is found that most students have neglected pronunciation