Using Language Learning Strategies in Pronunciation Training for Non-English Major Students = Kết hợp sử dụng các chiến lược học tập ngôn ngữ cùng với huấn luyệ

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN NGÂN HÀ USING LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN PRONUNCIATIO

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN NGÂN HÀ

USING LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN

PRONUNCIATION TRAINING FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR

STUDENTS

Kết hợp sử dụng các chiến lược học tập ngôn ngữ cùng với huấn luyện

phát âm cho sinh viên không chuyên Anh

Combined Programme Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10

Hanoi, 2013

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN NGÂN HÀ

USING LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN PRONUNCIATION

TRAINING FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS

Kết hợp sử dụng các chiến lược học tập ngôn ngữ cùng với huấn luyện phát âm

cho sinh viên không chuyên Anh

Combined Programme Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10

Supervisor: Dương Đức Minh, Ph.D

Hanoi, 2013

DECLARATION

This thesis is a presentation of my original research work Wherever contributions of others are involved, every effort is made to indicate this clearly, with due reference to the literature, and acknowledgement of collaborative research and discussions The work was done under the guidance of my supervisor, Dr Duong Duc Minh, at the University of Languages and International Studies, VNU

Duong Duc Minh, Ph.D

Date: Hanoi, October 4 th 2013

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I offer my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Duong Duc Minh, who has supported me through out my thesis with his patience and knowledge Without his encouragement and tolerance, I could not have completed my thesis One simply could not wish for a better or friendlier supervisor

I thank my beloved students who created joyful time of pronunciation lessons during the training program Although I do not teach them any more, I hope that they will keep being motivated with English pronunciation in particular and English learning in general

Finally, I want to express my love to my parents who are always worried about

me and willing to give me the greatest support, especially whenever I find myself the most useless

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this action research is to improve student’s pronunciation performance, especially in terms of English vowel sounds, through a pronunciation training program There were 20 non-English majored students from Hanoi University

of Science, VNU participating in this program During 10 weeks, students were provided with explanation on English vowel production as well as the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese vowel systems before practicing these sounds with the support of Dickerson’s Covert Rehearsal Model The data were collected from three questionnaires, two tests - the pre-test and post-test and reflective reports from students The analysis of collected data proved that after the training program, students gained certain improvement in their pronunciation performance The number of errors in pronouncing vowels decreased; nevertheless, some sounds remained problematic with learners By studying the mistakes, the researcher found that the relationship between L1 and L2 exists and L1 influenced negatively on the L2 pronunciation acquisition of students in this study Besides, the use of various pronunciation learning strategies was shown to be useful for students’ learning of pronunciation, especially the social strategy group (as classified by Oxford (1990) and Peterson (2000))

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Acknowledgement ii

Abstract iii

List of abbreviations vii

List of tables viii

List of figures ix

PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Problem statement and rationale for the study 1

2 Aims and objectives of the study 4

3 Research questions 4

4 Scope of the study 5

5 Methods of the study 5

6 Importance of the study 6

7 Design of the study 6

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT 8

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 8

1 Pronunciation teaching and learning 8

1.1 The importance of pronunciation teaching 8

1.2 The two approaches of pronunciation teaching 10

1.3 Intelligibility 12

1.4 Phonological transfer and the effect of L1 on the pronunciation of L2 14

2 Vowels in English and Vietnamese 17

2.1 Vietnamese vowels 17

2.2 English vowels 18

2.3 Differences between English and Vietnamese vowels 20

3 Pronunciation learning strategies 22

3.2 The classification of language learning strategies 25

3.3 Pronunciation learning strategies 26

3.3.1 The classification of pronunciation learning strategies 26

3.3.2 Learners’ use of pronunciation learning strategies 28

3.3.3 The effectiveness of pronunciation learning strategy instruction 30

3.3.4 Pronunciation learning strategy instruction model 32

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 37

2.1 Rationale for action research design 37

2.2 Background of the study 43

2.2.1 The course, textbook and problems with the teaching and learning pronunciation 43

2.2.2 Participants 45

2.3 Rationale for the use of explicit instruction and Dickerson’s Covert Rehearsal Model 46

2.3.1 Explicit instruction 46

2.3.2 Dickerson’s Covert Rehearsal Model 48

2.4 Research procedure 49

2.5 Procedure of the pronunciation training program 52

2.6 Data collection instruments 54

2.7 Data analysis 57

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Research question 1: Are there any problems of learners when producing English vowel sounds? If yes, what are they? 59

3.2 Research question 2: To what extent does pronunciation

training with the use of pronunciation learning strategies

enhance students’ pronunciation performance? 65

3.3 Research question 3: What are students’ perceptions of the effectiveness and usefulness of the training? 71

CHAPTER 4: IMPLICATIONS 82

4.1 Issues in teaching English pronunciation 82

4.2 Suggestions for implementing the pronunciation training program 83

PART 3: CONCLUSION 85

1 Summary of the findings 85

2 Limitations of the study 86

3 Recommendations for further research 86

REFERENCES 88 APPENDICES I

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

L1: The Native Language

L2: The Target Language

ESL: English as a Second Language

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

TL: Target Language

DCRM: Dickerson’s Covert Rehearsal Model

VNU: Vietnam National University

HUS: Hanoi University of Science

LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 1 Oxford’s classification of language learning strategies 27 Table 2 Comparison of Traditional Research and Action Research 43 Table 3 Incorrect pronunciation of sounds resulting from the

replacing an English vowel with another in Vietnamese 63 Table 4: Comparison of the means and standard deviation

between pretest and posttest 68 Table 5 The results of paired samples t-test of pre-test and post-test 68 Table 6 The number of students with the most common

mispronounced letters 71 Table 7 The most effective pronunciation learning tactics 80 Table 8.The least effective pronunciation learning tactics 81

LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 1 Vietnamese vowels 18

Figure 2 The degree of lip rounding 19

Figure 3 The single English vowel system 20

Figure 4 Simple Action Research Model 41

Figure 5 Detailed Action Research Model 41

Figure 6 The number of students in relation with their correct answers 47

Figure 7.Numbers of students having troubles with sounds in Group 1 70

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

This part, which is an introduction to the thesis, helps to provide the background as well as the context for the present study The section includes the statement of the problem and rationale for the study, research questions, aims and

objectives, significance, scope of the study and an overview of the rest of the paper

1 Problem statement and rationale for the study

Whether English is learnt as a second language or a foreign language, pronunciation should be paid adequate attention by both teachers and learners since

an English learner with a limited pronunciation performance may lose his confidence in social interactions, which “negatively affects estimations of a speaker’s credibility and abilities” (Gilakjani, 2012, p 119) In other words, learners with good English pronunciation tend to be understood despite their frequent grammatical mistakes in the speech On the other hand, good knowledge of English grammar is not an insurance of intelligibility, meaning “how much of the speech is actually understood by interlocutors” (Munro, 2011, p.9) As a result, these students may avoid communicating in English, experience social isolation, and have difficulties in finding jobs and limited opportunities for further study (Gilakjani, 2012) Many learners rank pronunciation one of the most difficult aspects in acquiring English Moreover, “the process of learning English is interconnected” (Varasarin, 2007, p.11), which means that the acquirement of one language aspect might be a support for mastering other aspects For example, according to Gilbert (1984), the improvement in English pronunciation is of great importance to enhance students’ listening and speaking skills

self-Within the English as a Second Language (ESL) setting, the fact that students have to use English not only in classrooms but also in real-life communication and interaction forces them to master it In other words, English skills become their survival skills, which makes teaching pronunciation is often considered essential in an ESL class (Varasarin, 2007) Meanwhile, in the English

as a foreign language (EFL) setting, English is no longer a means of communicating and there is hardly any other place than classrooms where it is used As a result, English has lost its title of survival skills in this case It would be easy for both EFL teachers and learners to neglect the significant role of pronunciation training in assisting students to gain precise command of English (Gilbert, 1984) In such cases where students have few chances to practice English, it is vital for teachers to show more of their responsibility to create greater opportunities for students to expose to the target language rather than avoid facing the difficulties

Even though pronunciation is said to be able to acquire naturally (Krashen, 1985), pronunciation instruction has been proved to bring students chances to enhance their intelligibility and comprehensibility which are influential factors of their communicative competence (Prator, 1971, Morley, 1991 as cited in Darcy, Ewert, & Lidster, 2012) According to Harmer (2007), students can overcome difficult sounds by understanding how they are produced while teachers may support their learning of pronunciation by making them aware of their mispronunciation (Kenworthy, 1987) In short, pronunciation instruction plays an important role in helping learners acquire knowledge, raising their awareness and improving skills that support the enhancement of intelligibility

During the pronunciation learning process, learners may be affected by various factors such as the native language, the age factor, the amount of exposure, the phonetic ability, the attitude and identity, the motivation and concern for good pronunciation (Kenworthy, 1987) Among these factors, the native language is stated to be the most influential one as the L1 sound system may affect the acquisition of a second language For example, people with L1 accent will produce

a “foreign accent” which makes them easy to be identified among speakers of English Effects of L1 can be found in the way students cope with difficult sounds

in L2 (Celce-Murcia, Brinton, & Goodwin, 1996 ) They tend to use an L1 sound to substitute for an L2 one and the phonological rules of L1 may be mistakenly applied

to L2 One of possible solutions for this problem might be making students aware of

the differences between L1 and L2 Studies conducted by Ohata (2004), Huthaily (2008), Tharpe (2008) indicate that the pronunciation instruction becomes more useful if it can help students understand the similarities as well as discrepancies between their native and target language

With regards to language learning strategies, O’Malley and Chamot (1990, p.29) define them as “special thoughts or behaviours that individuals use to help them comprehend, learn, or retain new information” The purpose of using these strategies is to “affect the learner's motivational or affective state, or the way in which the learner selects, acquires, organizes, or interacts new knowledge” (Weinstein and Mayer, 1986, p 315) The significance of language learning strategies is appreciated in such a way that they can enhance learners’ language proficiency and develop their communicative competence (Oxford, 1990)

With profound influence of the development of English as an international language, Vietnamese schools are providing students with English as one of the core subjects at school In big cities, children even can learn English before they start their primary school (Ha, 2005) However, it is problematic that “many Vietnamese speakers can speak English, but only a few have intelligible English pronunciation” (Ha, 2005, p.1) As observed, students in Hanoi University of Science (HUS) share the same problem They long to speak English accurately and fluently but for some reasons, English becomes too challenging for them and they are too shy to speak English The biggest reason might be the differences in English and Vietnamese sound systems (Ha, 2005) and results in some typical pronunciation errors As for teachers, it is worth noting that not every English teacher in this university provides frequent pronunciation training for their students even though it

is required in the curriculum Therefore, students lack orientation in learning and practicing as well as exposure to pronunciation of English language and often ignore it while their focus is mainly on listening, reading, speaking and writing skills Hardly ever do they realize that there is always an obvious relationship of listening and speaking with pronunciation (Gilbert, 1984) and their poor

performance in listening and speaking tests partially results from bad pronunciation

A further consequence is that students might lose their confidence in speaking English as they are afraid of making mistakes and feel inferior With the desire to help my students first improve their pronunciation skills and then consolidate their self-confidence in using English so that the fear of making mistakes or being blamed will no longer be their obsession, I decide to conduct an action search in

which I will provide my HUS students with frequent pronunciation training

combining with pronunciation learning strategies It is believed that with regular

practice, learners will improve their performance and feel confident (Avery and Ehrlich, 1992)

2 Aims and objectives of the study

The study aims to improve the pronunciation of non-English majored students in HUS through the pronunciation training process In this training, students were given detailed instructions in terms of English vowels as well the similarities and differences between Vietnamese and English vowels Moreover, the training gave students chances to practice English with the use of various pronunciation learning strategies attached to steps of Dickerson’s Covert Rehearsal Model All of activities in this course were to help students develop their acquisition

of English vowels However, before that, to make it more helpful, the study identified problems that learners may have while producing English vowels After all, the researcher expects to receive students’ evaluation of the whole training process and to find out which parts of this process show to be useful for their learning of pronunciation and which learning strategies that students found more effective

3 Research questions

The study is expected to find answers for the following research questions:

1 Are there any problems of learners when producing English vowel sounds?

If yes, what are they?

2 To what extent does pronunciation training enhance students’ pronunciation performance?

3 What are students’ perceptions of the effectiveness and usefulness of the training?

4 Scope of the study

The study was conducted with the pronunciation training program which included two main parts The first one was the instruction on English vowel sound production and explanation of differences between Vietnamese and English vowel systems The second was the practice of English vowels with Dickerson’s Covert Rehearsal Model under the instructions of the teacher-researcher Learners were instructed and encouraged to use a variety of learning strategies during some steps

of the Covert Rehearsal to improve their pronunciation Suggested pronunciation learning strategies in this study belong to Peterson’s (2000) and Oxford’s (1990) strategies taxonomies which include five group: (1) Memory strategies, (2) Cognitive strategies, (3) Metacognitive strategies, (4) Affective strategies, (5) Social strategies However, the real use of language learning tactics would depend

on students themselves during the pronunciation training process Accordingly, students’ target was the production of vowel sounds only There were 20 HUS students participating in this ten-week training course with 100 minutes of interacting with the teacher per week The two parts of the program were conducted simultaneously during those weeks The teacher provided instructions on essential knowledge of pronunciation in class while students practiced sounds that they learnt

at home with the Dickerson’s Covert Rehearsal Model

5 Methods of the study

The research design applied in this study is action research with the use of some research instruments, namely, questionnaires, pre-test and post-test and reflective reports The combination of these instruments helped the researcher gain reliable data and accurate understanding of learners’ problems and the nature of the

training process Rationale for the choice of this design and research tools is presented in the Methodology chapter

6 Importance of the study

First and foremost, with the pronunciation training program, the researcher expects to bring positive changes in students’ pronunciation performance, especially the production of English vowels Hence, those who benefit directly from this study are students participating in the research After this training, students do not only gain essential knowledge about English pronunciation but also build up useful learning strategies for themselves to improve their skills Moreover, it is hoped that students’ confidence and autonomy will be developed

Secondly, the findings from this research can be valuable evidence about the relationship of pronunciation learning strategies and learners’ outcomes, besides showing contribution of explicit instruction on pronunciation to the improvement of learners Hopefully, the successful application of this approach will open one more practical way in pronunciation learning for English learners as well as useful way of teaching pronunciation for teachers The results of this study might also be a significant reference for other teachers and researchers that share the same concerned field in their practice of teaching English

7 Design of the study

The following parts of the study were divided into five chapters:

PART 2: Development

Chapter 1: Literature Review

This chapter reviews the current theories in pronunciation teaching and learning, the classifications of language learning strategies and models of pronunciation learning strategy training

Chapter 2: Methodology

The Methodology chapter explains why action research was chosen as the research method, shows the steps of how the research was conducted, and justifies data collection instruments and data analysis methods

Chapter 3: Findings and Discussion

In chapter 3, the actions, findings and analysis of the findings of the research are provided in response to the research questions

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1 Pronunciation teaching and learning

1.1 The importance of pronunciation teaching

To achieve high level of English proficiency, learners cannot ignore the contribution of pronunciation as an integral aspect of communicative competence (Morley, 1991), which is considered to be essential in deciding the intelligibility of the speaker (Brown, 1992; Fraser, 2000) Despite some arguments that pronunciation can be acquired naturally (Krashen, 1985), it is impossible to deny the significance of pronunciation instruction in improving intelligibility and

comprehensibility (Prator, 1971; Morley, 1991 as cited in Darcy et al., 2012) It

holds its own value in the way that by giving learners “the perceptual and the productive experience they need to reconceptualize the performance targets” (Pennington, 1994 as cited in Silveira, 2002, p 94), the instruction can develop their interlanguage phonology

With explicit pronunciation instruction, teachers help learners acquire knowledge, raise their awareness and improve skills that support the improvement

of intelligibility According to Harmer (2007), sounds may be difficult for learners

to hear and comprehend so it is teacher’s responsibility to help them overcome the problem by explaining how sounds are produced Moreover, hearing the sounds effectively is useful in improving the quality of sound utterance Kenworthy (1987) emphasizes the critical role of the teacher in pronunciation teaching when stating that the teacher make learners aware of their mispronunciation which is not often recognized by learners themselves and give them the correction Kelly (2001) suggests that pronunciation can be mastered by such activities as games, drills, chaining, minimal pairs, etc The author also supposes that the teaching of pronunciation has two sides - the teaching of productive skills and receptive skills;

each kind of activities might have certain effectiveness towards learners’ different skills For instance, drilling activities are able to improve both kinds while noting tasks are useful for receptive skills

To evaluate the effectiveness of explicit pronunciation towards the learning

of pronunciation, Elliott (1997) conducted a research with intermediate adult learners and found that it was really beneficial In this experimental study, there were two groups with experimental group subjects who received 10 to 15 minutes

of formal instruction and practice of Spanish allophones during twenty-one class periods The practice activities used in this study included word and sentence repetition exercises, rhymes or tongue twister They would be done after the teacher taught students how to pronounce specific sounds and their graphemic representation The findings indicated that pronunciation instruction had a great contribution to the pronunciation acquisition of learners who could benefit from activities focusing on the target language sound system The similar conclusion can

be found in Moore’s (2001) case study which investigated the effects of formal instruction on EFL pronunciation learning With pronunciation teaching, the experimental group was aware of the importance of pronunciation and had greater improvement than the control group Saito’s (2010) study examined the benefit of explicit phonetic instruction by two outcome measurements: a rubric of accentedness and comprehensibility Results showed that even though the instruction could not reduce the foreign accent which was the evidence of L1 influence on L2 pronunciation, it had significant effect on comprehensibility in the sentence-reading task The effectiveness of pronunciation teaching is also investigated together with other factors such as the use of corrective feedback as in the study of Saito & Lyster (2012) In this study, Japanese students in the experimental group benefited more from pronunciation instruction with corrective feedback and gained great development in pronouncing the most difficult English sound /ɹ/ This indicates that pronunciation teaching plays an important role in driving student’s awareness towards the specific target sounds by providing

instructional input but corrective feedback is useful in ensuring the intelligibility of students’ output Couper (2006) with his classroom-based study investigated both short-term and long-term effects of pronunciation instruction and confirmed the importance of instruction to changes in learners’ phonological interlanguage Long-term effects of pronunciation were proved through study results showing that students’ gains made were retained over time Positive evidences of pronunciation instruction profits helped the researcher come up with some significant inferences about the teaching Effective teaching of pronunciation involves:

• making learners aware that there is a difference between what they say and what native speakers say

• helping learners to hear the difference and practice it

• finding the right metalanguage

• helping learners to discover useful patterns and rules

• giving feedback and providing opportunities for further practice

(Couper, 2006, p.59) With the recognition of the significance of pronunciation instruction, the next concerned issues of the study are the selection of a suitable approach for the teaching as well as the identification of a target in pronunciation for learners

1.2 The two approaches of pronunciation teaching

Although, in the history of language teaching methodology, the teaching of pronunciation has been at-odds with that of grammar (Kelly, 1969), they share one common point: having “come in and out of fashion as various progressive movements in language acquisition have prevailed” (Carey, 2009) Pronunciation teaching could be the focus of the Direct Method in late 1800s and 1900s or Audio-Lingual Method of 1940s-1950s but then was ignored during 1960s with the emerge

of the Cognitive Approach It was privileged by the Communicative Approach from 1980s up to now However, once in the 20th century, it was given little attention when Grammar-Translation Method dominated According to Kelly (1969) and

Celce-Murcia et al, (1996), the teaching of pronunciation can follow either intuitive

or analytic approach

In the intuitive (Kelly, 1969) or intuitive-imitative approach (Celce-Murcia

et al., 1996), the imitative procedures, which consist of two stages: perception of

speech and production, are considered the backbone of pronunciation teaching This approach indicates that the learner's ability to listen to and imitate the rhythms and sounds of the target language, without the intervention of any explicit information, will bring about the development in pronunciation skills Besides, it presupposes the availability, validity, and reliability of good models to listen to This approach underlies the audio-lingual method until the 80’s of the 20th century (Carey, 2009)

Whilst explicit pronunciation is underestimated in the former approach, it is

of great importance in the analytic-linguistic approach (Celce-Murcia et al., 1996)

With information and tools such as a phonetic alphabet, articulatory descriptions, charts of the vocal apparatus and contrastive information, teachers explicitly inform learners of the sound system and rhythms of the target language However, this approach was not invented to replace but complement the intuitive-imitative approach, which was used as the practice phase in tandem with the phonetic

information (Celce-Murcia et al., 1996)

The intuitive-imitative approach can be recognized as the basis of many analytic syllabus types such as Task-based learning where the form-focused approaches with explicit information of pronunciation are neglected or discredited

as ineffective (Hall, 2011 as cited in Linebaugh & Roche, 2012) Besides, this approach also appears in a variety of textbooks, guidelines or tips for learning and teaching English (Linebaugh & Roche, 2012) Nevertheless, so far, there have been

a tiny number of studies comparing the effectiveness of the two approaches towards pronunciation learning and the issue of which one is the better seems to be never settled Hashemian and Fadaei (2011) conducted a comparative study to investigate the effectiveness of the two approaches on the teaching English vowels to Iranian

learners They came to a conclusion that while the intuitive approach showed to be helpful in improving students’ pronunciation of diphthongs, the other approach, analytic-linguistic approach, had its own advantages in terms of pure vowel learning This finding implied that these two approaches should be supportive of each other rather than contradict It is affirmed by a study of Linebaugh & Roche (2012), who emphasized that despite the importance of the intuitive-imitative approach in helping students achieving intelligibility, articulatory training with form-focused approach is beneficial for the learning of particular problematic sounds Underhill’s (2005) suggested that the intelligibility can be improved by raising students’ awareness of how sounds are articulated Looking at the effectiveness of the two approaches, but not from the aspect of what to teach, Roohani (2012) evaluated it under the influence of the age The researcher claimed that the intuitive-imitative approach was more effective for the younger learners at the age of 13-16 years old whereas the analytic-linguistic seemed to be more suitable with those who are 17-20 years old

It seems that neither of two approaches can have the absolute advantage over the other and their effectiveness depends largely on the teaching and learning context With the analytic-linguistic approach serving as the basis, in this study, information such as the sound systems, the articulation as well as differences between vowels in L1 and L2 was taught explicitly during the pronunciation training course

1.3 Intelligibility

Becoming the goal of pronunciation instruction since 1980s (Celce-Murcia et

al., 1996; Morley, 1987 and Derwing & Munro, 2005), intelligibility is considered

as a basic requirement in human reaction According to Kenworthy (1987, p.13), intelligibility is defined as “being understood by a listener at a given time in a given situation” This means that in communication, despite not being the same as a native pronunciation, a foreign pronunciation is intelligible if it is understandable to

the listener However, the judgment on intelligibility varies and depends on some factors (Kenworthy, 1987 and Yates, 2002) such as:

 The listener’s familiarity with the speaker’s accent

 The listener’s expertise in understanding speakers from different backgrounds

 The listener’s attitudes towards the speaker and the speaker’s ethnic

Hence, whether the speaker’s pronunciation is intelligible or not relies partly

on “how familiar the listeners are with the speaker, how sympathetic they are to the speaker and how much they know about the topic” (Yates, 2002, p.2) However, above all, the intelligibility should involve the role of the speakers, not solely depend on the listeners (Jenkins, 2000) It indicates that the level of intelligibility is measured by the quality of the speaker’s pronunciation as well as the perception of the listener While there are few studies conducted to determine how much contribution of speakers and listeners is required to guarantee the acceptable intelligibility, a pronunciation instructor can help students improve their intelligibility partially by making their pronunciation of good quality which is realized by certain requirements on overall prosody, phrasing and sense groups, intonation, word stress, rhythm, syllable structure and segments - elements important for intelligibility (Moedjito, 2009)

Based on views about intelligibility, in this study, this term is supposed to be the level of listener’s understanding of speaker’s intended message as the speaker utters it This implies that normally, the intelligibility of a speech should be first placed more on the speaker than on the listener and the intelligibility level can be determined by the speaker Even though segments are considered to be less important than prosody (Anderson-Hsieh and Koehler, 1988; Anderson-Hsieh, Johnson and Koehler, 1992), errors in individual sounds may affect the understanding of speaker’s speech, especially when communication between non-native speakers of English occurs (Jenkins, 2000 as cited in Moedjito, 2009) By

improving students’ pronunciation performance, in terms of vowel production, the training was expected to increase students’ intelligibility in communication rather than to train students to have native-like accent

1.4 Phonological transfer and the effect of L1 on the pronunciation of L2

The acquisition of a second language will more or less be influenced by the native language This phenomenon is called “transfer” or “cross-linguistic influence” which is defined as “the influence of a person’s knowledge of one language on that person’s knowledge or use of another language” (Jarvis and Pavlenko, 2008 as cited in Luik, 2010, p.2) According to Gass & Selinker (2001 as cited in Ly, 2007), using first language in the second language context makes learners produce a nontarget-like second language form, which is called negative transfer It will be a positive transfer if the form is correct Odlin (1989 as cited in

Ly, 2007) claimed that it is the difference between L1 and L2 that causes students to adapt the new language by producing new sounds similar to their L1 Hence, the negative transfer can lead to overproduction, underproduction and misinterpretation The transfer process takes place in every aspect of language: pragmatics, rhetoric, semantics, syntax, phonology, phonetics, etc (Odlin, 2003) Within the scope and objectives, this study draws its attention only to the phonological transfer which is defined as “the way in which a person’s knowledge of the sound system of one language can affect that person’s perception and production of speech sounds in another language” (Jarvis& Pavlenko, 2007 as cited in Luik, 2010, p.2)

According to Kenworthy (1987), the acquisition of L2 pronunciation is determined by several factors: the native language, the age factor, the amount of exposure, the phonetic ability, the attitude and identity, the motivation and concern for good pronunciation Among these factors, the influence of the native language is proved to be the most influential one He argued that students who are familiar with the L1 sound system may be affected greatly during the process of acquiring a second language A visible evidence of L1 influence is that people with L1 accent

will produce a “foreign accent” which makes them easy to be identified among

speakers of English Celce-Murcia et al (1996) suggests that the effect of L1 on L2

pronunciation acquisition can be either positive or negative as the transfer from L1

to L2 happens Moreover, due to the familiarity with the native language, the learner tends use an L1 sound to substitute for an L2 sound and the phonological rules of L1 may be mistakenly applied to L2

These effects are clearly reflected in some findings of Fledge’s (1980, as cited in Lord (2008)) study By investigating the interference of L1 in Spanish learners’ production of English sounds, the researcher confirmed the influence of L1 on L2 phonology as the pronunciation of word-final and -initial Voice Onset Time (VOT) values of the participants was found to be similar to their L1 In another research conducted by Carlisle (1988), Spanish participants tended to add the sound /e/ before word-initial /s/ when they spoke English This phenomenon was explained as a result of the fact that L1 phonological rules were applied by speakers while pronouncing English sounds This is similar to the findings of Liu’s (2011) study in which he found that the negative transfer from L1 to L2 caused the mispronunciation of language learner He claimed that it was the activation of learners’ native language knowledge in using the second language that was responsible for the problem A detailed case of a Chinese speaker of English given

by Ly (2007) also illustrates this conclusion Due to the lack of dental fricatives in Chinese language, the learner replaced the sound /θ/ with /t/ or /f/ and /ð/ with /d/ Olsen (2009) argues that differences between L1 and L2 phonological rules can cause difficulties in acquiring L2 pronunciation skills Therefore, the understanding

of inter-language phonology should be informed to L2 learners Besides, the accuracy of L2 pronunciation production may be impacted by the L1 use (Guion, Flege & Loftin, 2000) The more L1 was used, the stronger foreign accent was in the L2

The studies on influences of L1 on L2 acquisition process provide chances for researchers as well as educators to understand more about pronunciation

mistakes of L2 learners so that appropriate teaching technique can be employed to solve the problem In fact, contrastive analysis which explores discrepancies between L1 and L2 can be one of useful devices to explain learners’ pronunciation errors that teachers encounter in their teaching practices (Celce-Murcia & Hawkins,

1985 as cited in Ohata, 2004) Ohata (2004) took advantage of the phonetic differences between Japanese and English to improve his students’ pronunciation

In the study, the learners were provided with a training course in which they were informed explicitly the differences between English and Japanese sound systems The results implied that the effectiveness of pronunciation teaching relies on the way that the teacher helps students be aware of the discrepancies between English and Japanese sounds Findings in the study by Huthaily (2008) confirmed benefits

of explicit pronunciation instruction, especially instruction with phonetics and phonologies of both L1 and L2 The results showed that students who received such kind of instruction scored higher than those who did not By helping students compare the places and manners of articulation of the sounds that do not exist in the first language as well as the phonological rules of the target language, teacher could increase students’ sound production skills In the meantime, sounds which are similar in both L1 and L2 should receive less teaching time as they do not create difficulty in sound production According to Tharpe (2008), the acquisition of adult L2 learners can be boosted if they have comprehensive understanding about the similarities as well as differences between L1 and L2 and are directly taught how to articulate challenging sounds in the L2 Moreover, the pronunciation instruction becomes beneficial when it can raise students’ awareness of an existing discrepancy between their L1 and the L2 sounds

From previous studies mentioned above, it is possible to infer that the first language may leave great effects on the L2 pronunciation learning process due to differences between the two sound systems Moreover, it is the contrastive analysis that can be used to explain students’ errors in producing L2 sounds (Brown, 1994 as cited in Ohata, 2004) To improve students’ pronunciation, explanation about those

differences should be integrated in the instruction with appropriate practice activities

2 Vowels in English and Vietnamese

In pronunciation teaching, a teacher should pay attention to various aspects that control the level of intelligibility of students’ speech such as: prosody, phrasing and sense groups, intonation, word stress, rhythm, syllable structure and segments (Moedjito, 2009) This means that the improvement in students’ pronunciation is the combined effects of those factors Hence, whether segmentals or suprasegmentals, they both have certain contribution to the development of learners’ pronunciation skills In fact, Celce-Murcia (2001) suggested that problems

in both segmental and suprasegmental features can result in the lack of intelligibility This study shares the belief with Tran’s (2009) study that both suprasegmentals and segmentals are equally significant to the pronunciation improvement but at different stages and for different subjects Within the context of the study where students were at the elementary level of English proficiency and vowel teaching is the compulsory content of the whole English course, the English and Vietnamese vowel systems were the focus

2.1 Vietnamese vowels

According to Doan (2002), Vietnamese vowel system consists of thirteen single vowels (/i, e, ε, ɤ, ɤˇ, a, ɯ, ă, u, o, ɔ, ɔˇ, εˇ/) and three diphthongs (/ie, ɯɤ, uo/)

Vietnamese has three types of vowels, including acute (front): /i, e, ε, εˇ/, light grave: /ɯ, ɤ, ɤˇ, a, ă/, grave (back): u, o, ɔ, ɔˇ (Chu, 2009) These vowels can

be presented in the following figure:

Figure 1 Vietnamese Vowels From “Vowels in English and Vietnamese: A Contrastive

Analysis”, by Chu, T.T.T, 2009, p 6

2.2 English vowels

Vowel sounds are created when a voiced airstream is shaped using the tongue and the lips to change the overall shape of the mouth According to Roach (1991, pp 14-25), an single English vowel is identified with four features: (i) the length of the vowel, (ii) the level of the tongue, (iii) the part of the tongue and (iv) the degree of lip rounding There are 12 single vowels in English, including 5 long vowels and 7 short ones However, with regards to short vowels, Roach (1991) separates the vowel /ə/ from the others as he supposes that this sound, which has another name, “schwa sound”, has some special features In addition to single vowels, English vowel system also includes 8 diphthongs and 5 triphthongs The classification of single vowels is explained by Kelly (2001) based on four factors above before diphthongs and triphthongs are mentioned

In terms of the length of the vowel, there are two types: long vowels and short vowels Long vowels include /ɑ:/, /ɔ:/, / ɜ:/, /u:/, /i:/ Short vowels include /ɪ/, /e/, /æ/, /ʌ/, /ɒ/, /ʊ/ and /ə/

The level of the tongue helps to divide those vowels into three groups: “high” with / i: /, /ɪ/, / u: /, / ʊ /; “mid” with / e /, /ə /, /ɜ:/, / ʌ /, / ɔ:/; and “low” with / æ /, / ɑ:/, /ɒ/

Another classifying criterion is the part of the tongue and vowels are also classified as front, central, and back, depending on how far forward or back the tongue is positioned and which part of the tongue is involved With this classification, we have front vowels / i: /, /ɪ/, /e/, /æ/; central vowels /ə /, / ɜ:/, /ʌ/; back vowels /ɑ:/, /ɔ:/, /ɒ/, /u:/, /ʊ/

The fourth feature of a single vowel is the degree of lip rounding A rounded vowel is the one created with lips are pushed forward into the shape of a circle They are /ɑ:/, /ɔ:/, /ɒ/, /u:/, /ʊ/ When the corners of the lips are moved away from each other, as when smiling, spread vowels like / i: /, /ɪ/, /e/, /æ/ will be made Neutral vowels /ə/, /ɜ:/, /ʌ/ have the lips which are not clearly rounded or spread

Figure 2 The degree of lip rounding From “How to Teach Pronunciation”, by Kelly,2001, p.30

All single English vowels with their features are illustrated in the following chart:

Figure 3 The single English vowel system From “Vowels in English and Vietnamese: A

Contrastive Analysis”, by Chu, T.T.T, 2009, p 4

Beside single vowels, English has diphthongs and triphthongs which consist

of more than two single vowels (Roach, 1991) However, Kelly (2000) suggests only two types of pure vowels which are similar to single vowels given by Roach (1991) and diphthongs Kelly’s classification is also similar to Marks’ (2007) in his book “English Pronunciation in Use – Elementary” which was used as the course book of the training program

Diphthong is a combination of two single vowel sounds in which there is a glide from one pure vowel to another Kelly (2000) supposes that in English diphthongs, the length of each sound is not equally The first sound is observed to

be longer and louder than the second Both Roach (1991) and Kelly (2000) confirm that there are eight diphthongs which are divided into two groups: Centring and Closing diphthongs Centring diphthongs end with a glide towards /ə/, whose name,

a central vowel, is the reason why those diphthongs are called “centring” Likewise, closing refers to diphthongs which end with a glide towards /ɪ/ or /ʊ/

2.3 Differences between English and Vietnamese vowels

It is the differences between English and Vietnamese vowels that cause difficulties for Vietnamese learners of English when trying to perfect their

pronunciation By helping students be aware of those differences, the teacher will provide them with a chance to improve their pronunciation The following differences between English and Vietnamese vowels were analyzed in Chu’s (2009) study

According to Chu (2009), Vietnamese has more long vowels and fewer short vowels than English Both Vietnamese and English share three single vowels: /ɪ/ as

in “sit”, /e/ as in “egg” and /ʊ/ as in “would.” In addition to these shared sounds, Vietnamese contains four additional single vowels, /ε/ as in tên “name,” /ɯ/ as in

mừng “happy,” /ɤ/ as in lớn “big,” /ɤˇ/ as in tân “new” and three diphthongs /ɪe/ as

in miền “region” /uo/ as in uống “drink” and /ɯɤ/ as in hướng “direction”

About diphthong distribution, diphthongs in Vietnamese are mostly centering, while in English diphthongs are distributed centering (ɪə, eə, ʊə) or closing (eɪ, aɪ, ɔɪ, əʊ, aʊ)

According to Chu (2009), students tend to mistake the sound /u/ in Vietnamese with the sound /ʊ/ in English The sound /ʊ/ in English is more rounded and pronounced more backwards than the sound /u/ in Vietnamese Besides, in English and Vietnamese, there is the sound /ɪ/ but the sound /ɪ/ in English is said to

be shorter, close front than the sound /ɪ/ in Vietnamese Another sound students may confuse is /e/ The sound /e/ in English is the mid vowel, while the sound /e/ in Vietnamese is the high vowel Both are the front vowels but the sound /e/ in English

is pronounced more forward Therefore when pronouncing the sound /e/ in English, learners should put the tongue lower and more forward than when they pronounce the sound /e/ in Vietnamese Another similar pair of sound is /ɔ/ in Vietnamese and /ɒ/ in English The sound /ɒ/ in English is a low rounded vowel, while the sound /ɔ/

in Vietnamese is a mid-rounded vowel However, the sound /ɒ/ is pronounced more roundly and more backward than the sound /ɔ/ Lastly, there is a small difference between the sound /a/ in Vietnamese and /a:/ in English When the sound /a:/ is pronounced, it is more rounded and lower and longer and more backwards than the

sound /a/ in Vietnamese By instruction, teachers should make students aware of these differences so that they can apply and produce English vowels more exactly

3 Pronunciation learning strategies

3.1 Definition of language learning strategies

Many recent studies have contributed to the idea that the decisive factor of successful learning does not lie in the teacher’s instruction but is the way students organize this process Ekwensi, Moranski, & Townsend-Sweet (2006) assume that learning or instructional strategies determine the approach for obtaining the learning targets and enhance the learning process of students with various learning styles Besides general learning process, in the linguistic fields, the importance of learning strategies continues to be confirmed Oxford (1990, p.1) states that learning strategies are particularly significant to language learning since “they are tools for active, self-directed involvement, which is essential for developing communicative competence”, which is the key goal of communicative language learning and teaching The influence of language learning strategies can be seen clearly in studies carried out in the same learning context and with similar teaching methods

Naiman et al (1978), Rubin (1975), and Stern (1975) (as cited in Lee, 2010) proved

that more successful learners are those better at using strategies effectively Although researchers are unanimous in confirming the decisive position of learning strategies in the language learning process, they are divided in an attempt to define what a learning strategy is It is impossible to mention all definitions in the present study so a small number of them will be chosen to discuss in order to find the most appropriate one for this study

The definitions of language learning strategies suggested by different researchers can be reviewed based on two main aspects emerging in each one: the purpose of using learning strategies and the particularization of what is called

“language learning strategies” Mentioning the objective of utilizing strategies in the language acquisition process, researchers in the field all suppose that learners use strategies to support and enhance their learning of a particular language

Weistein and Mayer (1986) proposed that learning strategies are what is intentionally used to influence the learner’s encoding process Bialystok (1978) defined language learning strategies as means “to improve competence in a second language” (p.71), but the word “competence” is also worth another explanation More specifically, Rigney (1978), O’Malley et al (1985), Rubin (1987) argued that learning strategies help learners with the obtaining, storing, retrieving and using language This is similar to what appears in the definition of Oxford and Crookall (1989, p.404) who stated that learning strategies aim to “aid the acquisition, storage and retrieval of information” However, in her later study, Oxford (1990) provided a different look at the purpose of language learning strategies In this definition, she wanted to emphasize the features of the learning process with the use of learning strategies She claimed that the exploitation of learning strategies can makes

“learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective and more transferable to new situation” (p.8) In Oxford’s (1990) definition, it is counted as factors affecting the nature of the process and the feeling as well as the role of the learner during this procedure, not only the results

The other essential aspect to consider, when definitions of language learning strategies are reviewed, is the perception of learning strategies In the first place, language learning strategies are viewed as either behavioral or mental On the one hand, some researchers perceive that learning strategies are concrete and visible For example, Rubin (1975, p.43) saw them as “techniques or devices” and “any set

of operations, steps, plans, routines” (Rubin, 1981, p.19) Likewise, Oxford and Crookall (1989, p.404) supposed “learning strategies” to be “specific actions” On the other hand, other researchers claimed that language learning strategies can be both behavioral and mental O’Malley and Chamot (1990, p1) see language learning strategies as “the special thoughts or behaviors of processing information that individuals use to help them comprehend, learn or retain new information” In the second place, the topic of whether learning strategies are used intentionally or subconsciously is also debatable Nisbet and Shucksmith (1986, p.25) claimed that

learning strategies are “always purposeful and goal-oriented” but “not always carried out at a conscious or deliberate level” On the contrary, Chamot (1987, p.71) proposed that they should be “techniques, approaches or deliberate actions” which

“facilitate the learning, recall of both linguistic and content are information”

Amid various definitions of learning strategies and endless controversy of scholars to shape language learning strategies, Ellis (1999) listed eight features of language learning strategies and suggested this set as the most appropriate way to define them:

1 Strategies refer to both general approaches and specific actions or techniques used to learn a L2

2 Strategies are problem oriented – the learner deploys a strategy to overcome some particular learning problem

3 Learners are generally aware of the strategies they use and can identify what they consist of if they are asked to pay attention to what they are doing/thinking

4 Strategies involve linguistic behavior (such as requesting the name of

an object) and non-linguistic (such as pointing at an object so as to be told its name)

5 Linguistic strategies can be performed in the L1 and L2

6 Some strategies are behavioral while others are mental Thus some strategies are directly observable, while others are not

7 Some strategies contribute indirectly to learning by providing learners with data about the L2 which they can then process, while others may contribute directly (for example, memorization strategies directed at specific lexical items or grammatical rules)

8 Strategy use varies considerably as a result of both the kind of the task the learning is engaged in and individual learner preferences.)

(as cited in Tran, 2009, p.18)

It can be seen that characteristics of language learning strategies have been comprehensively mentioned by Ellis The purpose of the study is not to find the perfect definition for the notion but seek for the most suitable one in the context of the study It is, therefore, sensible for the study to choose eight points established by Ellis (1999) to be the reference scale in determining what a learning strategy is

3.2 The classification of language learning strategies

Just as the definition of language learning strategies, a common taxonomy of these strategies has not been suggested One of the earliest classification schemes was proposed by Rubin (1975) who divided learning strategies into two main groups: (1) Strategies that directly affect learning and (2) Processes that contribute indirectly to learning Also classifying language learning strategies based on their direct or indirect contribution to the learning process, Rubin (1987) suggested another way of division which includes three types of strategies: (1) Learning Strategies, (2) Communication Strategies and (3) Social Strategies Rubin claimed that learning strategies group with two main types: Cognitive and Metacognitive strategies affect directly the learning process while Communication Strategies, which are often used in helping the speaker be successful in a particular conversation, have less direct influence However, the least direct strategies are Social Strategies which provide learners with opportunities to be exposed and practice their knowledge Another classification of language learning strategies was

suggested by O’Malley et al (1985) who divide strategies into three subcategories:

(1) Metacognitive Strategies; (2) Cognitive Strategies and (3) Socio-affective Strategies

Among various classifications, the present study chooses Oxford’s (1990) taxonomy of language learning strategies, “the most comprehensive classification to date” to follow (Ellis, 1994, p 539) The details of Oxford’s classification are shown in the following table:

DIRECT STRATEGIES (Memory, Cognitive, Compensation Strategies) Group I: MEMORY STRATEGIES

A Creating mental linkages B Applying images and sounds

C Reviewing well D Employing action

Group II: COGNITIVE STRATEGIES

A Practicing B Receiving and sending messages

C Analyzing and reasoning D Creating structure for input and output

Group III: COMPENSATION STRATEGIES

A Guessing intelligently

B Overcoming limitations in speaking and writing

INDIRECT STRATEGIES (Metacognitive, Affective and Social Strategies) Group I: METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES

A Centering your learning B Arranging and planning your learning

C Evaluating your learning

Group II: AFFECTIVE STRATEGIES

A Lowering your anxiety B Encouraging yourself

C Taking your emotional temperature

Group III: SOCIAL STRATEGIES

A Asking questions B Cooperating with others

C Empathizing with others

Table 1 Oxford’s classification of language learning strategies From “Language Learning

Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know”, by Oxford, 1990

3.3 Pronunciation learning strategies

3.3.1 The classification of pronunciation learning strategies

It was not until the late 20th century and early 21st century that the use of pronunciation learning strategies as well as their influence on the learners’

acquisition of English pronunciation was the focus of some remarkable studies such

as Derwing & Rossiter’s (2002); Osburne’s (2003); Peterson’s (2000); Vitanova & Miller’s (2002)

Based on Oxford's (1990) definition of learning strategies, Peterson (2000) defined pronunciation learning strategies as the steps taken by students to enhance their own pronunciation learning Lately, this definition has been clarified in the study of Hişmanoğlu (2012, p.248) with the suggestion that pronunciation learning strategies are “intentional behaviours and thoughts used by learners so as to enable them to comprehend, learn or remember L2 pronunciation” Learners use these strategies either intentionally or unintentionally to improve their phonetic and phonological competence

Various identifications of pronunciation learning strategies were proposed by

a limited number of researchers such as Derwing & Rossiter (2002); Osburne (2003); Peterson (2000); Vitanova & Miller (2002) Nevertheless, there has not been striking differences among these identifications (Hişmanoğlu, 2012) Derwing

& Rossiter (2002, as cited in Hişmanoğlu, 2012, p.248) listed eleven basic strategies

employed by learners during their pronunciation learning (self-repetition,

paraphrasing, increasing or decreasing volume, writing and/or spelling difficult words, using a slow rate of speech, calming down, using pantomime, avoiding difficult sounds, appealing for assistance from native speakers, using clear speech, and monitoring articulatory gestures)

Osburne (2003, as cited in Hişmanoğlu, 2012, p.248) suggested seven

strategies which affect the learning process directly: focusing on individual

syllables, focusing on prosodic structures, monitoring global articulatory gestures, focusing on paralanguage, focusing on individual words, and focusing on memory

or imitation Vitonava & Miller (2002) mentioned two pronunciation learning

strategies: self-correction of poor pronunciation and active listening to native pronunciation

The present study follows the classification of Peterson (2000) which is a more detailed version of Oxford’s (1990) taxonomy of language learning strategies

In this study, “strategies” are methods to obtain a specific goal and should be understood to be broader than “tactics” which refer to specific tools to achieve the learning target

The study conducted by Peterson (2000) is considered to be the “first study that focused exclusively on pronunciation learning strategies” (Chang, 2012, p.17) Eleven adult learners of Spanish as participants of the study noted down their process of learning pronunciation in their own diaries and took part in interviews about the use of pronunciation learning strategies With the analyses of results from these two research tools, it enabled the researcher to find out 21 specific pronunciation learning tactics which were later categorized based on Oxford’s strategy classification system Peterson’s study helps to prove the diversity of learning strategies used by learners during their learning process These strategies

and tactics are shown the Appendix 1

Critical reading about the classification of pronunciation learning strategies

is supposed to be the groundwork for further understanding of learners’ use of strategies However, it is vital to investigate the relationship between learner’s use

of strategies and their success in learning pronunciation so that the researcher who

is also in the role of a teacher can support her students’ learning process Also, the necessity and effectiveness of strategy instruction as well as the training model will

be carefully considered

3.3.2 Learners’ use of pronunciation learning strategies

Despite the fact that the study on pronunciation learning strategies is still in its infancy, it has been proved that there is a relationship between the use of learning strategies and students’ achievement To some extent, the support of strategies during the learning process can be realized

By using reflective report, Vitanova & Miller (2002) could have an insight look at the pronunciation learning process of learners while encouraging learners’ self-awareness and involvement in their learning Through this action research, the researchers found that learners appreciated the empowerment of self-monitoring, self-correction and autonomous strategy training Moreover, students not only realized their improvement with these metacognitive strategies but also longed to transfer them into real-life communication

Eckstein (2007) had findings about the difference in the use of pronunciation learning strategies between good pronunciation learners and poorer ones A study was conducted with 183 adult ESL learners in an Intensive English Program to help the researcher investigate the use of learning strategy The results from a strategic pronunciation learning scale and students’ scores of spontaneous pronunciation performance revealed that self-correction and asking for help were the most frequently used strategies while using symbol systems and native sound system were the least In addition, the study discovered the positive correlation between such strategies as noticing others’ mistakes, asking for pronunciation help and adjusting facial muscles and pronunciation scores More importantly, learners with better use of pronunciation skills seemed to use more strategies with higher frequency than those with poor pronunciation ability

Carrying out an investigation on the influence of pronunciation learning strategies on the perception and production of learners’ English vowels, Rokoszewska (2012) discovered most common learning strategies used by learners These learners had been provided with a short-term pronunciation course on English pure vowels and diphthongs without any instruction on learning strategies before taking an English pronunciation test and doing a questionnaire on pronunciation learning strategies based on Oxford’s (1990) and Peterson’s (2000) classification The results of Rokoszewska’s study indicated that students used pronunciation learning strategies quite occasionally and tended to use more indirect than direct strategies Specifically, among direct strategies, cognitive strategies were