A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WASP AND ONLINE AUDIO RECORDER TO DEVELOP SENTENCE INTONATION REPRODUCTION BY FIRST YEAR

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* MAI CƠNG TRÌNH A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WASP AND ONLINE AUDIO RECORDER TO DEVELOP SENTENCE INTONATION REPRODUCTION BY FIRST-YEAR, NON-MAJOR STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCES – THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Nghiên cứu hiệu phần mềm WASP Online audio recorder việc nâng cao khả bắt chước ngữ điệu câu sinh viên tiếng Anh không chuyên năm thứ Đại học Khoa học - Đại học Thái Nguyên M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 Hanoi, 2015 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* MAI CÔNG TRÌNH A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WASP AND ONLINE AUDIO RECORDER TO DEVELOP SENTENCE INTONATION REPRODUCTION BY FIRST-YEAR, NON-MAJOR STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCES – THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Nghiên cứu hiệu phần mềm WASP Online audio recorder việc nâng cao khả bắt chước ngữ điệu câu sinh viên tiếng Anh không chuyên năm thứ Đại học Khoa học - Đại học Thái Nguyên M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: ASSOC PROF VÕ ĐẠI QUANG, Ph.D Hanoi, 2015 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled: A study on the effectiveness of WASP and Online audio recorder to develop sentence intonation reproduction by first-year, non-major students at University of Sciences – Thai Nguyen University Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MA in English Teaching Methodology Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis Hanoi, August 2014 Mai Cong Trinh i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from a number of people First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Assoc Prof Dr Vo Dai Quang, my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly supported me through the stages of the study, and whose stimulating ideas, expertize, and suggestions have inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic researcher A special word of thanks goes to my colleagues at University of Sciences – TNU who have helped me in piloting the materials and making constructive and insightful comments as well as suggestions for this paper, and many others, without whose support and encouragement it would never have been possible for me to have this thesis accomplished Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family, my wife for the sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work ii ABSTRACT This study investigates whether first-year, non-major students at University of Sciences – Thai Nguyen University perceive and reproduce accurate intonation contours of sentences in English after two weeks of training with WASP and Online Audio Recorder focusing on two types of intonation patterns (definite statements, yes/no questions) The study found that the learners improved their correctness in reproducing the intonation patterns according to the results and analyses of pre-test, post-test and interview The participants also stated that the tools were beneficial, interesting to use and helpful for their learning The study also motivates future research in some kinds of aspects related iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS L1: First Language L2: Second Language ASR: Automatic Speech Recognition CMS: Course Management System TNU: Thai Nguyen University iv LIST OF TABLES Table Participants’ information 13 Table Summary of Design Study 15 Table Pre-test results 28 Table Post-test results 28 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Preview of an exercise in Moodle 23 Figure Visual display of the utterance “My car’s in the car park.” in WASP 24 Figure Visual display of “Did you have a good time?” first made by a participant in the training phase 32 Figure Visual display of “Did you have a good time?” made by a participant after several attempts in the training phase vi 33 TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of Originality i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii List of Abbreviations iv List of Tables v List of Figures vi Table of contents vii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale for the study Aims of the study Objectives of the study Scope of the study Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Literature review 1.1 Theoretical Background 1.1.1 Intonation theory 1.1.2 Technology for Learning 1.1.3 Technology-based Intonation Teaching 1.2 Review of Previous Studies Related to the Research 1.3 Summary 11 vii Chapter 2: Methodology 12 2.1 Research-governing Orientations 12 2.1.1 Research Question 12 2.1.2 Research Hypothesis 12 2.1.3 Participants 12 2.2 Research Methods 13 2.2.1 Methods 13 2.2.2 Instruments/ Materials 16 2.2.3 Preparing the Materials 16 2.2.3.1 Questionnaire 16 2.2.3.2 Interview 16 2.2.3.3 Pre-test and Post-test 16 • Sentences • Conversations 17 17 2.2.3.4 Piloting 17 2.2.3.5 Final Materials 18 2.2.3.6 Pre- and Post-tests Materials 18 2.2.3.7 Training Materials 19 • Moodle Familiarization • Perception and Reproduction Training 19 19 2.2.3.8 Testing and Training Applications 19 • Moodle • WASP • Online Audio Recorder 19 20 20 2.3 Procedure for Data Collection 20 • • • • Familiarization Phase Pre-test Phase Training Phase Post-test Phase viii 20 21 22 22 correctness in their reproduction of the sentences after the training phase, and they had acquired the intonation contours for the two kinds of sentences However, they all stated that it was not easy for them to make the right fallings or risings One participant gave the reason that they were not so familiar with the intonation contours because they not usually produce such kinds in Vietnamese All the participants said that before the training, they were not aware of the difference in falling and rising contours of definite statements and yes/no questions They often made them without any changes in pitch with the sentences One participant said, “I was never told about the differences and I haven’t had any practices on this.” Thus, the results showed that the tools of Online Audio Recorder, and WASP were beneficial, interesting for participants to work with sentence intonation They were not only able to perceive and reproduce the sentences, but also they improved their production of intonation contours 3.1.3 Connection between Perception and Reproduction According to the results from pre-test and post-test, there were still participants who chose the correct contours but reproduced incorrectly Probably, the explanation for that could be due to the changes in the yes/no questions that the author made For example, the sentence “Can I have the bill, please?” in the pre-test had the rising contours up to “bill” but there is a slight fall in the word “please” The situation was the same with “Do you believe in ghosts, Gary?” in the post-test Another kind of yes/no question such as “Do you live in a house or a flat?” had the same problem These may get the participants confused in reproducing the correct contours 39 Another explanation could be that participants began to pay attentions to the context of the sentences underlined To the author’s knowledge, the Vietnamese learners usually try to understand the texts or the recordings rather than the tasks assigned They probably lost in the comprehension of the conversations so that they gave the wrong intonation contours 3.2 Summary The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of using computerbased training and feedback in helping learners of English (non-major, first year students) improve their perception and reproduction of sentence intonation It can be seen from the study, WASP and Online Audio Recorder on Moodle can be productively used for the researcher to record participants’ performance and development in L2 speech The improvement can be seen in Figure and in which the author analyzed the same sentence that a participant made during the training phase It is also possible to use Moodle to track participants’ performance on the perception and reproduction tasks Moreover, the interviews offered some information in the steps participants took towards self-correction 40 Figure Visual display of “Did you have a good time?” first made by a participant in the training phase 41 Figure Visual display of “Did you have a good time?” made by a participant after several attempts in the training phase 42 PART C: CONCLUSION Concluding Remarks The study was aimed to explore the perception and reproduction of sentence intonation by non-major first year students at University of Sciences – TNU The tools (WASP and Online Audio Recorder) used in the study gave participants with audio-visual feedback in order to develop their reproduction as well as their understanding of acoustic features of sentence intonation The WASP tool allowed the participants to look at the pitch track of their speech and compare it to the original model provided The Online Audio Recorder allowed participants to record themselves, listen to their recordings and compare with the original model Thus, the conclusions were drawn within the research question in the followings: 1.1 Conclusion on the Research Question Two open-access tools, Online Audio Recorder and WASP were applied to explore the learners’ (non-major, first year students in University of Sciences – TNU) perception and reproduction of sentence intonation These two tools were practical, helpful and user-friendly to the participants as stated in the interview Moodle was easy to access, the tasks were delivered in a clear way with instructions Online Audio Recorder was used to record, re-record, and upload the recorded files onto Moodle system without efforts as they quickly learned how to use the tools in the familiarization phase WASP was interesting to use because it showed the pitch tracks immediately after each completed recording Based on what they saw, they can correct their reproduction of each intonation contour until they reproduce the same rising or falling pitches with the original ones To sum up, the two tools were easy to use in training and practicing with sentence intonation which is usually 43 seen as a problem for students at University of Sciences – TNU in particular, and Vietnamese learners of English in general The two tools had showed a positive impact on participants because after being trained with the tools, participants reported becoming more aware of the English intonation contours The tools proved the potential for enhancing language learning, particularly for learners who are not aware of the acoustic characteristics of intonation contours It can be seen that both the pre- and post-tests results could differentiate between participants’ ability to match intonation contours with the right types of sentences and ability to reproduce the right pitch for each type of sentences It is clear that WASP and Online Audio Recorder, in some aspects, effectively developed the students’ perception and reproduction of sentence intonation Limitations of the Study This study investigated the effectiveness of using computer-based training and feedback to help non-major first year students at University of Sciences – TNU to improve their perception and re production of sentence intonation Despite the positive impact the process had on participants, there were still limitations to some extent Firstly, the number of participants were small, so it may not reflect the exact conditions for a large number of learners of English in University of Sciences – TNU in particular, and Vietnamese learners of English in general Secondly, the schedule for training lasted in a short time (two weeks), it may be difficult to discuss the results of the study and/or clearly differentiate the outcomes through the analyses of pre-test and posttest Thirdly, the study focus only on types of intonation contours of definite statements and yes/no questions, so there is still a lack of other intonation patterns which are also confusing to the Vietnamese learners of English 44 Suggestions for Future Research Although this study was limited in several aspects, this study motivates further research to address issues related to computer-based training and feedback to help learners improve perception, reproduction and production of English intonation Future studies with large numbers of participants, different groups of learners, and different combinations of tools are needed in order to generate findings which give clearer points on the effectiveness of technology to pronunciation in particular, and in English learning in general Future research could also explore the effects of longer training sessions Another area to investigate could be applied to a larger range of intonation patterns and/or to the production of intonation contours 45 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Gitsaki, C (2004) Teaching WELL and loving IT In S Fotos, & C Browne (Eds.), New perspectives on CALL for second language classrooms Mahwah, New Jersey, U.S.A.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 21 Thompson, L.C (1987) An introduction to Vietnamese pronunciation In A Vietnamese reference grammar Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press 22 Verdugo, D R., & Trillo, J R (2005) The pragmatic function of intonation in L2 discourse: English tag questions used by Spanish speakers Intercultural Pragmatics, 2(2) 23 Weinberg, A., Peters, M., & Sarma, N (2005) References of learners about the use of technology in language learning RCLA/CJAL, 8(2) 49 APPENDIX A: Language Background Questionnaire Date of testing: _ Name: Gender: Male _ Female _ Phone number: _ Email address: Do you have any problems with your hearing? Yes: No: _ Program at this university: Date of beginning of full-time studies: Expected graduation date: Date of birth: Birthplace (City, Province): _ What English courses are you taking now at this university? _ At what age did you start learning English? Please list amount of time (per week) that you learned English in: High school (time) _ for (number of years) University (time) for (number of years) Did you learn any English outside of school? How? _ 10 Have you been taught pronunciation before? Please give details _ _ 11 What are your strengths in speaking English? _ 12 What are your weaknesses? _ APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW During the training sessions, what did you learn from through WASP and Online Audio Recorder? What were the positive points of the training phase? What were the negative points? What should the teacher change for better future programs? (for future students)? What are your feelings about studying a .English through WASP and Online Audio Recorder? b …English intonation patterns? Have you seen any changes in your pronunciation (intonation patterns) as a result of the training phase? (What changes have you seen in your pronunciation?) Has your understanding of intonation in English changed as a result of the training phase? (How so?) Will you change your pronunciation as a result of this program? Will you practice yourself using the two tools WASP and Online Audio Recorder? Which one would you prefer? ... Remarks The study was aimed to explore the perception and reproduction of sentence intonation by non-major first year students at University of Sciences – TNU The tools (WASP and Online Audio Recorder) ... than the tasks assigned They probably lost in the comprehension of the conversations so that they gave the wrong intonation contours 3.2 Summary The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness. .. effectiveness of WASP and Online audio recorder to develop sentence intonation reproduction by first – year, non – major students at University of Sciences – Thai Nguyen University The major aims of the study