NHỮNG CHIẾN LƯỢC SỬA CÁC LỖI THƯỜNG GẶP KHI PHÁT ÂM NHÓM PHỤ ÂM CUỐI TRONG TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC PHƯƠNG ĐÔNG ( STRATEGIES TO CORRECT COMMON ERRORS IN PRONOUNCING ENGLISH FINAL CONSONANT CLUSTERS MADE BY SECONDYEAR ENGLISHMAJORED STUDENTS AT PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY)
i VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES oo0oo NGUYỄN THỊ HẢI STRATEGIES TO CORRECT COMMON ERRORS IN PRONOUNCING ENGLISH FINAL CONSONANT CLUSTERS MADE BY SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS AT PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY (NHỮNG CHIẾN LƯỢC SỬA CÁC LỖI THƯỜNG GẶP KHI PHÁT ÂM NHÓM PHỤ ÂM CUỐI TRONG TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC PHƯƠNG ĐÔNG) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Hanoi – 2011 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI ii UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES oo0oo -NGUYỄN THỊ HẢI STRATEGIES TO CORRECT COMMON ERRORS IN PRONOUNCING ENGLISH FINAL CONSONANT CLUSTERS MADE BY SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS AT PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY (NHỮNG CHIẾN LƯỢC SỬA CÁC LỖI THƯỜNG GẶP KHI PHÁT ÂM NHÓM PHỤ ÂM CUỐI TRONG TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC PHƯƠNG ĐÔNG) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Nguyễn Hoàng Lan, M A Hanoi - 2011 CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT iii ***** I hereby certify that this minor thesis entitled “Strategies to Correct Common Errors in Pronouncing English Final Consonant Clusters Made by Second-year Englishmajored Students at Phuong Dong University” is completely the result of my own research for the Degree of Master at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and that this thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or tertiary institution Signature: Date: iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Nguyen Hoang Lan, M.A for her invaluable assistance, constructive criticism and encouragement without which my thesis would not have been accomplished Secondly, I am thankful to all the lecturers and staff of the Post-Graduate Studies Faculty of University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, for their scientific knowledge, guidance and enthusiasm during my course My sincere thanks also go to my second year students at Phuong Dong University for their cooperation, which is indispensable for the analysis and discussion in my study Last but not least, I owe my deep thanks to my family and friends who have helped and encouraged me while I was conducting the research NGUYEN THI HAI ABSTRACT This study aims at dealing with final consonant clusters errors made by the second year English-majored students in English Department, Phuong Dong University (PDU) Data were administered through a mid-term oral test with the participation of 30 second year students from class 509701A2 Recording students’ talk to find out common errors with final clusters that students actually make and then observing their reading out loud the single words to seek out suitable strategies to overcome those errors are two data collection instruments The findings of the study indicated that the majority of the second year students tend to omit one or two elements of the final clusters and some of the students have some minor substitution and insertion errors Some useful strategies are also suggested for this typical group of the second year students at PDU to deal with their pronunciation errors TABLE OF CONTENTS CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS vii PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Aims of the study Scope of the study .2 Method of the study Thesis Design .3 PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 English pronunciation .5 1.1.1 Standard English Pronunciation .5 1.1.2 Aspects of English pronunciation 1.1.2.1 Consonant sounds 1.1.2.2 English final consonants and consonant clusters 1.1.2.3 A comparison between English and Vietnamese final consonants.9 1.2 Errors 12 1.2.1 Errors vs Mistakes 12 1.2.2 Pronunciation errors 13 1.2.3 Final consonant clusters errors 13 1.3 Error correction 14 1.3.1 Definition and types of error correction 14 1.3.2 Approaches to error correction 16 1.4 Techniques to deal with final clusters .16 CHAPTER 2: AN OVERVIEW OF TEACHING AND LEARNING PRONUNCIATION AT PDU .21 2.1 The syllabus 21 2.2 The learners .22 2.3 The teachers .22 2.4 The teaching and learning conditions .22 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 24 3.1 Research questions 24 3.2 Subjects of the study 24 3.3 Data collection procedure 24 3.4 Data analysis procedure 25 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 26 4.1 Findings from recordings and discussions 26 4.1.1 Overview of the errors with final clusters of 2nd year English-majored students at PDU 26 4.1.2 Details of the errors with final clusters of 2nd year English-majored students at PDU 27 4.1.2.1 Reduction .27 4.1.2.2 Substitution 30 4.2 Findings from observation and discussions 31 4.3 Comparison of the two findings 33 4.4 Strategies to correct final clusters errors 33 PART 3: CONCLUSION .38 Summary of major findings .38 Limitations and suggestions for further study 38 REFERENCES .40 APPENDIX 1: Checklist for recording I APPENDIX 2: Findings from recordings II APPENDIX 3: Checklist for observation XIX APPENDIX 4: Findings from observation XXVI LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Table of consonant sounds pp 6-7 Table 2: Component of consonant clusters pp 8-9 Table 3: Reduction errors found in the data from recordings pp 27-28 Table 4: Substitution errors found in the data from recordings p 30 Table 5: Errors from students’ reading out loud the 230 errors from recordings p 31 Table 6: Details of errors from observation p 32 LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: Types of errors p 26 Chart 2: Comparison of two results from recordings and observation p 33 10 PART 1: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study English has become an important demand for schooling and job opportunities in the past few years; however, many Vietnamese speakers not have intelligible English pronunciation so as to be easily understood in direct communication with foreigners Learners with serious pronunciation errors will certainly fail in communication Therefore, it is very essential to research learners’ pronunciation errors, and then to seek out suitable strategies to solve the problems Among many pronunciation errors that learners of English as a second language are likely to make (i.e intonation, stress, ending sounds, etc.), errors with final consonant clusters can be considered serious because “learners’ inability to produce final consonant clusters can lead to incomprehensibility” (Avery & Erhlich, 1992, p.55) In the same line, CelceMurcia, Brinton & Goodwin (1996) supported that inaccurate pronunciation of consonant clusters can make English language learners’ speech difficult for native speakers to understand, particularly in cases where the learners use epenthesis to break up clusters or omit a consonant in a cluster (as cited in Arnold, 2009) Serious as it might be, problems with final clusters can be considered as one typical pronunciation error of Vietnamese learners According to an earlier research by the Australian Government publication Asian Language Motes (1978; as cited in Pham, 2009), “initial clusters not cause many problems, but final clusters are found extremely hard for Vietnamese students” Also in an article about common challenges faced by Vietnamese learners, Deshayes (2005, p.6) firmly stated that “English consonant clusters give Vietnamese learners problems not only because they not have these consonant combinations in their own language, but also because they produce a variety of syllable types” 61 Reduction clusters /nz/ /nd/ /nts/ /nt/ /dz/ /lt/ /kt/ /lvd/ Generations /genəreɪʃəns/ Understand lack /d/ Arguments lack /t/ Different lack /t/ Attitudes /ætɪtjuːs/ Difficult lack /t/ Respect lack /t/ Involved lack /lv/ x x x x x x x Insertion Substitution times x x 1 1 1 Speaker 23: Topic Length Percentage of error (%) Gender Which job best fits your personality? Explain why 126 words 7/126= 5.6% Female Consonant Mispronounced words clusters /bz/ Jobs lack /z/ /ŋk/ Think lack /k/ Most lack /t/ /st/ Tourist lack /t/ /nt/ Important lack /t/ /st/ Impressed lack /t/ /nt/ Confident lack /t/ Types of errors Reduction Insertion Substitution x x x x x x x Repetition times 1 1 1 Speaker 24: Topic Length Percentage of error (%) Gender Describe the person you admire most Explain why you admire him/her 159 words 9/159=5.7% Female Consonant Mispronounced words clusters /lps/ Helps lack /l/ Types of errors Reduction Insertion Substitution x Repetition times 62 /vz/ /st/ /nt/ /dz/ /ld/ /st// /nd/ /ndʒ/ Gives lack /z/ First lack /t/ Important lack /t/ Words /wɜːds/ Old lack /ld/ Best lack /t/ Friend lack /d/ Change lack /dʒ/ x x x x x x x x 1 1 1 1 Speaker 25: Topic Length Percentage of error (%) Gender Consonant clusters /st/ /nd/ /st/ /dz/ /fts/ /vz/ /ndz/ Talk about your last holiday 107 words 8/107 = 7.5% Female Mispronounced words Last lack /t/ Practised /præktiʃt/ Husband lack /d/ Most lack /t/ Besides lack /dz/ Gifts lack /t/ Relatives lack /z/ Friends lack /d/ Types of errors Reduction Insertion Substitution x x x x x x x x Repetition times 1 1 1 1 Speaker 26: Topic Length Percentage of error (%) Gender Consonant clusters /st/ /lm/ /lθ/ /vd/ /nz/ Do you want to be a famous person? Why or why not? 153 words 9/153 = 5.9% Female Mispronounced words Most lack /t/ Film lack /l/ Wealth lack /θ/ Loved lack /d/ Fans /fæns/ Types of errors Reduction Insertion Substitution x x x x x Repetition times 1 1 63 /lps/ /sk/ /ld/ /lt/ Helps lack /l/ Ask lack /k/ World lack /d/ Difficult lack /lt/ x x x x 1 1 Speaker 27ː Talk about your first day or primary school?/ secondary school?/ Topic Length Percentage of error (%) Gender Consonant clusters /st/ /ndʒ/ /st/ /kt/ /ndz/ /nd/ high school?/ college? 104 words 7/104 = 6.7% Male Mispronounced words Most lack /t/ Strange /streinz/ Used lack /t/ Liked lack /t/ Friends lack /d/ Around lack /nd/ Types of errors Reduction Insertion Substitution x x x x x x Repetition times 1 1 Speaker 28: Topic Length Percentage of error (%) Gender Consonant clusters /nd/ /ndz/ /st/ /nt/ /lθ/ /mz/ /st/ Speaker 29: What are the qualities of a good friend? 134 words 11/124 = 8.9 Female Mispronounced words Friend /fren/ Find /fai/ Friends /frens/ Honest /ɔnis/ Confident /kɔnfɪdəns/ Health /hel/ Comes /kʌm/ Must /mʌs/ Types of errors Reduction Insertion Substitution x x x x x x x x Repetition times 1 1 64 Which place you prefer, living in a big city or in the Topic Length Percentage of error (%) Gender Consonant clusters /nd/ /st/ /dz/ /nts/ /nt/ /st/ countryside? Give your reasons 129 words 7/129 =5.4% Female Mispronounced words Attend lack /d/ Best lack /t/ Goods /gʊds/ Events lack /t/ Department lack /t/ Post lack /t/ Types of errors Reduction Insertion Substitution x x x x x x Repetition times 1 1 Speaker 30: Topic Length Percentage of error (%) Gender Consonant clusters /nz/ /lθ/ /ndz/ /lps/ /ld/ What is your favorite sport? Give some reasons 91 words 5/91 = 5.5% Female Mispronounced words Reasons /rizəns/ Health lack /θ/ Friends lack /d/ Helps lack /l/ Build lack /d/ Types of errors Reduction Insertion Substitution x x x x x Repetition times 1 1 65 APPENDIX 3: Checklist for observation CHECKLIST FOR OBSERVATION Speakers Consonant clusters /nts/ /nz/ /ld/ /nt/ /mp/ /mz/ /st/ /nd/ /dz/ /nd/ /nt/ /nd/ /nts/ /pt/ /dz/ /st/ /lθ/ /nt/ /nd/ /ld/ /ŋk/ /st/ /ls/ /kt/ /pts/ /ndʒ/ /ns/ /ld/ /ʃt/ /st/ /kt/ Words Grandparents reasons household want environment camp problems most husband kind weekend kids spend entertainment find Pavements developed crowds first health pleasant friend second build think honest first else affect accepts change since child wished almost lost react Types of errors 66 /nts/ /nd/ /lp/ /st/ /vz/ /lz/ /ts/ /nt/ /nz/ /nt/ /st/ /nts/ /lf/ /st/ /nd/ /lθ/ /nts/ /mz/ /nd/ /st/ /kst/ /st/ /ndʒd/ /nt/ /vd/ /kt/ 10 11 /ndz/ /lz/ /lt/ /ft/ /nd/ /nz/ /st/ /nt/ /st/ /nz/ /lps/ /lθ/ students misunderstand spend help best believes smiles hates intelligent plans convenient fast restaurants yourself cost spend health parents items brand First next used exchanged spent went arrived walked looked islands hills felt Raft returned Fans latest want best reasons helps health 67 /ks/ /nd/ /nt/ /st/ /lp/ /kt/ 12 13 14 15 16 /lps/ /lθ/ /nd/ /lv/ /st/ /nt/ /ks/ /st/ /nd/ /kst/ /nd/ /kt/ /ŋz/ /nd/ /st/ /kts/ /nts/ /ndz/ /dz/ /st/ /st/ /ndz/ /nd/ /nθs/ /st/ /nt/ /ks/ /st/ 17 /nd/ /kt/ /nt/ relax find equipment released last cost help expect respect helps health kind solve Last went six past friend next island shocked things ground cost products restaurants kinds foods waste taste friends friend months interest important makes best first stand fact want 68 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 /nt/ /st/ /nts/ /dz/ /ld/ /nz/ /kst/ /lt/ /st/ /nz/ /zd/ /nts/ /nt/ /gd/ /st/ /nd/ /tʃt/ /nt/ /st/ /ndz/ /nts/ /lvz/ /ŋk/ /st/ /nz/ /nz/ /nd/ /nts/ /nt/ /dz/ /lt/ /kt/ /lvd/ /bz/ /ŋk/ /st/ /nt/ /st/ /nt/ /lps/ extent most parents needs child traditions mixed difficult best fans recognized servants went hugged first happened watched restaurant first friends parents themselves junk waste reasons generations understand arguments different attitudes difficult respect involved jobs think most tourist important impressed confident helps 69 /vz/ /st/ /nt/ /dz/ /ld/ /st// /nd/ /ndʒ/ /st/ 25 26 27 /nd/ /st/ /dz/ /fts/ /vz/ /ndz/ /st/ /lm/ /lθ/ /vd/ /nz/ /lps/ /sk/ /ld/ /lt/ /st/ /ndʒ/ /st/ /kt/ /ndz/ /nd/ /nd/ 28 29 /ndz/ /st/ /nt/ /lθ/ /mz/ /st/ /nd/ /st/ gives first important words old best friend change last practised husband most besides gifts relatives friends most film wealth loved fans helps ask world difficult most strange used liked friends around friend find friends honest confident health comes must attend best 70 /dz/ /nts/ /nt/ /st/ /nz/ /lθ/ /ndz/ /lps/ /ld/ 30 goods events department post reasons health friends helps build APPENDIX 4: Findings from observation FINDINGS FROM OBSERVATION Speaker Consonant clusters /nts/ /nz/ /ld/ /nt/ /mp/ Words Grandparents reasons household want environment camp Reduction Lack /t/ Type of errors Insertion Substitution Insert /ə/ 71 /mz/ /st/ /nd/ /dz/ /nd/ /nt/ /nd/ /nts/ /pt/ /dz/ /st/ /lθ/ /nt/ /nd/ /ld/ /ŋk/ /st/ /ls/ /kt/ /pts/ /ndʒ/ /ns/ /ld/ /ʃt/ /st/ /kt/ /nts/ /nd/ /lp/ /st/ /vz/ /lz/ /ts/ /nt/ /nz/ /nt/ problems most husband kind weekend kids spend entertainment find pavements developed crowds first health pleasant friend second build think honest first else affect accepts change since child wished almost lost react students misunderstand spend help best believes smiles hates intelligent plans convenient Insert /ə/ /θ/ = /t/ Insert /ə/ Lack /t/ /dʒ/ = /z/ /ʃ/ = /s/ Lack /t/ Lack /l/ Lack /l/ 72 /st/ /nts/ /lf/ /st/ /nd/ /lθ/ /nts/ /mz/ /nd/ /st/ /kst/ /st/ /ndʒd/ /nt/ /vd/ /kt/ 10 11 /ndz/ /lz/ /lt/ /ft/ /nd/ /nz/ /st/ /nt/ /st/ /nz/ /lps/ /lθ/ /ks/ /nd/ /nt/ /st/ 12 /lp/ /kt/ /lps/ /lθ/ /nd/ fast restaurants yourself cost spend health parents items brand First next used exchanged spent went arrived walked looked islands hills felt raft returned fans latest want best reasons helps health relax find equipment released last cost help expect respect helps health kind Lack /t/ Lack /s/ /dʒ/ = /z/ Lack /d/ Lack /θ/ 73 13 14 15 16 /lv/ /st/ /nt/ /ks/ /st/ /nd/ /kst/ /nd/ /kt/ /ŋz/ /nd/ /st/ /kts/ /nts/ /ndz/ /dz/ /st/ /st/ /ndz/ /nd/ /nθs/ /st/ /nt/ /ks/ /st/ 17 18 19 /nd/ /kt/ /nt/ /nt/ /st/ /nts/ /dz/ /ld/ /nz/ /kst/ /lt/ /st/ /nz/ /zd/ /nts/ solve last went six past friend next island shocked things ground cost products restaurants kinds foods waste taste friends friend months interest important makes best first stand fact want extent most parents needs child traditions mixed difficult best fans recognized servants Lack /t/ Lack /t/ Lack /d/ /z/ = /s/ Lack /d/ Lack /θ/ Insert /ə/ Lack /s/ Lack /lt/ 74 20 21 22 23 24 25 /nt/ /gd/ /st/ /nd/ /tʃt/ /nt/ /st/ /ndz/ /nts/ /lvz/ /ŋk/ /st/ /nz/ /nz/ /nd/ /nts/ /nt/ /dz/ /lt/ /kt/ /lvd/ /bz/ /ŋk/ /st/ /nt/ /st/ /nt/ /lps/ /vz/ /st/ /nt/ /dz/ /ld/ /st// /nd/ /ndʒ/ /st/ /nd/ /st/ went hugged first happened watched restaurant first friends parents themselves junk waste reasons generations understand arguments different attitudes difficult respect involved jobs think most tourist important impressed confident helps gives first important words old best friend change last practised husband most Lack /d/ Lack /t/ Lack /v/ Lack /t/ Lack /d/ Lack /v/ 75 26 27 /dz/ /fts/ /vz/ /ndz/ /st/ /lm/ /lθ/ /vd/ /nz/ /lps/ /sk/ /ld/ /lt/ /st/ /ndʒ/ /st/ /kt/ /ndz/ /nd/ /nd/ 28 29 30 /ndz/ /st/ /nt/ /lθ/ /mz/ /st/ /nd/ /st/ /dz/ /nts/ /nt/ /st/ /nz/ /lθ/ /ndz/ /lps/ /ld/ besides gifts relatives friends most film wealth loved fans helps ask world difficult most strange used liked friends around friend find friends honest confident health comes must attend best goods events department post reasons health friends helps build Lack /t/ Lack /d/ Lack /l/ /θ/ = /t/ Insert /ə/ Lack /t/ Lack /dʒ/ Lack /d/ Lack /n/ Lack /d/ Lack /θ/ Lack /t/ /θ/ =/t/ Lack /d/ Lack /l/ Insert /ə/ [...]... reasons, I would like to conduct this research entitled Strategies to correct errors in pronouncing English final clusters made by second- year English- majored students at PDU” The research hopes to find answers to the following questions: • What are the English final cluster errors that second-year English- majored students at PDU often make? • What are some strategies to correct those errors? 2 Aims of... techniques in order to fit their students level as well as the aim of the lesson 29 CHAPTER 2: AN OVERVIEW OF TEACHING AND LEARNING PRONUNCIATION AT PDU Since the aim of the research is to find out the strategies to correct the common errors in pronouncing English final clusters made by second year English majored students at PDU, it is of great importance to have an insight into the teaching and learning... church, catch - large, age - team, room - than, man - thing, sing - smile, feel When there are two or more consonants at the end of the word (called final cluster), the terms “pre -final and “post -final consonants are used Pre- final includes: /m, n, ŋ, l, s/ Post -final includes: /s, z, t, d, θ/ Two consonant clusters: o Pre -final followed by a final consonant 17 o Consonant plus post -final E.g.: think,... important, help, health, cats, etc Three consonant clusters: o Pre -final plus final plus post -final (e.g helped, twelfth, banks, etc.) o Final plus post -final plus post -final (e.g text, fifths, lapsed, etc.) Four consonant clusters: o Most are pre -final plus final plus post -final plus post -final e.g prompts, twelfths o Occasionally, there is one final and three post -final consonants e.g sixths, texts... without knowing that he is doing it, and he can not correct by himself 1.2.2 Pronunciation errors According to Nguyen (2007), errors in pronunciation are defined as the incompetence in language and incorrect pronunciation that may affect intelligibility in communication Jenkins (2006, p.36) defines pronunciation errors as “variants of pronunciation which prevent one communicator from understanding the... related to the topic Some crucial concepts chosen to be clarified in this part include Standard English Pronunciation, English final consonants & consonant clusters, Vietnamese final consonants, Errors vs mistakes, Pronunciation errors and Error correction 1.1 English pronunciation 1.1.1 Standard English Pronunciation First of all, it is essential to define Standard English Pronunciation Standard English. .. the common errors in pronouncing English final clusters made by second year English majored students at PDU 32 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research questions The research was carried out in the first semester of the school year 2010-2011 to find answers to the following questions: • What are the English final cluster errors that second-year English- majored students at PDU often make? • What are some strategies. .. on this issue was done by Pham (2009); however, it did not analyze deeply students final clusters errors as well as did not suggest particular strategies for correcting them Being an English teacher at Phuong Dong University (PDU), I realize that many of my students encounter difficulty in pronouncing English final clusters though they are able to produce single consonants accurately For the above reasons,... clusters, and practising consonant clusters through the addition of grammatical endings 26 Celce-Murcia, Brinton & Goodwin (1996) agrees that English native speakers also employ simplification strategies to make consonant clusters easier to pronounce Two simplification strategies they use are cluster reduction (omitting one of the consonants) and resyllabification (breaking up a final consonant cluster... final consonant at a time, while in English there can be up to 4 consonants at the end of words to form consonant clusters This difference results in the fact that English consonant clusters may give Vietnamese learners problems because they do not have these consonant combinations in their own language 1.2 Errors 1.2.1 Errors vs Mistakes Making mistakes or errors is a natural process of learning In ... and friends who have helped and encouraged me while I was conducting the research NGUYEN THI HAI ABSTRACT This study aims at dealing with final consonant clusters errors made by the second year... likely to make However, within the limit of a minor thesis, this study focuses on analyzing the students’ final clusters errors and proposing the strategies for correcting them This study was implemented... (Celce-Murcia, Brinton & Goodwin, 1996, p 88) For instance: Clusters of three: /ŋ/ thing /ŋk/ think /ŋks/ thinks Clusters of four: /k/ /ks/ /ksθ/ /ksθs/ sick six sixth sixths