Problems in teaching intonation to english majors at USSH HCM

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis, entitled “Problems in teaching intonation to English majors at University of Social Sciences and Humanities” is my own work This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other situation Ho Chi Minh City, September 29, 2012 Hoang Thi Nhat Tam i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am truly indebted and thankful to a number of people who helped me to make this thesis possible First and foremost, I would like to show my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, who has supported me throughout my thesis with her great patience, knowledge and empathy Without her, I could not have been able to understand how far I could reach in doing research Especially, I always save a special part in my heart for remembering what she did for me during the time I have been working at the Faculty I owe earnest thankfulness to all my teachers in the course who provided me with knowledge as well as inspiration in teaching and doing research My special thanks also go to Ms Nguyen Nha Tran for providing me with the materials that I was unable to access in Vietnam Especially, she was really patient to give me precious advice at the beginning of my writing-the-thesis period In addition, I would like to send my thanks to Ms Pham Ngoc Kim Tuyen who nicely listened to my very first ideas and gave me great advice I would like to thank all of the eight teachers who spent their precious time doing my questionnaire Especially, they did share with me a lot of wonderful teaching experiences and I could learn a lot of great things from observing their class which I could never get from books This thesis would not have been possible without the sincere encouragement from my colleagues, my classmates and the enthusiastic help of the kind librarians in ERC Last but not least, I am truly indebt to my beloved family who always stand by me Without their love and sacrifice, I could never be today‟s ME ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Hoang Thi Nhat Tam, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master‟s Theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses Ho Chi Minh City, September 29 2012 Hoang Thi Nhat Tam iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS iii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES x ABBREVIATIONS xi ABSTRACT xii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the research 1.2 Background to the study 1.3 Aim of the study 10 1.4 Research questions of the study 10 1.5 Limitation of the study 11 1.6 Significance of the study 11 1.7 Organization of the study 12 CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 13 2.1 Teachers‟ knowledge of subject matter 13 2.2 English intonation 18 2.2.1 Definition of English Intonation 18 2.2.2 Functions of English intonation 19 2.2.3 The significant role of intonation in communication between a native speaker and a nonnative speaker 21 2.3 Teaching english intonation 30 2.3.1 The necessity of teaching English intonation appropriately to Vietnamese learners 30 2.3.2 Views of priorities in teaching intonation: Segmentals or suprasegmentals or combination 31 2.3.3 Three common approaches to teaching English intonation 32 2.3.4 Meanings of tones in English 35 2.3.5 Some illustrated practice activities 36 iv 2.4 Previous studies on teaching and learning english pronunciation 38 2.5 The conceptual framework of the study 41 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 43 3.1 Research questions of the study 43 3.2 Research design 43 3.2.1 Pilot survey 44 3.2.2 Main survey 45 3.2.2.2 Participants 46 3.2.2.3 Instruments 46 3.2.2.4 Data collection procedures 53 3.2.2.5 Data analysis procedures 55 CHAPTER RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 56 4.1 Results 56 4.1.1 Class observation 56 4.1.2 Questionnaire 59 4.2 Discussions and findings 67 4.2.1 Discussions 67 4.2.2 Findings 78 4.2.3 Discussion of findings 80 CHAPTER CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 83 5.1 Conclusion 83 5.2 Recommendations 84 5.2.1 A dynamic career development program for pronunciation teachers at EF 87 5.2.2 Summary 90 5.3 Contributions of the study 91 5.4 Further research 91 BIBLIOGRAPHY 93 APPENDIX 1a Program of English Linguistics and Literature 101 APPENDIX 1b Syllabus of Introduction to English Linguistics 106 APPENDIX Pronunciation syllabus (in Vietnamese) 111 v APPENDIX How intonation is treated in the two main coursebooks 117 APPENDIX Meanings of tones 120 APPENDIX Questionnaire 131 APPENDIX 7a Class observation checklist 145 APPENDIX 7b Classroom observation checklist 146 APPENDIX 7c Classroom observation checklist 147 APPENDIX 7d Classroom observation checklist 148 APPENDIX Classroom observation checklist 149 APPENDIX Classroom observation checklist 150 APPENDIX 10 Teaching routine 152 APPENDIX 11a Results from class observation checklist 153 APPENDIX 11b Results from class observation checklist 154 APPENDIX 11c Results from class observation checklist 155 APPENDIX 11d Results from class observation checklist 156 APPENDIX 12 Results from classroom observation checklist 157 APPENDIX 13 Teaching routine teacher 158 APPENDIX 14 Teaching routine teacher 159 APPENDIX 15 Teaching routine teacher 160 APPENDIX 16 Teaching routine teacher 161 APPENDIX 17 Teaching routine teacher 162 APPENDIX 18 Teaching routine teacher 163 APPENDIX 19 Teaching routine teacher 164 APPENDIX 20 Teaching routine teacher 165 APPENDIX 21 Results from questionnaire teacher 166 APPENDIX 22 Results from questionnaire teacher 167 APPENDIX 23 Results from questionnaire teacher 168 APPENDIX 24 Results from questionnaire teacher 169 APPENDIX 25 Results from questionnaire teacher 170 vi APPENDIX 26 Results from questionnaire teacher 170 APPENDIX 27 Results from questionnaire teacher 171 APPENDIX 28 Results from questionnaire teacher 172 APPENDIX 29 Table 4.15 the number of right and wrong answers the teachers got from the test part 174 APPENDIX 30 Table 4.16 The number of right answers the teachers got from the test part by guessing 175 vii LIST OF TABLES Chapter Table 1.1 How English intonation is treated in Ship or Sheep Table 1.2 How English intonation is treated in English Pronunciation in Use Chapter Table 2.1 Meanings of tones in the 25 cases introduced in the two main coursebooks Chapter Table 3.1 Study setting Table 3.2 Total number of class observation meetings Table 3.3 Class observation plan Table 3.4 Plan of distributing questionnaire Table 3.5 How often the teacher taught the intonation patterns introduced in the two coursebooks? Table 3.6 How often the teacher taught the intonation patterns introduced in the two coursebooks? Table 3.7 How often the teacher taught the intonation patterns introduced in the two coursebooks? Table 3.8 How often the teacher taught the intonation patterns introduced in the two coursebooks? Table 3.9 How often the teacher explained to his/ her students why they should learn intonation? Chapter Table 4.1 How often the teacher taught the intonation patterns introduced in the two coursebooks? Table 4.2 How often the teacher taught the intonation patterns introduced in the two coursebooks? viii Table 4.3 How often the teacher taught the intonation patterns introduced in the two coursebooks? Table 4.4 How often the teacher taught the intonation patterns introduced in the two coursebooks? Table 4.5 How often did the teacher explain to his/ her students why they should learn intonation? Table 4.6 How often did the teachers teach the tones introduced in the two coursebooks in their classroom? Table 4.7 How often did the teachers explain the reason why their students should learn English intonation? Table 4.8 Teachers‟ knowledge of the definition of English intonation Table 4.9 Teachers‟ belief in the role of intonation in communication Table 4.10 Teachers‟ explanation about the important role of intonation is in communication Table 4.11 Teachers‟ belief in how the four aspects play their roles in intelligibility in communication Table 4.12 Amount of time that the teachers spent teaching the five aspects during the pronunciation course 4.13 Teachers‟ knowledge of three common approaches in teaching English intonation Table 4.14 Which approach(es?) did the teachers often use in classroom? Table 4.15 The number of right and wrong answers the teachers got from the test part Table 4.16 The number of right answers the teachers got from the test part by guessing Table 4.17 Teachers‟ knowledge of tones in the 25 cases in the two textbook Table 4.18 Teachers‟ knowledge of tones in the 25 cases in the two textbook ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Model of teacher knowledge Figure 5.2a Teacher professional development Figure 5.2b Dynamic career development program x APPENDIX 17 Teaching routine teacher T5 TEACHING ROUTINE Textbook Ship or Sheep Teaching pronunciation routine Teaching minimal pair part and dialogues in units Devoting most of the teaching time to instruction and activities on practicing sounds How often did s/he teach English intonation in class? S/he usually taught English intonation patterns introduced in the units to the students; however, s/he sometimes skipped some of them because of the time constraint How did s/he teach English intonation to the students? Introduce the pattern Illustrate how to produce it by reading it first Have students repeat after T5 or after the CD once Have them practice (if T5 had enough time) in about minutes How often did s/he explain to the students why they needed to learn English intonation? T3 rarely told the students why they needed to speak English with intonation How did s/he explain to the students why they needed to learn English intonation? One utterance spoken with different tones carries different meanings Intonation conveys speakers‟ attitude Speaking with intonation makes your English interesting to listeners 162 APPENDIX 18 Teaching routine teacher T6 TEACHING ROUTINE Textbook Ship or Sheep Teaching pronunciation routine Teaching minimal pair parts and dialogues in units Devoting most of the teaching time to instruction and activities on practicing sounds How often did s/he teach English intonation in class? S/he usually taught English intonation patterns introduced in the units to the students; however, she sometimes skipped some of them because of the time constraint How did s/he teach English intonation to the students? Introduce the pattern Illustrate how to produce it by reading it first Have students repeat after T6 or after the CD once Have them practice (if T6 had enough time) in about minutes How often did s/he explain to the students why they needed to learn English intonation? T6 told the students why they needed to speak English with intonation once at the beginning of the course How did s/he explain to the students why they need to learn English intonation? One utterance spoken with different tones carries different meanings Intonation conveys speakers‟ attitude Speaking with intonation makes your English interesting to listeners Intonation helps listeners to recognize turn –taking 163 APPENDIX 19 Teaching routine teacher T7 TEACHING ROUTINE Textbook Ship or Sheep Teaching pronunciation routine Teaching minimal pair parts and dialogues in units Devoting most of the teaching time to instruction and activities on practicing sounds How often did s/he teach English intonation in class? S/he usually taught English intonation patterns introduced in the units to the students; however, she sometimes skipped some of them because of the time constraint How did s/he taught English intonation to the students? Introduce the pattern Illustrate how to produce it by reading it first Have students repeat after T7or after the CD once Have them practice (if T7 had enough time) in about minutes How often did s/he explain to the students why they need to learn English intonation? Among twelve class meetings, there are only two s/he mentioned it How did s/he explain to the students why they need to learn English intonation? Intonation belongs to cultures, so it is very hard to imitate When you are communicating with native speakers of English, you should pay attention to it If you can master all features in Section C (in “Pronunciation in Use”), you could speak English naturally We don‟t have time to study them all so we are going to focus on the most important units and you are supposed to self-study the rest at home Different tones carry different meanings 164 APPENDIX 20 Teaching routine teacher T8 TEACHING ROUTINE Textbook Ship or Sheep Teaching pronunciation routine Teaching minimal pair parts and dialogues in units Devoting most of the teaching time to instruction and activities on practicing sounds How often did s/he teach English intonation in class? S/he usually taught English intonation patterns introduced in the units to the students; however, she sometimes skipped some of them because of the time constraint She held most of the activities for practicing sounds How did s/he teach English intonation to the students? Introduce the pattern Illustrate how to produce it by reading it first Have students repeat after T8 or after the CD once Have them practice (if T8 had enough time) in about minutes How often did s/he explain to the students why they need to learn English intonation? T3 sometimes told the students why they need to speak English with intonation How did s/he explain to the students why they need to learn English intonation? One utterance spoken with different tones carries different meanings Intonation conveys speakers‟ attitude Speaking with intonation make your English interesting to listeners 165 APPENDIX 21 Results from questionnaire teacher 1 What is intonation? Intonation is high or low tone of voice which conveys speakers‟ attitude, thoughts, intention directly or indirectly For example: when rising tone at the end of the sentence, the speaker is not sure about what he heard Why to teach intonation? 2.1 Its role Extremely important 2.2 Explanation 2.3 Intelligibility The meaning of words itself could not be powerful enough for us to make sense of the exact meaning that the speakers want to convey during the discourse because it is conveyed through intonation Speaking English with intonation could attract listeners, making the ongoing conversation more interesting If the interlocutors not use intonation or use inappropriate intonation, miscommunication happens Being able to use intonation helps speakers be more confident in communicating with native speakers Sound > Rhythm > Intonation > Word Stress > Linking 2.4 Teaching most Sound > Word Stress > Intonation > Linking > Rhythm How to teach intonation? 3.1 Approaches Right answer: attitudinal approach 3.1.1 Definition Wrong answer: grammatical approach, discourse approach 3.1.2 Approaches used in I am not sure I just follow the instructions how to teach classroom some intonation patterns presented in the textbook(s) 3.2 25 tones Right answers: 20/ 25 (80%) Right answers that s/he is sure about: 20/25 (80%) 166 APPENDIX 22 Results from questionnaire teacher Intonation is rising or falling tone conveying speakers‟ What is intonation? attitude or implication according to contexts Why to teach intonation? 2.1 Its role Quite important 2.2 Explanation Great! (fallling) Using fall intonation with great means “not great at all” or the speaker wants to convey his sarcastic attitude The weather is nice, isn‟t it? (falling) When the speaker falls his/ her voice at the end of the utterance, s/he wants to start a gossip If the listeners not know the meaning of this tone, they would think it is a genuine question and then answer it He‟s cute, isn‟t he? (falling) When the speaker falls his/ her voice at the end of the utterance, s/he is somehow sure about the answer, just wants to seek the listener‟s agreement But if s/he uses rising tone, he is not actually sure about the answer Press this button (rising), open the lid (rising), pour some water into it (rising), then press the other button (falling) When the speaker uses rising tones while speaking, it means that s/he has not finished expressing her/his ideas However, when s/he uses falling tone, it means that s/he finished expressing her/his ideas, signaling her/his listener‟s turn to speak 2.3 Intelligibility Word Stress > Sound > Linking > Rhythm > Intonation 2.4 Teaching most Sound > Word Stress > Linking > Rhythm > Intonation How to teach intonation? 3.1 Approaches Right answer: attitudinal approach, grammatical approach, 3.1.1 Definition discourse approach Wrong answer: 3.1.2 Approaches used in Grammatical approach classroom Discourse approach 3.2 25 tones Right answers: 24/ 25 (96%) Right answers that s/he is sure about: 12/25 (48%) 167 APPENDIX 23 Results from questionnaire teacher Intonation belongs to the aspect of supra-segmental What is intonation? describing the rising or falling of tone which conveys (1) the stress of the meaning of utterances and (2) speakers‟ attitudes Why to teach intonation? 2.1 Its role A little bit important 2.2 Explanation Intonation is like a kind of jewelry It is not necessary to have it but when you have it, it must be used very beautifully and precisely In reality, many non-native speakers whose English intonation is not good, but they could communicate in English successfully 2.3 Intelligibility Rhythm > Intonation > Word Stress > Sound > Linking 2.4 Teaching most Rhythm > Intonation > Sound > Linking > Word Stress How to teach intonation? 3.1 Approaches Right answer: attitudinal approach, 3.1.1 Definition Wrong answer: grammatical approach, discourse approach 3.1.2 Approaches used in I am not sure I just follow the instructions how to teach classroom some intonation patterns presented in the textbook(s) 3.2 25 tones Right answers: 20/ 25 (80%) Right answers that s/he is sure about: 13/25 (52%) 168 APPENDIX 24 Results from questionnaire teacher Intonation is the variation of pitches when communicating What is intonation? which conveys speakers‟ attitude, and thoughts It is essential in communication because it reflects truly speakers‟ attitudes and thoughts Why to teach intonation? 2.1 Its role Extremely important 2.2 Explanation 2.3 Intelligibility English intonation is very diverse and subjective We can use different tones to describe different attitudes such as happy, sad, bored, angry, etc For example, when we are so excited, surely we use rising tone (awesome! Great!); when we are in panic, and need help, we use much higher and longer voice than the normal ones (Help!); when we doubt about something, we will possibly repeat what we are not sure in a slow and falling tone (do you really think so?) Rhythm > Intonation > Sound > Linking > Word Stress 2.4 Teaching most Sound > Word Stress > Linking > Intonation > Rhythm How to teach intonation? 3.1 Approaches Right answer: attitudinal approach, 3.1.1 Definition Wrong answer: grammatical approach, discourse approach 3.1.2 Approaches used in I am not sure I just follow the instructions how to teach classroom some intonation patterns presented in the textbook(s) 3.2 25 tones Right answers: 10/ 25 (40%) Right answers that s/he is sure about: 7/25 (28%) 169 APPENDIX 25 Results from questionnaire teacher Intonation is the variation of pitch of the words in a What is intonation? sentence Why to teach intonation? 2.1 Its role (1) quite important; (2) a little bit important 2.2 Explanation 2.3 Intelligibility Although there are clear differences in using tones to describe moods and intensions, listeners could understand what is being said without knowing about intonation in non-academic environment (academic environment: lectures) However, ESL learners need to understand basic rules on using English intonation In a communication between non-native speakers, they could understand each other without using English intonation So intonation is a little bit important in such a kind of communication In a communication between a non-native speaker and a native one, the latter speaker use intonation as a means to convey his implications during the ongoing conversation, so it is necessary for the non-native listeners to learn to recognize the variation of intonations So intonation plays an important role in this kind of communication Sound > Word Stress > Linking > Rhythm > Intonation 2.4 Teaching most Sound > Word Stress > Rhythm > Linking > Intonation How to teach intonation? 3.1 Approaches Right answer: 3.1.1 Definition Wrong answer: attitudinal approach, grammatical approach, discourse approach 3.1.2 Approaches used in I am not sure I just follow the instructions how to teach classroom some intonation patterns presented in the textbook(s) 3.2 25 tones Right answers: 8/ 25 (32%) Right answers that s/he is sure about: 0/25 (0%) APPENDIX 26 Results from questionnaire teacher What is intonation? Intonation is the way speakers rise or fall their voice which carries meaning in communication 170 Why to teach intonation? 2.1 Its role Important 2.2 Explanation Speaking without intonation makes their accent unnatural and uninteresting, promoting the communication If the speaker‟s voice without intonation sounds indifferently, possibly the listeners not like to continue the conversation It makes no more communication If you speak English without intonation, the listener could not know/ see your feeling 2.3 Intelligibility Intonation > Sound > Word Stress > Rhythm > Linking 2.4 Teaching most Sound > Word Stress > Rhythm > Intonation > Linking How to teach intonation? 3.1 Approaches Right answer: attitudinal approach, grammatical approach 3.1.1 Definition Wrong answer: discourse approach 3.1.2 Approaches used in attitudinal approach, grammatical classroom approach 3.2 25 tones Right answers: 16/ 25 (64%) approach, discourse Right answers that s/he is sure about: 11/25 (44%) APPENDIX 27 Results from questionnaire teacher What is intonation? Intonation is the way we rise or fall our voice, stress a word in an utterance Why to teach intonation? 171 2.1 Its role Important 2.2 Explanation Different feelings and thoughts can be conveyed through different intonations although all of the words in utterance not change For example: “Hello!” If you say “Hello” with a rising tone, it means you are happy If you say it with a falling tone, it means you are unhappy or annoyed When you ask a wh-question with a falling tone, it‟s the first time you ask for information When you ask a wh-question with a rising tone, it means that you asked the question and got the answer already but you could not remember, so you ask again In human communication, there is 15% we communication by words (verbal), and 85% by feelings, attitudes (nonverbal) which influences on the deep intension, implication conveyed 2.3 Intelligibility Intonation > Sound > Word Stress > Rhythm > Linking 2.4 Teaching most Sound > Word Stress > Intonation > Rhythm > Linking How to teach intonation? 3.1 Approaches Right answer: 3.1.1 Definition Wrong answer: attitudinal approach, grammatical approach, discourse approach 3.1.2 Approaches used in I am not sure I just follow the instructions how to teach classroom some intonation patterns presented in the textbook(s) 3.2 25 tones Right answers: 19/ 25 (76%) Right answers that s/he is sure about: 17/25 (68%) APPENDIX 28 Results from questionnaire teacher What is intonation? Intonation is the way speakers rise or fall their voice to convey their attitudes or opinions It is a kind of non-verbal communication Each language has their own intonation Why to teach intonation? 172 2.1 Its role Important 2.2 Explanation You didn‟t your homework, did you? (falling) = confirm You didn‟t your homework, did you? (rising) = surprise I went to the cinema (rising), and I met my ex-boyfriend there I bought some sugar (rising), milk (rising) and eggs (falling) How is my cake? Mmm (rising) Mmm (?) 2.3 Intelligibility Sound > Word Stress > Linking > Intonation > Rhythm 2.4 Teaching most Sound > Word Stress > Linking > Rhythm > Intonation How to teach intonation? 3.1 Approaches Right answer: 3.1.1 Definition Wrong answer: attitudinal approach, grammatical approach, discourse approach 3.1.2 Approaches used in I am not sure I just follow the instructions how to teach classroom some intonation patterns presented in the textbook(s) 3.2 25 tones Right answers: 15/ 25 (60%) Right answers that s/he is sure about: 12/25 (46%) 173 APPENDIX 29 Table 4.15 the number of right and wrong answers the teachers got from the test part T 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 v x v X V v v v V v v v v v v v x v v v x x v v v v v v V v v v v V v v v v v v v v v v v v v x v V v v v x v v v v V v v v v v v v v v v v v x x x x v v v x v x v v X x v x x x x x x v x v v x x x x x x v x v v v x V x x x x x x x v v x x v x x x x v v v x v v v v V v v x v v x v x v x v v v v x x v v v x v v v v V v v v v v v v v v x x x x v x v v x v x = wh- question (fall) v v v v V = question with “or” v v x x v v x v x x x v x 14 = request x v v 20 = Mmm (rising) = wh-question (rise) = listing 15 = polite request 21 = Mm (falling) V = right = yes/no question (rise) = statement 16 = thanks/ response X = wrong 10 = exclamation 17 = instruction 22 = Mmmm (rising – falling) = yes/ no question (fall) 11 = surprise 18 = if = tag question (rise) 12 = suggestion = tag question (fall) 13 = command 19 = finished and unfinished tone 23 = Mmm (flat, level) 174 24 = Old information 25 = New information APPENDIX 30 Table 4.16 The number of right answers the teachers got from the test part by guessing T 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 v x v x V v v v V v v v v v v v x v v v x x v v v v v v v V v v v V v v v v v v v v v v v v v x v V v v v x V v v v V v v v v v v v v v v v v x x x x v v v x V x v v X x v x x x x x x v x v v x x x x x x v x V v v x V x x x x x x x v v x x v x x x x v v v x V v v v V v v x v v x v x v x v v v v x x v v v x V v v v V v v v v v v v v v x x x x v x v v x v x V v v v V v v x v x x x v v v v x v x x x = wh- question (fall) = question with “or” 14 = request 20 = Mmm (rising) = wh-question (rise) = listing 15 = polite request 21 = Mm (falling) = yes/no question (rise) = statement 16 = thanks/ response 10 = exclamation 17 = instruction 22 = Mmmm (rising – falling) = yes/ no question (fall) 11 = surprise 18 = if = tag question (rise) 12 = suggestion = tag question (fall) 13 = command 19 = finished and unfinished tone 23 = Mmm (flat, level) 175 24 = Old information 25 = New information  = I guess, I am not sure, I don’t know V = right X = wrong 176 ... Necessity of teaching English intonation appropriately to Vietnamese learners (2) Views of priorities in teaching intonation (3) Three common approaches to teaching English intonation: (a) grammatical... of intonation in communication between a native speaker and a nonnative speaker 21 2.3 Teaching english intonation 30 2.3.1 The necessity of teaching English intonation. .. definition of English intonation Table 4.9 Teachers‟ belief in the role of intonation in communication Table 4.10 Teachers‟ explanation about the important role of intonation is in communication