Improving pronunciation of english by êđê learners oriented towards communication purposes

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES Y TRU ALIO IMPROVING PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH BY ÊĐÊ LEARNERS ORIENTED TOWARDS COMMUNICATION PURPOSES (CẢI THIỆN PHÁT ÂM TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN NGƯỜI ÊĐÊ THEO ĐỊNH HƯỚNG MỤC ĐÍCH GIAO TIẾP) Ph.D DISSERTATION Major: English Linguistics Code: 62.22.15.01 Hà Nội, 2015 i VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES Y TRU ALIO IMPROVING PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH BY ÊĐÊ LEARNERS ORIENTED TOWARDS COMMUNICATION PURPOSES (CẢI THIỆN PHÁT ÂM TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN NGƯỜI ÊĐÊ THEO ĐỊNH HƯỚNG MỤC ĐÍCH GIAO TIẾP) Ph.D DISSERTATION Major: English Linguistics Code: 62.22.15.01 Supervisors: Assoc Prof Dr Võ Đại Quang Dr Nguyễn Huy Kỷ Hà Nội, 2015 ii CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled IMPROVING PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH BY ÊĐÊ LEARNERS ORIENTED TOWARDS COMMUNICATION PURPOSES submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English linguistics Except where the reference is indicated, no other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the dissertation Hanoi, 2015 Y Tru Alio iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation 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 deepest gratitude to Assoc Prof Dr Võ Đại Quang, and Dr Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, my supervisors, who have patiently and constantly supported me through the stages of the study, and whose stimulating ideas, expertise, and suggestions have inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic researcher My special thanks go to Assoc Prof Dr Lê Hùng Tiến, former Head of the Postgraduate Studies Faculty, Dr Huỳnh Anh Tuấn, Head of the Postgraduate Studies Faculty and all the staff for their tremendous help with administrative clearance, and many others, without whose support and encouragement it would never have been possible for me to have this dissertation accomplished I am grateful to the University of Tây Nguyên where I have been working for the best possible conditions from which I have benefited for the completion of the dissertation Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family, my colleagues for the sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IV TABLE OF CONTENTS V ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS VII LIST OF GRAPHS IX LIST OF TABLES IX LIST OF SENTENCES X DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS XI ABSTRACT XIII PART A INTRODUCTION 1 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY AIM OF THE STUDY OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY RESEARCH QUESTIONS SCOPE OF THE STUDY SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY STRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION OF THE DISSERTATION PART B DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 DEFINITION OF PRONUNCIATION 1.2 DEFINITION OF LINKING AND ITS TYPES 1.3 DEFINITION OF ASSIMILATION AND ITS TYPES 10 1.4 PRONUNCIATION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT) 19 1.4.1 Pronunciation in CLT 19 1.4.2 Linking and assimilation instruction 23 1.5 RESEARCH ON ÊĐÊ PRONUNCIATION 36 1.6 SUMMARY 40 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 43 2.1 CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS 43 2.2 ACTION RESEARCH 45 2.2.1 Identifying the problems 46 2.2.2 The treatment 46 2.2.2.1 Designing an intensive course .46 2.2.2.2 Conducting the teaching of the intensive course 51 2.2.3 The progress 53 2.2.4 Questionnaire for teachers’ attitude towards Êđê learners’ pronunciation 54 2.3 DATA COLLECTION 54 2.3.1 The setting 54 2.3.2 The participants 55 2.3.2.1 Êđê learners 55 2.3.2.2 The volunteer teacher of English 56 2.3.3 The procedure of the data collection 56 2.4 DATA ANALYSIS 57 2.4.1 The descriptive and contrastive techniques 57 2.4.2 The wave forms 57 2.4.3 Tables and graphs 61 2.4.4 Logical inferential statistics 61 2.5 SUMMARY 62 v CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 64 3.1 THE POTENTIAL CAUSES OF ÊĐÊ LEARNERS’ ERRORS IN PRODUCING ENGLISH SOUNDS 64 3.1.1 The similarities between English vowels and Êđê vowels 66 3.1.2 The differences between English vowels and Êđê vowels 67 3.1.3 The similarities between English consonants and Êđê consonants 69 3.1.4 The differences between English consonants and Êđê consonants 70 3.1.5 The differences in consonant sequences 75 3.1.6 The differences between English syllable structures and Êđê syllable structures 81 3.1.7 The differences of sounds in connected speech of the two languages 82 3.2 THE ÊĐÊ LEARNERS’ MISPRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH RELATED TO LINKING AND ASSIMILATION 84 3.2.1 Êđê learners’ mispronunciation of English linking 84 3.2.2 Êđê learners’ mispronunciation of English assimilation .106 3.3 THE TREATMENT TO IMPROVE ÊĐÊ LEARNERS’ PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH LINKING AND ASSIMILATION 123 3.3.1 The treatment to improve the pronunciation of English linking 124 3.3.1.1 Listening and imitating .125 3.3.1.2 Phonetic training 126 3.3.1.3 Minimal pair drills .129 3.3.1.4 Contextualized minimal pairs .131 3.3.1.5 Visual aids 132 3.3.2.The treatment to improve the pronunciation of English assimilation 133 3.3.2.1 Listening and imitating .133 3.3.2.2 Phonetic training 133 3.3.2.3 Minimal pair drills .134 3.3.2.4 Contextualised minimal pairs .135 3.3.2.5 Visual aids 136 3.3.3 Pedagogical implication for English pronunciation teaching 136 3.4 TEACHERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS ÊĐÊ LEARNERS’ PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH 138 3.5 SUMMARY 142 PART C: CONCLUSION 143 RECAPITULATION 143 2.CONCLUDING REMARKS 144 2.1.The cause of Êđê learners’ errors in producing English sounds 144 2.2 Êđê learners’ mispronunciation of English with respect to linking and assimilation 146 2.3 The treatment to improve Êđê learners’ English pronunciation 147 THE LIMITATION OF THE RESEARCH 148 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES 149 REFERENCES 150 THE AUTHOR’S PUBLISHED ARTICLES AND PROJECTS RELATED TO THE DISSERTATION 153 APPENDICES I APPENDIX THE CHART OF ENGLISH VOWELS AND CONSONANTS I APPENDIX THE CHART OF ÊĐÊ VOWELS AND CONSONANTS II APPENDIX THE RESULTS OF PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH LINKING III APPENDIX THE RESULTS OF PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH ASSIMILATION V APPENDIX THE MEAN, THE SD AND THE SE OF PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH LINKING VII APPENDIX THE MEAN, THE SD AND THE SE OF PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH ASSIMILATION IX APPENDIX KEYS TO THE TEST FOR PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH LINKING XII APPENDIX KEYS TO THE TEST FOR PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH ASSIMILATION XIII APPENDIX INTENSIVE COURSE ON ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION XIV APPENDIX 10 LESSON PLANS XXVIII APPENDIX 11 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS LVII APPENDIX 12 INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEVICES FOR RECORDING LX vi - AlPlV + AlPlV + AlNV AlFrV AlFrV + 10 BilSV 11 Conson 12 DenFV + 13 DenFV 14 LabDFrV + 15 LabDFrV + 16 LatV 17 GlFrV 18 PalAlAfV + 19 PalAlAfV + 20 PalV + 21 PostAlV 22 PalAlFrV + 23 PalAlFrV + 24 VePlV 25 VelPlV AlFrV BilPlV + BilPlV + BilNV + ± + 26 VelNV ± 27 V 28 V 29 S 30 St 31 Sylcon 32 Sw 33 CLMT 34 GTM 33 L0 34 1st 35 2nd 36 SD1st 37 SD2nd 38 SE1st vii 39 40 41 /…/ 42 SE2nd SPE […] viii LIST OF GRAPHS Graph 3.1: Scores obtained by 40 learners on linking ….……………… 96 Graph 3.2: Scores obtained by 40 learners on assimilation…….… 116 LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: The similarities between English vowels and Êđê vowels… … 64 Table 3.2: The differences between English vowels and Êđê vowels……….…… 65 Table 3.3: The similarities between English consonants and Êđê consonants ….….67 Table 3.4: Consonants exist in English only and in Êđê only … ………….… ….69 Table 3.5: The differences between English and Êđê consonants in sequences 73 Table 3.6: The differences in syllable structures …………………………….… 78 Table 3.7: The differences in sounds in connected speech ……….…….………….79 Table 3.8: Percentage of Êđê learners‟ scores on linking ……… 96 Table 3.9: Percentage of Êđê learners‟ scores on assimilation 116 Table 3.10: Teachers‟ attitude towards Êđê learners‟ pronunciation 134 Table 3.11: The similarities and differences between English sounds and Êđê sounds …………………………………………………………………….……………… 141 ix LIST OF SENTENCES Sentences of linking Sentence 81 Sentence 84 Sentence 21 85 Sentence 28 87 Sentence 35a 88 Sentence 39 89 Sentence 46 90 Sentence 60 91 Sentence 108 93 Sentence 144 94 Sentences of assimilation Sentence 18 102 Sentence 35b 104 Sentence 52 105 Sentence 72 106 Sentence 79 107 Sentence 121…………………………………………………………………….…108 Sentence 126…………………………………………………………………….…110 Sentence 128……………………………………………………………………….111 Sentence 151……………………………………………………………………….113 Sentence 190……………………………………………………………………….114 x book? 40‟ Further practice sheep – ship heel – hill seat – sit cheeks – chicks feel – fill + He wants to buy a (sheep/ship) + Those (heels/hills) are very high + Look at those (cheeks/chicks) + Did you (feel/fill) the glass? + He isn‟t going to (leave/live) bill – bell pin – pen chicks – checks wrist – rest fill – fell + You dropped a (pin/pen) + Did you get the (bill/bell)? + This coffee tastes (bitter/better) + Her name is (Ginny/Jenny) + Whose (chicks/checks) are these? pen – pain wet – wait tell – tail test – taste pepper – paper + Can I have some more (pepper/paper)? + This (pen/pain) is terrible + I want to (sell/sail) the boat + (Test/Taste) the cake and see if it‟s done + Put it in the (shed/shade) Consolidation and homework 10‟ li Lesson 8: Pronunciation of English assimilation Timing: periods (170‟) Objectives: Students will be able to pronounce English ending sounds, assimilation, linking, voicing and devoicing Teaching techniques: Listening and imitating, phonetic training, visual aids, minimal pair drills, and contextualised minimal pairs Teaching tools: Cassette recorder , handout, projector and screen Procedure: Time Contents 40‟ (7) Oh, you need some lea meat, some vegetables, so butter, flour, salt, chilies S garlic, if you‟ve got some of things (13) mother‟s (14) (18) (20) (35) suitable, don‟t you think? (51) (52) She can play the flute She can paint pictures She can write poems She can grow plants She can most things What can I do? I can‟t any of the things she can! 40‟ /n+p= mp/, (56) No need to mention me, for instance I will look at them, darling But I have to be at a meeting at a quarter past seven And I would like a bath Do hurry up Please! /t+s= s/ I think he‟s improved Still coughs, of course /v+k= fk/ You see, as the exchange rate sinks, the value of your savings shrinks But if you banked your money, instead of keeping it wherever you keep it it could earn interest, to some extent linked to the cost of living Now you‟ve practised lots of clusters It‟ll be no fun without you Well, you wouldn‟t, would you? 10‟ 40‟ Consolidation Further practice I can believe it I can‟t believe it I can go I can‟t go I saw him in Korea Did you tell him what you saw? Would you like cream and sugar? He can go to the store but she can‟t She can‟t go to the store but he can 40‟ Further practice Ten green botles Ten pin bowling She has, has she? Good boy Good girl Good morning She was born in Birmingham The right key White paper Ten players liii Speed boat Bit part 10 liv Consolidation Lesson 9: Pronunciation of English Stress Timing: periods (90‟) Objectives: Students will be able to pronounce English sentence stress and unstressed words Teaching techniques: Listening and imitating, phonetic training and visual aids Teaching tools: Cassette recorder , handout, projector and screen Procedure: Time Contents 30‟ + / Dinner‟s / ready / Come and / get it + / This is the / furniture + / When are you / bringing it? Saturday, / probably + / Come and / see us at our / new ap/artment + / Why was he / trying to em/barras me? + /  He was a / wonderful / treasurer + /  Is there / sugar in it? + /  You pre/fer it with / sugar in it + / On / Monday,  you were / going to / mend it + / It‟s a boy  And it‟s / big one + /  And you‟re / fond of him? 20‟ Further practice + Long life rock and roll + She‟s footloose and fancy free + Eat your bread and butter + We got up bright and early + There are five or six people coming + You can either stay or leave + It‟s a life or death matter + Did you help him for love or money? + It‟s as cold as ice + The apartment is as clean as a whistle + Sue is as happy as a clam lv + He did it as quick as a w + Are you taller than me? + Please talk to me + The score is ten to two 30‟ Further practice I love you (…and I want y know this) I love you (I don‟t love he I love you (He doesn‟t) I WAS at the party I was at the PARty I was at the party He was a / wonderful treasure He was a / marvellous treasure He was con/siderate He was a /gentleman And he was humorous He was a / comical / fell and / none of us ever sus/pected that / someth pe/cular was / happenin And that the / jocke was us 10‟ Consolidation lvi Appendix 11 Questionnaire for teachers QUESTIONNAIRE Please, give your opinions about the levels of difficulty of the pronunciation of English for Êđê learners at Tay Nguyen University by marking a tick () in the box Weak forms+ a /+/ + an/+Q/ I need an immediate answer + and/+QD/ A whisky and soda A whisky and water A brandy and soda Three gin and tonics with ice and lemon, and two gin and tonics without ice and lemon And another whisky and soda And a glass of water for me  18 Where did you see them? 21 Let‟s ask him to let us go 28 Cunning? I‟m as innocent as a child! 35 Mm But these are more suitable, don‟t you think?  39 Which has gone? The Sixty? + have/+H/ 42 The wheels have dropped off! The wings have broken! It‟s useless! + had/+D/ 46 My jewels had gone + can/E+Q/ 52 She can play the flute She can paint pictures She can write poems She can grow plants She can most things What can I do? I can‟t any of the things she can! 60 No because of aword he used in front of an old lady Ending sounds and clusters 72 My parents are at a meeting and my sisters are at the cinema I‟m alone Like to join me? + pt 79 Stripped of everything! lvii + CMC  91 We pitched our tents by the river QCM QDN + 108 Tomorrow we launch our new sales campaign I‟m giving a  lunch at our city branch In the staff lounge Do come + mpt mps  121 Mm Of course, he got those lumps on his head when they jumped on him and dumped him down that well And he still  limps + QCMC QDND 126 He lunged at me with a knife I punched him he dropped it He cringed in the corner, teeth tightly clenched, eyes filled with  hatred I‟ll be revenged! He snarled I punched him again Harder + REC REK 128 You see, as the exchange rate sinks, the value of your savings shrinks But if you banked your money, instead of keeping it  wherever you keep it it could earn interest, to some extent linked to the cost of living 144 As usual, they gasped in terror as we whisked away the  bedclothes Contractions, stress and rhythm 151 John‟s in, is he? + it’ll/"C+S/ 166 It‟ll be no fun without you + Have/+H/ 182 I think he‟d have tried I wish you‟d seen him +it’d/"C+D/ 190 It‟d be difficult to tell him, of course 195 Well, you wouldn‟t, would you?  lviii Assimilations (7) Oh, you need some lean meat, some vegetables, some butter, flour, salt, chilies Some garlic, if you‟ve got some Lots of things (13) At one o‟clock? At my mother‟s (14) At my sister‟s (18) Where did you see them? (20) When did you see them? (35) Mm But these are more suitable, don‟t you think? /t+j= CM / (51) What does he see in me? /n+m= m / (52) She can play the flute She can paint pictures She can write poems She can grow plants She can most things What can I do? I can‟t any of the things she can! /n+p= mp/, /n+g= RF (56) No need to mention me, for instance /n+m=m/ (62) I will look at them, darling But I have to be at a meeting at a quarter past seven And I would like a bath Do hurry up Please! /t+s= s/ (110) I think he‟s improved Still coughs, of course /v+k= fk/ (128) You see, as the exchange rate sinks, the value of your savings shrinks But if you banked your money, instead of keeping it wherever you keep it it could earn interest, to some extent linked to the cost of living /t+j= CM/, /t+k= k/ (148) Now you‟ve practised lots of clusters (166) It‟ll be no fun without you (195) Well, you wouldn‟t, would you? lix     Appendix 12 Information about the devices for recording Hardware description:  System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard  System Model: HP Compaq dc5800 Small Form Factor  BIOS: Default System BIOS  Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E7500 @ 2.93GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.9GHz  Memory: 2028MB RAM  DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 32bit Unicode  Sound Capture Devices: Rear Input (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio)  Microphone (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio)  DirectSound: Headphones (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio)  DirectSound: Speakers (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Software description:  Operating System: Windows Vista™ Business (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack  Sound management software: Cool Edit (version 2.0) lx ... entitled IMPROVING PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH BY ÊĐÊ LEARNERS ORIENTED TOWARDS COMMUNICATION PURPOSES submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English. .. Êđê learners? ?? mispronunciation of English linking 84 3.2.2 Êđê learners? ?? mispronunciation of English assimilation .106 3.3 THE TREATMENT TO IMPROVE ÊĐÊ LEARNERS? ?? PRONUNCIATION OF. .. identified aspects of English pronunciation made by Êđê learners, and as a teacher of English, I realize that there is a need to improve their pronunciation of English towards communication purposes So